Red White & Blue Zebra Bundt Cake with Cherry Glaze for Memorial Day

by Lora Wiley-Lennartz
There inevitably will be a party or barbecue this weekend so I made this to be armed and ready for an impromptu invite. I’ve been wanting to make a zebra bundt cake for a while and never made one with three colors so this was my personal Memorial Day weekend baking challenge.

 

This jewel of a vintage cookbook was given to me by my mother. There are so many cute old fashioned ideas in it. I looked up a white cake recipe that seemed perfect.

To create the zebra effect I am going to point you over to Naomi’s blog Baker’s Royale. She has a perfect tutorial. She uses two colors in her post but I found adding one more was just as easy. It did not come out so perfectly zebra (due to my sloppiness, not her instructions) but I think it looks festive enough to serve anyway.
The cake recipe itself is quite tasty and the cherry flavor in the icing added a bit of extra flavor.

Red White & Blue Zebra Bundt Cake

 with Cherry Glaze

For the White Cake:

(Adapted from Fluffy White Cake from Betty Crocker’s New Picture Cookbook
McGraw Hill Book Company, New York, 1961 General Mills, Inc.)


Ingredients:

  • 2+1/2 cups AP flour sifted
  • 2+1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup softened butter
  • 1+1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1+1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 egg whites whipped until stiff



Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Grease and flour a bundt pan.
  • Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
  • Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy.
  • Add vanilla extract.
  • Add milk and flour mixture alternating each until mixed throughly.
  • Fold in Egg whites.

Make the zebra cake:

  • Divide the cake batter into three equal portions.
  • Using paste food coloring dye one portion red and another blue.
  • Starting with the red batter, place three tablespoons of batter into the bundt pan.
  • Add three more tablespoons of the white batter directly on top of the red and repeat with the blue.
  • Repeat until all the batter in gone. The batter will spread out so keep adding the tablespoons of batter on top of one another in the same spot.
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester or knife inserted into the cake comes out dry.
  • Let cool completely in pan before removing and place on a wire rack.
For the Cherry Glaze:

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon cherry extract*
  • Red and blue non pareils,  sprinkles or glittered sugar.

Directions:

  • Place parchment or waxed paper until the rack the cake is resting on.
  • Whisk everything together until smooth.
  • Pour the glaze over the cake.
  • Sprinkle the decorations on.
  • Let glaze dry completely before cutting the cake.

*The cherry extract  gave the icing a slight pink tinge so I added white food coloring to lighten it back to white.

 

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13 comments

NYC, Style and a little Cannoli June 25, 2012 - 12:15 am

just love the look of this cake! really quite fabulous but I don't think mine would come out as nicely…..I have issues sometimes with swirl stuff!!

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Nessie June 11, 2012 - 6:31 am

Your cake looks awesome! Swirly and colorful. Lovely! LOVE your vintage cookbook. What a cool present. I always keep an eye out for old school cookbooks at op shops. Such classics! 🙂

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Sue June 8, 2012 - 1:55 am

Are you kidding me?!? Thia cake looks fantastic and so fun! Can't wait to try this technique:)

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Anonymous June 4, 2012 - 6:58 am

Another colorful masterpiece Lora! And timely too–I will have to keep this one in my back-pocket for 4th of July!

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Anonymous June 1, 2012 - 11:48 am

This is great – I live in England and am going to make this for our Street Party this weekend (for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.) Thanks for sharing.

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Anonymous May 30, 2012 - 6:47 am

omigosh!! That is so lovely!! What a great idea! Thanks for sharing this! I only recently learned how to marble but whoaaa!! This is so much fun!! Definitely need to try now. hehe..

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Lauren May 29, 2012 - 10:38 pm

What a cake! It looks fantastic. Oh my goodness. I just adore old editions of the Betty Crocker cookbook. The one at my parents' house is from the early 70s and I have a 1950 edition. They're so much fun.

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Lisa May 29, 2012 - 8:36 am

OMG, Lora..that is one stunning and patriotic cake! The interior is so incredibly cool and perfect. I'm doing this one for the 4th of July!

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Hazel - Chicken in a Cherry Sauce May 28, 2012 - 6:42 pm

Wowee look at all those patterns! I think you've done a wonderful job!

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nina May 28, 2012 - 3:37 am

Wow…what a lovely cake? Love all the colors on them. its beautiful:)

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Joanne May 27, 2012 - 1:05 pm

How mega gorgeous and festive is this cake?!?!? LOVE it!

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Ruby May 26, 2012 - 9:26 pm

How clever and patriotic! Hope you have a great Memorial Day Weekend, although I bet in your heart of hearts this weekend you're really missing the glam & glittery glory that is… Eurovision!!! ;-P

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Paula May 24, 2012 - 6:18 pm

I'm all in for this cake! Love the stripes and a oh my on cherry glaze…delicious. The texture of the cake looks wonderful.

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