4th of July Cake

4th of July Cake
Dorcas Annette Walker

Here on the mountain we celebrate the 4th of July with a bang. Our town is decorated with flags, there is a Demolition Derby, and we finished off the evening with lots of fireworks bringing out the patriotic spirit in all of us. For one evening feuds and ill will are laid aside as from every hollow and ridge each family unites in observing our nation’s birth. To celebrate the fourth this year, I came up with a quick and easy 4th of July Cake.

My neighbors also celebrate the fourth with lots of noise. When we first moved out here in the woods on a dead end gravel road it was a quiet and ideal place to raise children. Times changed when a rental trailer was moved in at the end of the road. Then the breakup of the neighbor and his wife- with her moving into a trailer beside the house and bringing in fellows, who loved to party- definitely livened up our area, especially when they would start yelling and shooting at her husband. You could hear the bullets hitting his tin roof. Our neighbors beside us finally got tired of having a Wild West show right in front of their house and moved. Each 4th of July my neighbors up and down the road start their fireworks during daylight hours so by the time it gets dark they have run out. Then they grab their guns and proceed to try and outshoot each other keeping up a volley of shots up until way past midnight. Any stranger wandering into the area might think that a war was in progress. My animals and I make sure to stay under cover and keep a low profile each year during my neighbor’s enthusiastic 4th of July celebrations while my flag waves a silent salute from the front porch.

My red, white, and blue 4th of July Cake is a perfect dessert to help celebrate Independence Day with its light moist fruity taste that is sure to be a hit with your family. Instead of one large cake, you could make individual cupcakes. Preparation time for my 4th of July Cake is fifteen minutes (not counting baking time) and this recipe serves at least twelve.

4th of July Cake

1 white cake mix
1 c blueberries
1 c raspberries
1 (8 oz) cool whip

Mix together the cake mix like the directions give. Pour the batter into a greased 10-inch round cake pan. Sprinkle one half of a cup of blueberries and raspberries on the top of the batter. Bake at 350º for 45 minutes until done. Flip up-side-down, cool, and frost with the cool whip. Use the rest of the berries to garnish the top of the cake!

Weekly tip: Insert a toothpick or knife into the center of the cake when baking to test if it is done. When the toothpick or knife comes out clean the cake is finished!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com