40+ Fourth of July Cake Ideas For a Party Finale Better Than Fireworks

Recipe: Sour Cream Flag Cake

This pretty and patriotic dessert is a colorful centerpiece for your summer parties. Decorated to mimic an American flag, the presentation isn't even the most charming thing about this cake. The flavor combination of moist sour cream cake, vanilla frosting, and fresh berries can't be beat.

Recipe: Red, White, and Blue Poke Cake

This summery cake recipe is one of our favorite reasons to use a 9x13 pan. Not your average poke cake, this recipe forgoes the typical gelatin or pudding mix filling in favor of two fillings that take advantage of fresh summer berries.

Recipe: Berry Chantilly Cake

If you're the prized family baker, impress everyone this year with a layered beauty full of fresh berries. Deceptively easy to make, this recipe will be your new secret weapon.

Recipe: Cream Cheese Pound Cake

One of our favorite classic pound cake recipes gets festive for the Fourth with a topping of fresh berries and whipped cream. Baking pound cake with cream cheese will make for rich bites and recipe requests from everyone at the party.

Recipe: Plum-Berry Cornmeal Sheet Cake

Fresh summer produce shines in this easy-to-serve cake. Alongside berries and plums, vanilla cornmeal and freshly whipped cream combine to make a summer treat fit for your party but that's not too sweet.

Recipe: Key Lime Icebox Cake

Icebox cakes are a hallmark of Southern summers, and this one is perfectly refreshing for a hot Fourth of July celebration. Let this recipe wow you for Independence Day, then keep it in your back pocket as a go-to for every summertime occasion.

Recipe: Coca-Cola Cake

This Southern-favorite soft drink is the secret to the smoothest chocolate cake layers. The combination of cocoa and Coca Cola is a match made in heaven in a bite with cream cheese frosting with a touch of salt.

Recipe: Cherry Dump Cake

In a last-minute rush? This simple dessert requires just four ingredients and minimal effort. While we usually encourage ingredient substitutions for extra convenience, canned cherry pie filling cannot compete with the dark, fresh cherries in this cake.

Recipe: Banana Pudding Cheesecake

If your family is accustomed to having banana pudding on the Fourth of July, try this twist. It'll become a new tradition. Plus, what Southerner says "no" to cheesecake?

Recipe: Peach-Raspberry Buckle

If you've never heard of a fruit buckle, prepare to fall in love with this fluffy, crumble-topped cake. An innovative take on a fruit-forward recipe popularized in the 1960s, this dessert is worth the revival.

Recipe: Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Guests will love the beautiful and delicious touch of strawberry swirl when they cut into this moist pound cake. Garnish with fresh whipping cream, strawberries, and a few blueberries.

Recipe: Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

You'll automatically be the favorite family member when the kids see you brought an ice cream sandwich cake. No need for baking, pile this layer cake high with ice cream sandwiches and whatever goodies you like—caramel, sprinkles, fruit, you name it!

Recipe: Peach Icebox Cake

What's better than an easy dessert that serves a crowd and uses fresh summer peaches? One that's also no-bake, like this beauty. Mascarpone whipped cream and graham crackers add to this trifle-style cake's appeal.

Recipe: Sweet Tea Bundt Cake

Just like Southerners love to cook with cola, we've also found plenty of delicious ways to enjoy sweet tea. Infused throughout, tea is steeped into the milk for this recipe's batter, then after baking comes even more delicious sweet tea.

Recipe: Red Velvet Cheesecake

Get festive with a silky red velvet cheesecake for the Fourth. If you thought classic cheesecake couldn't possibly get any better, this summer is the perfect opportunity for us to prove you wrong.

Recipe: Red Velvet Ice-Cream Cake

With a secret ingredient to arm this cake against the July heat, this stunning layer cake will wow everyone at the party. Top with blueberries then cut into the bright red cake and white frosting to show off this dessert's festive color palette.

Recipe: Strawberry Dream Cake

Slice into this crowd-pleasing cake to reveal a row of tantalizing strawberries. This stunning layer cake will cement your spot as the best baker at the party.

Recipe: Blueberry-Cornmeal Cake

This simple, delightful blueberry cake will be delish served with homemade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Add raspberries or strawberries for a patriotic twist.

Recipe: Chocolate-Zucchini Cake

The kids will never know that this indulgent chocolate cake actually has fresh summer veggies in it. Topped with brown butter-pistachio frosting, this savory cake is packed with greens.

Recipe: Strawberry Kuchen

This tender cake showcases the season's fresh strawberry harvest. The German word for cake, kuchens have swept across the South, and our fluffy rendition will put all others to the test.

Recipe: Peach-Bourbon Upside-Down Bundt Cake

Sweet, sticky, and a little boozy, this totally decadent cake has summertime party written all over it. Baked at the bottom of the pan, fresh peaches mix and mingle with butter and brown sugar.

Recipe: Mississippi Mud Cake

There always needs to be an option for chocolate-lovers at the party, and this big-batch sheet cake will satisfy them all. Turn this marshmallow and pecan recipe into cupcakes, too.

