Celebrate the 4th of July with a patriotic flag cake made from a box mix and strawberry Jello. This poke cake, topped with whipped cream and fresh berries, is such a refreshing dessert and so easy to make!
Like my red white and blue poke cake, this is a semi-homemade recipe. Meaning that, instead of making a homemade cake, you can use a cake mix.
I just love how refreshing this cake really is. It's the perfect dessert for summertime!
Why Make This Recipe?
I think you'll love this 4th of July cake because it's…
- Quick and easy to make – In fact, you can mix it up in just minutes, and it's topped with a simple whipped cream topping.
- Light and fluffy – Because it's a Jello cake made with a cake mix, it's always so soft and fluffy, so it's not a heavy dessert.
- Perfect for summer – Jello cake is so refreshing in the summertime, mainly because it's chilled and filled with all that strawberry Jello goodness.
- Easy to decorate – What easier way to decorate an American flag cake than with fresh blueberries and strawberries? There's hardly any work involved.
- Budget-friendly – You can make this festive dessert for less than $15.
Ingredient Notes
Most of the ingredients you need are simple, and you may even have them already in your pantry. Fresh berries are the only thing you may have trouble finding during certain times of the year.
- Cake mix – You can use any vanilla flavor cake mix, but I really like the flavor that French vanilla adds. You can also use a gluten-free cake mix.
- Whipped cream – While I prefer to use Cool Whip, you can also use Dream Whip or homemade whipped cream. And if you'd rather have frosting, you can top the cake with buttercream frosting or cream cheese frosting.
- Fresh berries – You can substitute fresh raspberries for strawberries. I suppose you could also sub in blackberries for blueberries.
How to Make a Flag Cake
Gather your ingredients, and prep anything that needs prepped. For example, wash and dry the berries.
- Mix together the cake mix, water, canola oil, and eggs, and mix it according to package directions.
- Then pour the cake batter into a greased 9×13 cake pan, and bake according to package directions.
- After baking, allow the cake to cool for about 15 to 20 minutes; and meanwhile, mix the Jello mix with boiling water.
- Then add in cold water, continuing to mix well, 'til the Jello mix is fully dissolved.
- Poke the top of your cake all over with a fork, creating small holes all over the top of the cake.
- Slowly pour the Jello mixture over the entire cake, and allow the cake to finish cooling.
- Using a spatula, spread whipped cream evenly over the entire cake.
- Add 5 or more rows of blueberries to the top left corner of the cake.
- Stem and slice the strawberries length wise; then add rows of strawberries to create the red stripes for your cake. I had enough room to add 4 rows of strawberries to my cake.
When you're done decorating, cover and chill your Fourth of July cake for 3 to 4 hours before serving.
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ's
- Careful when spreading the whipped cream on top of the cake. Some cake mix cakes are so light and fluffy, the top will easily crumble and spread with the whipped cream.
It should keep for 2 to 3 days, but you'll need to cover it and keep it in the refrigerator when not serving.
Yes, you can! You can easily make this dessert just as good with a chocolate cake mix, funfetti cake mix (sprinkles are especially fun for the 4th of July), yellow butter cake, strawberry cake, etc.
If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. And subscribe to my email list too!
Easy Strawberry Jello Flag Cake
Ingredients
- 16.5 ounces vanilla cake mix
- 1 cup water
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1 cup boiling water
- 3 ounces strawberry Jello mix
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 8 ounces whipped cream
- 1 pint blueberries
- 1 1/2 quarts strawberries
Instructions
- Gather ingredients, and prep berries by washing and drying.
- Mix together the cake mix, water, canola oil, and eggs, and mix it according to package directions.
- Then pour the cake batter into a greased 9×13 cake pan, and bake according to package directions.
- After baking, allow the cake to cool for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix the Jello mix with boiling water.
- Then add the cold water, continuing to mix well, 'til the Jello mix is fully dissolved.
- Poke the top of your cake all over with a fork, creating small holes all over the top of the cake.
- Slowly pour the Jello mixture over the entire cake, and allow the cake to finish cooling.
- Using a spatula, spread whipped cream evenly over the entire cake.
- Add 5 or more rows of blueberries to the top left corner of the cake.
- Stem and slice the strawberries length wise; then add rows of strawberries to create the red stripes for your cake. I had enough room to add 4 rows of strawberries to my cake.
- When you're done decorating, cover and chill your Fourth of July cake for 3 to 4 hours before serving.
Hi Sarah,
Do the cut berries bleed on the cake? If so, how do you prevent them from doing so?
I’ve made a poke cake before, but this is the first time I did the flag. Thanks
Thank You for the kind review, Louise!
This is DEFINITELY NOT THE ORIGINAL JELLO RECIPE.I have the ORIGINAL JELLO recipe from the 1990s.The strawberries are all placed wrong on the cake.
Can you make this the night before and leave it in the fridge overnight? Or will the cake get dry/bad? I’ve got a brunch and I don’t really want to wake up at 5am to make it. haha
Hey Sarah, you can definitely make it ahead and put it in the fridge. I actually think it’s a little better the next day.
Awesome. Thanks!