This easy red white and blue bundt cake recipe is the perfect patriotic dessert for your 4th of July celebrations. Made with boxed cake mix, food coloring, and a simple powdered sugar glaze on top, every bite is flavorful, sweet, and a crowd-pleaser.
This firecracker bundt cake can often be found going by any number of names, including fireworks bundt cake or firecracker cake, which are great names for holiday celebrations, but this cake neither contains explosives nor looks like a firecracker.
That said, a cake by any other name would be as sweet, and whatever you choose to call this cake, you will know it's going to be called delicious too. Serve it up with some Lemonade Popsicles for a full-on summer celebration.
Why This Recipe Works
- It's easy to make! Just prepare some boxed cake mix and add a few extra steps before topping with some red white and blue icing on top. It looks impressive, but it's so easy to make that everyone will enjoy getting a slice.
- It's festive. Just a few sprinkles and food coloring and you have yourself a fourth of July cake that is perfect for any get-together or celebration.
- It is cheap to make! If a storebought dessert isn't in the budget this year, that's okay because homemade (or semi-homemade) is always better anyways! Made for less than $5 this cake can easily squeeze into your grocery budget.
🥘 Ingredients
Boxed yellow cake mix- You will want to use a box of yellow cake mix or white cake mix for the base of this recipe.
Eggs- Used to bind the cake together so that it isn't too crumbly.
Oil- Use vegetable oil for added fats so that the cake doesn't feel dry.
Water- This is needed for added moisture.
Red and blue food coloring- For a fun and festive touch you'll need red and blue food coloring. You can use liquid or gel food coloring, but gel coloring is more vibrant.
Powdered sugar- You'll need powdered sugar for the simple icing on top of the cake.
Festive sprinkles- This is optional, but if you find some festive or patriotic sprinkles, feel free to add them on top!
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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- Measuring Cups
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- Bundt cake pan
🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make a patriotic fireworks bundt cake with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, prepare the boxed cake mix as requested per package with the eggs, water, and oil.
Divide the batter between three bowls, and in one bowl, add the red food coloring, and in another, add in blue coloring.
Prepare your bundt pan with cooking spray and flour to prevent sticking.
Pour one of the cake batters into the pan.
Pour another colored batter on top of the one in the pan aiming for the middle of the batter as you make a ring around the pan. Repeat with the last color.
Bake your cake in the oven for 35 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and it come out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan and flip onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Whisk together the icing ingredients (powdered sugar and water) in a bowl until smooth. Divide the batter into three bowls, and in one, add red coloring and add blue coloring to another. Leave the third color white.
Pour each icing into a separate Ziploc bag and snip the corners. Drizzle each color over the top of the bundt cake and then top with sprinkles if desired.
Slice and serve.
🍴 Recipe Tips
Making this 4th of July bundt cake is both fun and easy. It's a simple boxed cake mix, so very little work is required. The hardest part is dividing up the batter and adding food coloring to get the shade you want. I recommend using gel food coloring as the colors are always much more vivid and you'll need less gel to get a good color.
You can arrange the colored batters into the pan in any order that you want, just keep in mind that even if the batters are divided evenly, the bottom color (the one on the outside of the cake) will be the thinnest and the center is the biggest. This is just because of the pan shape and the way the batter expands as it cooks.
For another fun and creative way to prepare this cake, instead of pouring the batters into the pan, scoop it up with a ¼ cup measure or large cookie scooper and scatter the batters throughout the pan. Then as it bakes it will have a nice marbled look and be much more sporadic and fun.
💭 FAQs
Yes, this cake can be made in advance! It can last for up to a week at room temperature in an airtight container or about the same length of time in the fridge too.
Absolutely! You can freeze this cake after it's been iced or before. Keep in mind that if freezing after the cake has been iced, there will be some color bleeding from the icing as it thaws, but the cake will still look and taste pretty great. Keep it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months and thaw it on the counter for a few hours until room temperature.
More great patriotic recipes to try
📖 Recipe
Easy Patriotic Fireworks Bundt Cake
Equipment
- Bundt cake pan
Ingredients
- 1 box Yellow or White Cake Mix ($1.00)
- 3 large Eggs ($0.24)
- 1 cup Water ($0.00)
- ⅓ cup Oil ($0.16)
- Red and Blue food coloring ($0.04)
Icing
- 1 cup Powdered sugar ($0.23)
- 1 tablespoon Warm water ($0.00)
- Red and Blue food coloring ($0.04)
- Festive Sprinkles *optional ($0.21)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare your boxed cake mix with eggs, water, and oil as per package instructions in a large mixing bowl.
- Divide the batter between three bowls. In one of the bowls, add in the red food coloring and mix until well blended. Do the same with the blue food coloring in another bowl and leave the third one plain.
- In a bundt pan, grease and lightly flour the inside to prevent sticking.
- Pour one of your cake batters into the pan.
- Take another color and pour it into the pan, right in the middle of the batter below it. Repeat with the last batter too.
- Bake your bundt cake in the oven for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan before flipping onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- In a bowl, whisk toghether the powderd sugar and warm water until smooth. Divide into three bowls and add red coloring to one, blue coloring to another, and leave the third white.
- Scoop each icing into a Ziploc bag and snip a corner. Drizzle each color of icing over the top of the bundt cake. Top with festive sprinkles if desired.
- Serve your cake and enjoy.
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