Patriotic Mini Star Cakes

"Oh, say can you see..." 

These red, white and blue Mini Star Cakes make me feel all patriotic.
I made them with vanilla cake, whipped cream,
fresh berries and strawberry sauce.

They would be a fun treat for your Memorial Day BBQ
or Fourth of July celebration!

Making Mini Star Cakes

Prepare your favorite vanilla cake batter. Divide the batter equally into 3 bowls. Use food coloring to make one bowl of batter red and one blue. Bake as directed and cool. (I baked mine in 8 inch square pans.) While the cake is baking, make your whipped cream and strawberry sauce.

Whipped Cream

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla
• 4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

In a large bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Beat in vanilla and sugar until stiff peaks form. (Do not over-beat, cream will become lumpy and butter-like.)  Store in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Sauce

• 2 cups pureed strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice

Level your cake tops if needed.

Use a star cookie cutter to make star shapes from each cake layer.

  

Remove the cake scraps around the outside of the stars.

(I'll show you what to make with these later!)

Use a spatula to transfer a red star to a plate.

 Put your whipped cream in a decorating bag, and snip off the tip.

Cover the star with whipped cream: Make an outline, then fill it in.

 Arrange sliced strawberries on top. 

 Layer with a white cake star. Cover with whipped cream and blueberries.

 

Layer with a blue cake star. Cover with whipped cream and strawberry sauce
(let it drip down the sides). Garnish with strawberries and blueberries.

Now let's make something with those cake scraps...

Mini Trifles!

Cut the cake scraps into cubes.

Layer all ingredients in a glass or mason jar, in the same order as above.

 

If you aren't a fan of whipped cream and fruit on your cake, you could put frosting between the cake layers instead and sprinkles on the top.

 

 Enjoy!