Tiny vanilla cakes topped with bright vanilla icing and patriotic sprinkles. These Patriotic Cake Bites are proud to be your favorite All-American treats.

A single patriotic cake bite sitting on the counter.

Patriotic Cake Bite Recipe

These are mini vanilla cake bites, iced and decorated for all of your Patriotic parties. Perfect for Memorial Day or the 4th of July, these will travel well and hang out on a BBQ table like pros. Beyond that, they’re fluffy and tender with the most delightful vanilla cake flavor! The bright white vanilla icing creates the perfect backdrop for the red, white, and blue sprinkles (or any other colors you’d like)!

A pile of vanilla cake pops with american sprinkles.

Ingredients

*You can find instructions and exact quantities in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Salted butter, melted – I like to bake with salted butter. You can sub in unsalted butter if that’s your preference! I recommend adding in an extra pinch of salt to the batter if you make that swap!
Canola oil
Granulated sugar
Eggs, room temperature – You can quickly bring the eggs to room temperature by placing them in a bowl of warm (not hot) water and letting them sit for a few minutes.
Vanilla extract – Don’t skimp on quality vanilla here! This is the primary flavoring of the cake bite so it needs to be good. I recommend my vanilla extract for the yummiest result.
Butter flavor – This gives the cake bite a nice depth of flavor that you’re going to love.
Cake flour – The cake flour really helps these bites be ultra light and fluffy.
All-purpose flour
Baking soda
Baking powder
Salt
Buttermilk, room temperature – The buttermilk acts as a tenderizer in the cake bites! It breaks down the gluten, yielding a super tender crumb.

Vanilla Icing

Milk – Use whatever type of milk you’d like here.
Butter – Again, I used salted butter.
Clear vanilla extract – Clear vanilla keeps the frosting nice and white instead of slightly murky in color. But you can definitely use regular vanilla if needed.
Powdered sugar
White food coloring, if desired – This isn’t necessary, but it will make the frosting really white.
Sprinkles – Customize these cake bites for any occasion by switching up the sprinkle colors you use! For the Patriotic bites, I used red, white, and blue!

Mini vanilla cake bites decorated to be the perfect 4th of July dessert.

How to Make Vanilla Cake Bites

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the salted butter, canola oil and granulated sugar until well combined.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition.
Once mixed in, add the vanilla extract and butter flavor.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and slowly begin to incorporate. Once the dry ingredients are almost all combined with the wet ingredients, slowly pour in the buttermilk and mix until well combined and smooth.
Divide the batter into mini silicone muffin molds, filling each 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for 17-20 minutes or until the cake springs back when tapped or a tooth pick comes out with some moist crumbs on it.
Allow to rest for 5 minutes and then turn the bites out onto the counter. Let them continue to cool while making the icing.
Add the milk and butter to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 45 seconds or until bubbling and hot.
Whisk in the vanilla and powdered sugar. Add more milk to thin, if needed.
Scoop and gently spread the icing onto the top of each cupcake and top with sprinkles.
Allow the icing to set and then serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Pile of cake bites to serve to a crowd for memorial day dessert.

How should I store these cake bites?

Once cooled, store your cake bites in an airtight container on the counter for up to 4 days.

Can I freeze patriotic cake bites?

Yes! You can freeze these cake bites with or without the frosting for up to 3 months! This means you can make these for Memorial Day and save leftovers for the 4th of July with ease. If you’re freezing with the frosting, place all cooled bites onto a cookie sheet. Place the entire cookie sheet into the freezer and ‘flash freeze’ until they start to harden slightly and the frosting is set. Move the cake bites to a ziptop bag or airtight container, with parchment between layers of bites.

Karli’s Kitchen Faves

Here are a few of my favorite kitchen tools that I used to make this recipe!

Kitchenaid Mixer – I really love this thing. It’s not necessary for making good cookies, but I love the size of the bowl and the power. A Hand Mixer is also an excellent option for when you don’t want to mix things by hand.
Offset spatula – I love using an offset spatula to ice the cake pops because it handles so well and makes it so much easier to get the perfect swirl on top without getting extra frosting on the side of your hand.
Spatula – I love these silicone spatulas for scraping down the sides of the mixer.
Microwave safe bowls: I love that these come in an assortment of sizes and hold up well in the microwave!
Silicone Mini Muffin Tin – I love this pan! The silicone makes the cake bites super easy to remove. And the reinforced sides mean the pan won’t collapse on itself when you’re transferring to and from the oven.

Patriotic vanilla cake bites in a pile on the counter.

Patriotic Desserts

Patriotic Cake Bites

Tiny vanilla cakes topped with bright vanilla icing and patriotic sprinkles. These Patriotic Cake Bites are proud to be your favorite All-American treats.

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Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 20

Servings: mini cake bites

Calories: 4529kcal

Ingredients

1/4 cup (56g) salted butter, melted
1/4 cup (60mL) canola oil
1 cup (230g) granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp butter flavor
1 cup (139g) cake flour
1/4 cup (38g) all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup (177mL) buttermilk, room temperature

Vanilla Icing

¼ cup (59mL) milk
10 Tbsp butter
2 tsp clear vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups (375g) powdered sugar
White food coloring, if desired
sprinkles

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the salted butter, canola oil and granulated sugar until well combined.
1/4 cup (56g) salted butter, melted, 1/4 cup (60mL) canola oil, 1 cup (230g) granulated sugar
Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition.
2 eggs, room temperature
Once mixed in, add the vanilla extract and butter flavor.
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp butter flavor
In a separate bowl, whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
1 cup (139g) cake flour, 1/4 cup (38g) all-purpose flour, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and slowly begin to incorporate. Once the dry ingredients are almost all combined with the wet ingredients, slowly pour in the buttermilk and mix until well combined and smooth.
2/3 cup (177mL) buttermilk, room temperature
Divide the batter into mini silicone muffin molds, filling each 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for 17-20 minutes or until the cake springs back when tapped or a tooth pick comes out with some moist crumbs on it.
Allow to rest for 5 minutes and then turn the bites out onto the counter. Let them continue to cool while making the icing.
Add the milk and butter to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 45 seconds or until bubbling and hot.
¼ cup (59mL) milk, 10 Tbsp butter
Whisk in the vanilla and powdered sugar. Add more milk to thin, if needed. If using white food coloring, mix until incorporated.
2 tsp clear vanilla extract, 3 1/2 cups (375g) powdered sugar, White food coloring, if desired
Scoop and gently spread the icing onto the top of each cupcake and top with sprinkles.
sprinkles
Allow the icing to set and then serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.