This was just fantastic and so simple. I highly recommend it.
- Carbohydrate 0 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0 g
- Saturated Fat 0 g
- Serving Size 1 1 (0g)
- Sodium 0 mg
- Sugar 0 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Calories 0 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat oven to 325?F. Generously grease 12-cup fluted tube cake pan. Make cake batter as directed on box, using water, oil and egg whites. Pour 1 cup of the batter into small bowl; stir in red food color until well mixed. Pour another cup of the batter into separate bowl; stir in blue food color until well mixed.
- Pour red cake batter into bottom of pan. Carefully pour remaining white batter over red batter in pan. Carefully pour blue batter over white batter. (Blue batter does not need to cover white batter completely; it looks better if it just forms a ring in the center of the white batter.)
- Bake as directed on box or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place cooling rack over cookie sheet. Turn pan upside down onto cooling rack. Cool cake completely, about 30 minutes.
- When cake is cool, divide frosting evenly into 3 microwavable bowls. Microwave 1 bowl of frosting uncovered on High a few seconds until smooth enough to drizzle over cake. With spoon, drizzle all of white frosting back and forth around cake in a striping pattern. Repeat microwaving second bowl of frosting until smooth. Stir in a few drops blue food color until well blended. Drizzle over cake, scattering frosting back and forth. Repeat with remaining bowl of frosting and red food color, making sure red, white and blue frostings can be seen on cake. Let cake stand at room temperature until frosting is set before serving.
A standard box of white cake mix hides the structural physics required to suspend colored batter layers without unwanted bleeding. Achieving distinct red, white, and blue strata relies entirely on density control and gravity during the pour, requiring the heavier, dyed portions to settle into specific strata before the neutral batter follows. Greasing a 12-cup fluted tube cake pan thoroughly with solid shortening rather than cooking spray provides the necessary friction to grip the batter as it rises in a 325-degree oven, preventing the colors from smearing against the metal walls. When pouring the separated portions, layer the red batter on the bottom, follow with the white batter, and let the blue form a centered ring that will bake into distinct pockets rather than a muddy swirl. Testing doneness requires observing the crumb shrinkage; insert a wooden toothpick into the thickest part of the ring, ensuring it emerges clean without wet batter clinging to the wood after roughly thirty minutes of cooling on a rack. Microwaving the whipped white frosting in increments of five seconds transforms the thick spread into a fluid consistency appropriate for striping, allowing the subsequent red and blue tinted drizzles to adhere neatly to the cooled surface without pooling in the flutes.
