Flag Cake for Flag Day

While the Stars and Stripes have been around since 1776, the holiday celebrating the flag is a much more recent event. The idea was first floated by BJ Cigrand in 1885 when he told his school class that they were going to observe the birthday of the flag on June 14th since that's when the Stars and Stripes were officially adopted by the United States. Over the next few years, Cigrand continued to advocate the observance of June 14th as the Flag's birthday.

More and more people picked up Cigrand's flag waving until 1894 when more than 300,000 children throughout Chicago's public schools participated in a variety of flag celebrations. As more and more schools celebrated the day with songs and speeches, adults got involved as well. The special day became such a patriotic spectacle that President Truman finally signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

So to celebrate, hang a flag (union at the peak, please) and have a slice of this super easy-to-make flag cake. It'll make you wanna stand up salute that beautiful red, white, and blue.

Flag Cake

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) pound cake, sliced
• 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1-1/2 cups blueberries, divided
• 1-1/2 cups raspberries

Directions

1. Line the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with sliced pound cake. Cover with strawberries and 1 cup of blueberries.
2. Beat cream in a stand mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form, about five minutes. While mixer continues to run, gradually add sugar to cream until well combined, about one minute. Spread whipped cream over berries.
3. Fill the upper left corner with the rest of the blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Leave an inch of white and make 2 more red stripes with the rest of the raspberries, so the cake resembles the American Flag. Serve.