Ganka’s Flag Cake Bars
Ganka’s Flag Cake Bars – A Tribute You Could Eat with Your Hands
I couldn’t say Grandpa when I was little, so I called him Ganka—and it stuck. He passed when I was four or five, but the memories I have are sharp. Sitting in his screenhouse, curled up on his lap, watching the Red Sox on a tiny black-and-white TV. Sneaking a sip of his Miller High Life. Eating Royal Feast potato chips like it was a banquet. They say I’ve got a lot of him in me. And from what I hear, we would’ve been fast friends. This cake isn’t something he made—it’s something we made for him. Every Memorial Day, it showed up on the table. White cake, jam, Cool Whip, berries laid out like a flag. It felt like a salute you could eat with your hands. Still does.
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix (plus ingredients listed on the box)
- ½ cup strawberry or raspberry jam (warmed)
- 1 tub (8 oz) whipped topping, thawed (Cool Whip or homemade)
- ½ pint fresh blueberries
- 1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
Instructions
- Prepare and bake the white cake according to package instructions in a greased 9x13-inch pan. Let it cool completely.
- Once cooled, use a fork or skewer to poke small holes all over the top of the cake. Spoon warm jam over the surface and let it soak in.
- Spread whipped topping evenly over the entire cake.
- Decorate the top like a flag: place blueberries in the top-left corner and use strawberry slices to create red stripes across the rest of the cake.
- Cut into bars and serve cold. No one expects leftovers—but if there are, they’ll be gone by breakfast.
Chef Paddy’s Tip
- Want to go homemade? Make the cake and whipped cream from scratch—but trust me, the boxed version hits just as hard when it’s made with love.
- The warm jam gives it moisture and makes every bite taste like something that matters.
- Make it the night before. Ganka would've appreciated the planning—and probably asked for seconds.
Let’s cook with heart and hustle.
