An American Flag Cake on the TODAY Show
I wish you all a pleasant and safe Fourth of July holiday.
I hope you caught my segment on the TODAY Show last week. I shared a few photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. I made my rendition of a beautiful and festive American flag cake with 13 stripes for the original 13 colonies, and 50 stars for each of our 50 states.
Here are some photos along with a few from past Independence Day celebrations, enjoy. And, please watch the entire TODAY Show segment - to see it, just click on this highlighted link.
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- I hope you celebrate this July Fourth Independence Day and remember its significance – a day set aside every year to commemorate the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America.
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- Here I am with TODAY Show host, Carson Daly. First, I showed him and the audience how to put together an inexpensive frame tray for the cake. For big cakes, one can make a tray to fit by using a picture frame, available at any craft store.
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- I embellished the frame with patriotic ribbon trims and small wooden blocks for the tray feet.
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- And here is a behind the scenes look at me piping the wavy American Flag cake with buttercream.
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- This double white sheet cake is decorated with 13 stripes and 50 stars. I used two to three pints each of red raspberries and blueberries. I also used three batches of Swiss Meringue Buttercream, which makes about five cups. All the recipes are on MarthaStewart.com
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- For the table, I used patriotic place settings and lots of American flags.
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- Each host was served a delicious piece of cake – just big enough to satisfy that sweet craving. My American Flag cake serves 24 guests.
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- Use red, white, and blue ribbon as a simple napkin holder.
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- Hosts Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker sat at the nearby tasting table. All the hosts loved the cake.
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- It was the perfect morning to shoot on the Plaza. To watch the entire segment, click on the highlighted link.
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- Over the years, I have attended many of the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks shows in New York City. This year, the show is back over the Hudson River on the West Side of Manhattan. These next three images are from some of the light shows of years past.
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- I took this one in 2012 from the rooftop terrace of our former Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia office headquarters at the historic Starrett Lehigh Building.
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- And this one on July 4th 2011. Do you know… in early July of 1776, after the Continental Congress voted for independence from Great Britain, it was John Adams, who was a leader of the American Revolution, and later served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801, who helped inspire the July Fourth Fireworks tradition? He wrote a letter to his wife, Abigail, saying “future celebrations for this momentous occasion should include ‘illuminations,’ or fireworks… from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward and forever more.” The following year, one of the first organized July Fourth celebrations was held in Philadelphia and included a fireworks display.
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- From my Skylands home in Maine…
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- … to my Bedford, New York farm – Happy July Fourth. May we all celebrate America, its beautiful flag, and our country’s freedom. (Photo by Marcus Nilsson)
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