Food and Recipes Desserts 22 Patriotic Desserts For Every Star-Spangled Celebration Our easiest red, white, and blue cakes, pies, and icebox treats. By Brennan Long Brennan Long Brennan is the associate director of social media at Southern Living. For the past eight years, she's collaborated with print and digital editors to shape the brand's voice across social platforms. Today Southern Living hosts a passionate audience of millions on Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. Southern Living's editorial guidelines and Josh Miller Josh Miller Josh Miller is a writer, editor, recipe developer, and food stylist who has been writing about Southern food and working in the publishing industry for the past 20 years. His work has appeared in Southern Living, Food & Wine, Cooking Light, Taste of the South, and Southern Cast Iron magazines. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on May 29, 2024 Close Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox During patriotic holidays, we honor the men and women who sacrificially serve, protect, and defend our country by celebrating with friends, family, fireworks, and great food. Cap off your Memorial Day and Fourth of July cookouts with one of these patriotic desserts that feed a crowd. Which festive dessert is for you? 77 Fourth Of July Side Dishes For An All-Star Cookout 01 of 22 Flag Cake Caitlin Bensel, Food Stylist: Torie Cox This sheet cake is a holiday classic and for good reason. Not only is it perfectly thematic, but it's easy to make and uses plenty of in-season summer berries. Get The Recipe 02 of 22 Blueberry Galette Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Ali Ramee, Prop Stylist Heather Chadduck This fruit-filled dessert comes together in a pinch thanks to frozen puff pastry sheets. The puff pastry gets packed with blueberry filling that cooks down as it bakes. Serve with vanilla whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Get the recipe 03 of 22 Strawberry Shortcake Sheet Cake Johnny Autry; Food and Prop Styling: Charlotte L. Autry Enjoy a stress-free 4th of July with our easiest-ever strawberry shortcake recipe. Get a double-dose of strawberries, which are added to both the biscuit base and the topping. After the base is baked, a mascarpone-and-whipped cream mixture is spread on top with a final layer of soft and juicy macerated strawberries. This easy-to-prepare shortcake should be enjoyed the same day it’s made. Get the recipe 04 of 22 Berry Chantilly Cake Photographer: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Melissa Gray Prop Stylist: Heather Chadduck Hillegas Three layers of fluffy cake, creamy frosting, and summer berries add up to a stunning patriotic dessert. Get the recipe 05 of 22 Red, White, And Blue Trifle Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox The secret to this easy peasy trifle? White chocolate instant pudding mix. It creates an effortless creamy filling that's bright white, rather than yellow-colored like vanilla pudding mixes. Get The Recipe 06 of 22 Cheerwine Cherry Cupcakes with Cherry-Swirl Frosting Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner Cherry-flavored soda creates a delectably sweet and airy cupcake. If you can find it, try Cheerwine, the cherry-flavored soda invented in North Carolina in 1917. These cheery cupcakes are piped with pink frosting and a maraschino cherry on top. Get the recipe 07 of 22 Strawberry Shortbread Cookies Greg Dupree; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley For a patriotic twist, sprinkle a combination of freeze-dried blueberries and strawberries over these beautiful iced cookies. Get the recipe 08 of 22 Red, White, and Blue Poke Cake Jennifer Causey There's nothing basic about this poke cake. This special recipe has not one, but two fresh fruit fillings—oh, and a deliciously creamy mascarpone frosting. The fun part of this recipe is poking holes in the cake and then spooning in the blueberry and strawberry fillings alternately to create the red, white, and blue effect. Get the recipe 09 of 22 Berry Upside Down Cake Greg Dupree; Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely No dessert garners more oohs and ahhs than an upside down cake. Serve slices of this beauty topped with a dollops of whipped cream. Get the recipe 10 of 22 Red, White, and Blue Popsicles Jennifer Causey We all remember chasing down this nostalgic popsicle from the ice cream truck. Try your hand at the festive treat at home with this easy and super fresh recipe. Use ice-pop molds to recreate the Bomb Pops and Firecracker treats of our youth but updated with healthier ingredients of fresh blueberries and strawberries. Get the recipe 11 of 22 Watermelon Pie Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Refreshing watermelon is a Fourth of July staple. Who knew you could make a pie out of watermelon? This chilled dessert has a tapioca and fresh watermelon base with a more melt-resistant topping of whipped cream and mascarpone cheese. Get the recipe 12 of 22 Red Velvet Ice-Cream Cake Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Torie Cox Cool off with a slice of ice cream cake, red velvet edition. This layer cake makes an impressive summer centerpiece. To prevent this frozen cake from melting down in the heat, unflavored gelatin added to the frosting will help it stabilize. Get the recipe 13 of 22 Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake Bars Linda Pugliese; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox We declare these cheesecake bars...potluck-perfect! Creating swirls in the cheesecake batter with strawberry and blueberry puree will impress. Make up to two days in advance to save you time before the summer barbecue. Get the recipe 14 of 22 Cherry Pie Bars Greg Dupree Like cherry pie—but better for a party. This is the easiest and most delicious way to make cherry pie portable for the Fourth of July. Not only does this batch feed a crowd, but this recipe can be made up to three days ahead of time. Get the recipe 15 of 22 Strawberry-Lemonade Cake Jen Causey Have you ever seen a happier slice of cake? We think not. Lemon cake layers spread with tangy strawberry-lemonade jam, and dressed with a fresh strawberry frosting pull together our favorite the summer flavors into one pretty, pink cake. Get the recipe 16 of 22 Mixed Berry Cheesecake Cupcakes Photographer: Alison Miksch Food Stylist: Erin Merhar Prop Stylist: Prissy Lee Made-from-scratch cheesecake doesn’t seem so hard when made as cupcakes where there’s no water bath, springform pan, and long chilling time required. These 12 party-perfect portions can be made up to two days ahead of your Fourth of July celebration. For even more flexibility, use whatever berries you choose as your topper. Get the recipe 17 of 22 Berry Tiramisu Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Layers of ladyfingers, creamy mascarpone cheese, and summer berries add up to one showstopping dessert. Get the recipe 18 of 22 Apple-Blackberry Cobbler Photographer: Greg DuPree, Food Stylist: Emily Neighbors Hall Prop Stylist: Audrey Davis Sweet, buttery, and crumbly, these adorable fruit cobblers are perfect for any summer gathering. Get the recipe 19 of 22 Strawberry Cream Cheese Cobbler Greg DuPree; Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn This super-simple dessert performs a delicious magic trick in the oven—the berries sink and the topping rises, yielding a stunning summery treat. Get the recipe 20 of 22 Red, White, & Blue Donut Wands Southern Living Store-bought donut holes make this recipe as easy as one, two, three! After dipping the donut holes in white chocolate, it’s time to have fun decorating with bold red, white, and blue sprinkles and sanding sugars. These turn into held-held treats, with three donut holes per straw, that are sharable and fun to pass out to kids on the go at your Fourth of July party. Get the recipe 21 of 22 Classic Strawberry Shortcake Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Buttery and flaky, these individual strawberry desserts are perfectly portioned for your next cookout. Get the recipe 22 of 22 Strawberry Galette Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist Heather Chadduck So much easier than making a pie, this simple galette would look even more patriotic with a handful of fresh blueberries and blackberries scattered over the top. Get the recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit