Red, White, and Blue Angel Food Cake Tutorial

Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read  

Red, White, and Blue Angel Food Cake Tutorial

For the 4th of July in 2024, I had a craving for an angel food cake. I had not eaten one in a long while, so I decided to make one. While I made my angel food cake from scratch using an Ina Garten recipe, you can easily recreate this using a store-bought angel food cake or using an angel food cake mix. Read on to learn how I made my red, white and blue angel food cake.

The completed angel food cake

If you’ve never had an angel food cake, it’s a light and airy cake in texture that is mostly just sweet. The recipe I used by Ina Garten called for some grated lemon peel and that definitely kicked up the flavor in a great way. You don’t have to add it as the cake recipe has vanilla in it, but I recommend it. I’d even add a bit more the next time.

Use store bought cupcakes for my quick and easy cupcake bar idea below or get the one-minute video via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:

An angel food cake is made mostly with lots of egg whites (mine needed about 11 egg whites), which when combined with cream of tartar, it creates a fluffy or foamy-like batter, which makes it become “meringue-based”. I believe they are called “angel” specifically because of their light and airy texture. Read more about the history of angel food cakes here on the Martha Stewart website.

You can create this with a store bought angel food cake

If you are planning on making your own red, white and blue angel food cake from a store-bought cake (this makes in a no-bake dessert for you!), Walmart and many grocery stores usually have them in stock in the bakery section. It’s an easy cake to eat plain, or dress up like I did. It’s a nice cake to have at picnics, summer parties and at many events because it’s simple in flavor (it’s mostly just a sweet vanilla flavor), so many people will like it.

Add some fruit “sparklers” to your 4th of July food table using my 1 minute tutorial below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:

If you don’t feel like decorating one yourself, serve one and allow guests to dress it up themselves. Order an angel food cake here at Walmart (or they even have sugar free Angel Food Cakes too) and top it with the following (links either go to Walmart or Amazon):

The cake was very festive with cake sparklers

If you feel like making your own angel food cake or angel food cupcakes, you can get a mix from Walmart here:

Or you can get angel food Cake mixes on Amazon:

Now that you know a bit about angel food Cakes, here’s how I made my festive party ready red, white, and blue angel food cake.

The cutest little skewer ants make great cake toppers

What You Need:  

  • Food Cake Pan

If you make your own angel food cake, you will need a specific cake pan. I used one I had on hand, but in the future, I think I’ll order a better one like the Wilton Bake it Better Angel Food pan at Walmart. Wilton has a similar pan also on Amazon here. I love Wilton cake pans, and have always had good luck using them/

The specific cake pan is two sections, making it easy to release it from the pan after it bakes. An angel food cake pan has a hole in the center, kind of like a Bundt or tube cake pan. The recipe I used said to leave your pan ungreased, but I would definitely spray my pan the next time as mine kind of stuck a bit.

How To:

If you are baking your angel food cake, bake it according to the recipe. This is the recipe I used from Ina Garten and it worked great. The flavor was only light in lemon flavor, but you could omit the lemon peel if you don’t want the hint of lemon.

My angel food cake pre-cooked

I must note that you need superfine sugar (which is a baker’s caster sugar) when making one from scratch to help it turn out light and fluffy, BUT I used regular cane sugar and blended it in my Magic Bullet to make it “super fine” and this worked perfectly. I also used cake flour, which was recommended. I like King Arthur cake flour, as it’s light, making it perfect for an angel food cake.

Using an icing spatula to loosen the angel food cake from the pan

Allow your cake to cool and use a long icing spatula or a butter knife to loosen it from the pan before popping it out. If using Ina’s recipe, the video on the recipe page is VERY helpful compared to the written instructions.

Pre-cut angel food cake

If using a store-bought angel food cake OR when your angel food cake is cool and out of the pan, use a serrated knife to cut it into three sections. I used the bottom of the cake pan to trace out a circle onto parchment paper and cut it out to lay on my cake plate. My plate was coated wood, but I wanted to protect it more.

The bottom layer of the angel food cake

Lay out the bottom section of the angel food cake onto the parchment paper on the cake plate. Use a spoon or an icing knife to spread a 1/3 of the whipped topping on the layer of cake. Add some sliced strawberries. (I sliced some and left some whole to top the cake).

The middle and bottom layers of the angel food cake

Add the middle layer of the angel food cake on top of the bottom layer. Spread on 1/3 of the whipped topping and some more sliced strawberries.

The top layer on the angel food cake

Add the top layer of the angel food cake and the rest of the whipped topping.

Add some sprinkles.

The angel food cake with sprinkles

If using the “ants”, pop a strawberry onto the “stake” on the ant. I put mine on stem facing down. Add them to the top of the cake.

The picnic ants that are welcome on this cake

I even added some ants with some blueberries, just to add a bit more blue color to my creation. I added the sparklers and it was an instantly festive 4th of July cake!

I love these ant skewers!

 If you made this cake, or one similar, let us know in the comments below!

If you loved this article, we know you’ll love this one too: Pretty in Pink Sweet 16 Milestone Birthday Cake + Party Tips

Carolyn J. (C.J.) Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.