Star Spangled Cake

An Ina Garten/Food Network recipe with a few minor changes. Enjoy!

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 20

Ingredients

• 18  tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3  cups sugar
• 6  extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1  cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3  cups flour
• 1⁄3 cup cornstarch
• 1  teaspoon kosher salt
• 1  teaspoon baking soda

• For the icing

• 1  lb unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1⁄2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1  lb confectioners' sugar
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• Decorations

•  blueberries
•  raspberries
•  strawberry

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter,flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan. Or, I like to use parchment paper.
3. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.
4. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.
5. For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth.
6. Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and strawberries for the red stripes, and icing for the white stripes, until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.
7. You can serve this cake right in the pan, or, if you want to turn it out onto a board before frosting, use parchment paper when you grease and flour the pan.