Fun and Festive Sparkler Cake
With the 4th of July coming up, you might be getting ready to entertain quite a crowd! Or maybe you’re headed to a neighborhood party, family function, or other patriotic soiree and need to take a treat for the group. Do not stress! This easy sparkler cake to the rescue! Look how festive and fun this 4th of July cake looks! I always love a simple, delicious idea that is great for a group. Gotta love sparklers!
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I topped my vanilla sparkler cake with blueberries and strawberries for my red and blue. You could absolutely use patriotic sprinkles, red and blue frosting, you name it! You could even color your cake to have the layers inside be red, white, and blue too! Or if you’re literally out of time then no worries – ask the bakery at your local grocery store for a plain white cake. Then decorate it and add the sparklers!
Be sure that adults handle the sparklers, and if you’re worried about the sparklers around cake, you can order food-safe sparklers. They have “big cake sparklers” and this shop here has tons of shapes, numbers, and letters too!
My vanilla buttercream frosting recipe is below (pick up a copy of my book Frostings for even more delicious recipes). The vanilla cake I used for my cake can be found here. However, you can absolutely use any cake recipe you love! Heck, you could make a July Sparkler Pie if you wanted to! However you celebrate, I hope this sparkler cake idea gives you a little inspiration for adding some sparkle to this special day!
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 sticks 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3-4 cups confectioner’s sugar powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
Instructions
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In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter for 2 minutes on medium speed.
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Adjust speed to low and add powdered sugar to butter, one cup at a time, until well incorporated. Add salt, vanilla extract, and milk or heavy cream. Beat on medium for 3 minutes.
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Add additional powdered sugar or milk/cream until desired consistency is reached.
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For firmer frosting, add more powdered sugar (1/4 cup at a time). For looser frosting, add more milk or cream (1 tablespoon at a time).
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Tori says
June 21, 2014 at 7:36 pmI love how you used such simple things to dress up a plain white cake. So cute!
Courtney says
June 22, 2014 at 9:56 amThank you, Tori! :)
Cyd says
June 30, 2014 at 6:48 pmThis is so pretty, Courtney! Love the sparklers on top, such a fun idea! Wishing you and your family a wonderful 4th of July weekend. xo
Courtney says
June 30, 2014 at 10:45 pmThank you, Cyd! Same to you and yours!
Natalie DiScala says
July 5, 2014 at 7:46 pmHi Courtney,
This is just beautiful! I have a question: how do you get the icing to be a pure white? The buttercream recipe I typically use requires pretty much the same ingredients as you’ve listed above but it always turns out pale yellow. What do you do to get such a clean, crisp white? Thanks for your help!!
Courtney says
July 5, 2014 at 9:20 pmFor pure white icing, you can use shortening instead of butter. Or you can purchase a store-bought cake ;)