Recipe: Petite Blueberry Cheesecakes

These two-bite wonders ensure everyone gets an equal portion. A tasty twists on petits fours, they freeze great so all you have to do on the Fourth is thaw and top, then sit back and relax.

Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake Sheet Cake

This recipe makes strawberry shortcake easily portable for your July 4th cookout. With strawberries incorporated into both the biscuit and the topping, each bite will be tangy, sweet, and crowd-pleasing.

Recipe: Watermelon Cake

Reminiscent of the sliced summertime watermelon from earlier in the day, this red velvet cake is topped with chocolate chip "seeds" to look as sweet as it tastes. If you're having an adults-only gathering, there's an option to make this stunner a boozy dessert.

Recipe: Creamy Peach Icebox Cake

Store-bought pound cakes are the base of this beautiful summer dessert, but no one will ever know. Ice cream and fresh fruit throughout guarantee a refreshing finale to your party menu.

Recipe: Blueberry-Honey Upside Down Cake

This not-too-sweet cornmeal cake is the perfect companion for a jammy blueberry-honey mixture on top. Upon flipping this treat right-side-up, scoop on some vanilla ice cream to complement the fresh berries and local honey.

Recipe: Sunflower Cupcakes

Add even more sunshine to your summer celebration with these adorable cupcakes that the kids will love. Get your piping bags ready because these delightful little cakes don't skimp on the icing.

Recipe: Key Lime Sheet Cake

Would you believe this beautiful, big-batch dessert starts with a box of cake mix? You don't have to let anyone in on the secret, though. 

Recipe: Blueberry-Lemon Cake

Tart and sweet, the fruity flavor combination in this dessert is a must-try. This layer cake will be quite the centerpiece for your food lineup on Independence Day. 

Recipe: Dreamsicle Cupcakes with Lighthouse Ice Cream Cones

Spending the Fourth of July on the coast? There's never been a more appropriate dessert than these too-cute cupcakes.

Recipe: Old-Fashioned Pound Cake

When you're signed up to bring dessert and can't decide what to bake, we've got you covered. You can never go wrong with a classic pound cake topped with homemade whipped cream and fresh summer berries.

Recipe: Peach Cobbler Cake

You won't believe how light and fluffy these cake layers are, and the presentation is truly photo-worthy. Easier to make than it looks, this cakey take on a classic peach cobbler includes a whopping 2 1/2 pounds of fresh peaches to enjoy.

Recipe: Mixed Berry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Individual treats makes the serving so much easier when it's time to serve dessert. For easy celebration preparations, these little cheesecakes hold in the fridge for up to two days.

Recipe: White Chocolate Raspberry Loaf Cake

If there are any leftovers (and that's a big "if"), this pretty loaf cake will be delicious with your coffee the next morning. This recipe calls for raspberries, but feel free to substitute or mix-and-match with strawberries and blueberries for festive coloring underneath a sweet, white glaze.

Recipe: Dr Pepper Texas Sheet Cake

A tasty combination of soda, spices, and chocolate, this recipe is inspired by a dessert trend that took the South by storm in the early 20th century. No one will turn down a slice of Dr Pepper cake.

Recipe: Beet Red Velvet Cupcakes

Using this recipe, vibrant red velvet cake is possible without artificial dyes. Topped with decadent cream cheese frosting, no one at the party will guess that the secret to these moist and festive cupcakes is a vegetable.

Recipe: Strawberry Vanilla Cake

This recipe calls for as many strawberries as we could pack in, resulting in a delightful pink hue. You can prepare the cake layers in advance, wrap them in plastic wrap, and freeze or chill until you're ready to assemble your final product.

Recipe: Key Lime Cupcakes

For a summery dessert that travels well and is full of flavor, try this easy cupcake version of Key lime pie. Crisp and cooling with plenty of lime juice in a convenient hand-held package, these citrus and meringue cupcakes will go fast this Fourth.

Recipe: Strawberry-Lemonade Cake

Well-suited for summer, this recipe showcases fresh berries and everyone's favorite tangy beverage for a hot day. A lemon cake topped with flavorful jam, prepare this cake up to two days before your Fourth of July BBQ.

Recipe: Cheerwine Cherry Cupcakes with Cherry-Swirl Frosting

Made with the sugary-sweet Southern soda, these fluffy cupcakes are inspired by a surge in Cheerwine desserts in the first decade of the 2000s. We refuse to let this carbonated cake trend die, and with one bite of these swirl-topped handhelds, you'll know why.

Recipe: Toffee S'mores Cheesecake

Instead of roasting s'mores by the fire, try this decadent cheesecake this Fourth of July. Who could say no to this indulgent combination of our three favorite desserts: toffee, s'mores, and cheesecake?

Recipe: Pig Pickin' Cake

If you've never heard of this old-school Southern dessert, read up on it here. Full of whipped topping, pineapple, vanilla instant pudding, and pecans, this recipe uses ingredients you probably already have and pays homage to Southern tradition.