Stars and Stripes Flag Cake: We “Nailed It!”

My Baking Skills

I’m not much of a baker. When I sign up to bring something to a party, I rarely am the one who says, “I’ll bring dessert!”

I did recently discover how cool it is to make Pineapple Upside Down Cake in my 10″ Buffalo Nickel Lodge cast iron skillet, so I made that for a picnic a few weeks ago.

I am capable of baking, but I lack the patience required to do anything that looks fancy.  Sometimes I try fancy things, and they always taste pretty good but don’t look much like the beautiful recipe I was trying to emulate.

The “Nailed It” Show

A couple of months ago, my husband and I stumbled upon a relatively new show on Netflix, Nailed It!  This show is such a trip. The hosts (especially Nicole Byer) are hilarious, and everyone always seems to have so much fun.

Whether it’s intended to be or not, it is a bit of a spoof on some of the Food Network baking shows.  The contestants aren’t professionals – at least not professional bakers. Once on the show, they are given challenges where they have to make a fancy cake.  It’s quite possibly the funniest thing I’ve seen on TV in a long time.

The results from the contestants actually sometimes look pretty good, and almost always better than what mine would look.

When I was a teenager, my cousin was visiting from Chicago for the 4th of July.  We found a picture of a really beautiful stars and stripes flag cake in one of my mom’s cooking magazines and thought it would be really fun (and pretty) to make.  I believe the recipe we chose was an ice cream cake, though my memory of exactly what it was like escapes me a bit.  I do remember what our end result looked like, and I am lucky enough to have a photo! (Hang tight, I’m saving it for the end.)

Aren’t These Flag Cakes Beautiful?

First, I thought it would be fun for you to see some beautiful stars and stripes flag cakes made by some professional bakers.

• Betty Crocker Flag Cake
• Pillsbury Old Glory Cake
• Kraft Recipes Flag Cake
• Martha Stewart Flag Sheet Cake

Ta-Da: Our Amazing Flag Cake!

Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Here is a photo of the amazing flag cake that my cousin and I made, circa July 1993.

We Nailed It!

If you liked this post, you will enjoy some of my other Holiday posts, too!