Patriotic Brown Sugar Vanilla Sheet Cake

Day 41

Happy July 4^th to everyone, and tremendous appreciation, admiration, and blessings are being sent to all of those who have served and who presently serve in our armed forces.

Celebrating Independence Day is a perfect reminder of the price that has been paid over the years to preserve and uphold our Constitution and the freedoms therein. Having the opportunity to enjoy picnics and cookouts with family and friends is just one of the many things made possible through such selfless sacrifice.

 Here’s a fun and really quick cake recipe for your next patriotic celebration. It uses a cake mix, so it can’t get any easier. It’s very important to use the Pillsbury cake mix I recommend, as it creates the best texture of all I’ve tried. Using Breakstone sour cream for baking is a recommendation too since it seems to hold-up better than the other brands for some reason.

 Enjoy!

Patriotic Brown Sugar Vanilla Sheet Cake

Ingredients:

8 oz. Breakstone sour cream

½ cup brown sugar (not packed)

1½ sticks butter, softened to room temperature (¾ cup)

4 large eggs

1 box Pillsbury white cake mix (with “pudding in the mix”)

1 tsp. vanilla

seeds of 1 vanilla bean

1- 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1- 16 oz. container Cool Whip or whipped topping of your choice

1 pint strawberries

½ pint blueberries

Directions:

Grease a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixer, use the paddle attachment to mix the butter, sugar, and sour cream until creamy and smooth. Add eggs, one at a time until blended. Add cake mix, vanilla, and vanilla beans. Mix well. Pour into baking pan and bake for 35-40 minutes until knife in center comes out clean.

Immediately, remove from oven and poke holes all over the cake with the butt of a butter knife. Pour one can of sweetened condensed milk on the cake and cover. Refrigerate until completely cooled and most of the sweetened condensed milk is absorbed.

Spread whipped topping over the cake. Slice strawberries in round wheels. Use blueberries to make the “stars” of the flag in the upper left-hand corner of the cake pan. Starting at the very top of the cake, arrange strawberry wheels in a line to represent the stripes of the flag. Continue lines until the white of the whipped topping and the red of the strawberries make a flag design. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.