Red White and Blue Cheesecake Cake
Celebrate summer and the 4th of July with a slice of this Red White and Blue Cheesecake Cake!
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We have an obsession with silverware in our house. Yes, silverware. Now as a food blogger, I have an assortment of unique forks, spoons, knives and other cookware, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. (Plus, I only have one of most of those utensils…not exactly a matching set!) I’m talking about mini-forks. And mini-spoons. And, yes, even mini-knives. We have a full assortment in our kitchen, and we use them daily.
Miniature is all the rage when it comes to food, right? I mean who doesn’t love a miniature taco…or a miniature cheeseburger…or a miniature banana pudding? They’re fun to serve with a crowd, and (more importantly) you get to eat more of ’em since they are miniature! (My sister recently posted a guide to miniature foods, including all of the ones I listed above.) But there is one requirement when it comes to mini-foods. And that’s mini-utensils!
Now we don’t have miniature foods around our house every day. But we do use mini-silverware every.single.day. Morning yogurt + granola? Mini spoon! Buttering a piece of toast or an everything bagel? Mini knife! Eating banana pudding or a slice of cake? Mini fork! There’s just something really fun about using miniature versions of silverware.
Every time we have friends and family stay with us, they comment about our mini utensils. I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve talked about mini forks while eating a slice of cake over the past 5 years. (For the record, these are the mini forks we use, and we love them! We discovered these at a friend’s wedding, and I had to come home and order a set for us. I gave ’em to Laura for her birthday one year. I’m not kidding one bit.)
And you better believe I pulled out those mini forks when it came time to serve up this Red White and Blue Cheesecake Cake. And this cake. Oh, this cake. It’s nothing short of cake perfection! There’s a layer of cheesecake sandwiched between layers of my favorite white cake. (In this case, that white cake is more like red and blue cake…but you get the point.) And then the whole thing is covered with a cream cheese frosting. After all, there’s a layer of cheesecake hiding in the middle of this bad boy, so the cream cheese frosting is a hint of what’s to come once you slice into this one.
I shared this cake with some friends from the curling club, and it was met with high reviews. Although one of my buddies turned to me and said, “Dave, don’t take this the wrong way, but this cake could use more chocolate.” My response: “Umm, there’s no chocolate in this cake.” His response: “Exactly. That’s why it needs more.” For the record, his plate was clean except for a few crumbs. But maybe I’ll play around with a chocolate cheesecake cake sometime? Oh, and I should give Kelsie @ Itsy Bitsy Kitchen a shout-out here. If you like the idea of cheesecake cakes, then check her site out…she’s got quite a few fun creations over there!
As we head into the 4th of July and mid-summer, I highly recommend making this Red White and Blue Cheesecake Cake. I promise it’ll be the star of the party! And for a fun twist, I stuck a sparkler into a slice of this cake for these photos. It’s kinda like using a candle…but way cooler! Of course, the Dad in me reminds you to be careful with those sparklers if kids are around. Cheers, friends, and I hope your summer parties all involve a slice of Red White and Blue Cheesecake Cake!
Red White and Blue Cheesecake Cake
Ingredients
For the Cheesecake
- 16 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 large whole eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1⅓ cups sugar
- 1 large whole egg
- 3 large egg whites
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- red and blue gel paste see note
For the Frosting
- 16 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 3-3½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Cheesecake
- Using a countertop mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until completely smooth (about 3 minutes).
- Add the flour and sugar; mix well. (Tip: Don’t forget to scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl to fully incorporate the sugar.)
- Whisk the eggs and egg yolk together and add to the bowl in 2 additions, mixing fully after each addition.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla. Mix until fully combined. (Tip: Use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure the filling is fully mixed.)
- Grease and flour (or spray with nonstick spray) a 9” springform pan. Line pan with parchment paper and then pour cheesecake batter into pan.
- Wrap the bottom of the springform pan with a piece of aluminum foil and place in a large baking pan. Fill pan with about 1” of water. Bake at 325°F until center of cake is just barely set (~30-35 minutes). (Tip: Pull the cheesecake out of the oven when there is about 1" ring of "looser" filling left in the center of the cake.)
- Remove cake from oven and cool slightly. Wrap entire pan in plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
For the Cake
- Grease and flour (2) 9” round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper; set aside. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Using a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir until well combined; set aside.
- Using a countertop mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (~2-3 minutes on medium speed). Add the egg and egg whites; mix on low speed until well combined.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the bowl; mix on low speed until well combined.
- Add the milk, sour cream, vanilla extract and almond extract; mix on low speed until well combined. Add the remaining flour mixture; mix on low speed until well combined. (Tip: Don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are fully mixed.)
- Divide the batter evenly into 2 bowls. Add enough red gel paste to one bowl, stirring often, until batter is bright red. Repeat using blue gel paste in other bowl.
- Transfer batters into 2 prepared cake pans.
- Bake at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let cakes cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack until completely cool.
For the Frosting
- Using a countertop mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese and butter until fully combined.
- Add vanilla extract and 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time until frosting reaches desired sweetness.
- Beat frosting on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes, or until fluffy.
To Assemble Cheesecake Cake
- Place the blue layer of cake on a large plate. Spread ½ cup of frosting evenly on top of cake.
- Remove the cheesecake from the freezer and place on top of blue layer. Spread ½ cup of frosting on top of cheesecake layer.
- Finally, place red layer of cake on top. Frost the top and sides of the cake using the remaining frosting.
- {Optional} Decorate top of cake with red, white and blue sprinkles.
- Refrigerate cake until ready to serve.
Notes
Awww thanks for the shoutout! I’m in love with this cake–if it doesn’t get you excited for summer, nothing will! I’ll take one extra-large slice, please 🙂 Have a great weekend, David!
Hey, I think you create the most amazing cheesecake cakes, Kelsie…that shout-out was a no-brainer! And I do seem to recall you posting a similar cake for the 4th last year, too. How about we get together for the holiday. You make your 4th cake. I’ll make this 4th cake. And then we’ll stack ’em on top of each other. Epic cake adventure? 🙂
Oh I’ve never tried a cheesecake laid between a sponge cake (but for the record, I’d have preferred two cheesecake layers instead…just saying…in case you’ll send me a sample one day…but also, although I respect miniature foods, please keep shipping me regular ones). But the textures must be working perfectly. And this is certainly a very cool to celebrate Jul 4th!
Haha! You know, I like your idea of 2 cheesecake layers and 1 traditional cake layer…sounds delicious. But would that be too much cheesecake? Is that even possible? I think we need to find out! 🙂 We can just leave the blue layer out of yours to keep it in line with Canadian colors, too!
You’re cracking me up with your mini silverware! I had a roommate once who ate ice cream with a melon scoop – loved to eat the teeny tiny scoops. 😉
This is one patriotic cheesecake, David! It would be a hit at any 4th of July get-together!
Dude, mini silverware is where it’s at, Marissa! I know it might sound crazy, but we really do get so many comments about those mini-forks. They’re perfect for serving up cake…and it makes eating take a little longer since the forks are small! Thanks so much, my friend!
That’s a delicious looking patriotic cake David. I am in charge of decorating 7 cakes for our 4th of July park celebration.
7 cakes!? Holy cow, that’s a big celebration. I highly recommend this method of just pressing red, white and blue sprinkles into the top of one of the cakes. It’s festive and fun. And the sparkler is fun…although probably not recommended if little kids are going to be reaching up for cake! Good luck with that celebration, Gerlinde…I can’t wait to hear how it turns out!
Well this would certainly be fun for July 4th! I know nothing about mini utensils, so I’m definitely going to look into them!!!
You should totally look into mini utensils, Mimi! Start with the mini-forks…I love the ones I linked in the post as they have some weight to ’em. It might seem silly at first, but we seriously love those mini forks now! I made muffins over the weekend, and Laura totally ate hers like a slice of cake…with one of those mini forks! 🙂
I love the cake and cheesecake combo. The red, white, and blue perfect for the 4th of July. I not sure if I have seen mini utensils, sound like they are fun.
Cake + cheesecake is really one heck of a fun dessert, Dawn! And the mini-forks? Awesome! I know it might sound silly at first, but we’ve come to absolutely love our mini-forks for all things dessert. Give ’em a shot! 🙂
Love your tricolori cheesecake David 🙂 Thank you !
Thank you so much! I had just as much fun making this cake as I did eating it…the colors are just so festive! 🙂
Perfect for 4th of July! I’m making this for sure! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much, Karly! We made this cake a bit early (I’m sure you know how that goes), so I think it’s time to make another one for the 4th! 🙂
What a fun & festive cake! Ha, I had to laugh at your mention of excessive silverware, because I feel like I have so many random things in my kitchen for food photography purposes… especially random plates & bowls!
Hah! The life of a food blogger, right, Nicole? I’ve got so many random plates. In fact, a couple of months ago, I had to go through and donate a bunch to Goodwill. I needed more space…you know, to fill up with more random plates and bowls. 🙂
I tend to stay away from cakes because I am thoroughly a pie girl but this looks so beautiful!
I’m laughing about all the utensils you mentioned. We have scores of them and I have some stashed away that we don’t even use. I find a lot of really great, unique looking utensils at tag sales and thrift shops. For some reason this creeps my husband out even though I scrub them thoroughly and often recondition them (ie polish).
Why thank you so much! Hmmm…pies vs. cakes? That’s a tough question. I like ’em both so much. I guess it depends on my mood and the season for me. I totally know what you mean about tag sales and thrift shops…I’ve found some great stuff there! But I tend to only buy one because that’s all I need in a photo. So it leaves me with a whole mishmash of random stuff, but that’s ok! Thanks so much for stopping by!