ISO Red cake that's not red velvet

[bblonde]

I am already thinking on deserts for 4th of July. I typically make a red, white, and blue trifle, I have made red, white, and blue sundaes in the past (blueberry cheesecake ice cream, strawberry ice cream, and lemon buttermilk ice cream--well received, but lots of work), red white and blue cookie pizza, and red white and blue tarts. And now I wanted to do a red and white cake with berries from Epicurious http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo.... But I'm a little leery of chocolate and lemon flavors (I am reminded of childhood and summertime when the draw of lemonade after oreos was just too strong...NOT the best flavor combination). Is there any way I can get to a brilliant red cake layer without going the red velvet route?

And any other fun cliche 4th dessert ideas are welcome. The only requirement is that they actually taste good.

[Antilope]

Go to Google Images and search for Red Cake. That will give you some great ideas.

[valerie]

Not a cake, but here are some novelty ideas. We host a July 4th party every year and I always make these "chipwiches". Very easy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14526977@N06/3698358717/in/set-72157621101293386/

And last year, I made these marshmallow pops...also easy and if you are having kids at the party, they loved them.

http://www.livinglocurto.com/2011/06/marshmallow-pops/

And the year before that, I made "pretzel sparklers" like these.

http://tistheseasonblog.blogspot.com/...

[eamcd]

I don't have a specific recipe in mind, but I've seen/had both strawberry and cherry cakes that would give you the red -- even if you still decided to "up" the red with a little food color.

I bet you could do something great with pomegranate juice too.

[critter101]

Here is a Martha Stewart Flag Cake that a guest brought to my 4th of July party a few years ago...
http://www.marthastewart.com/318335/f...

[greygarious]

Red food coloring (better paste/gel than liquid) will make any cake batter you choose a vivid red.

Check out sea glass jello. http://www.recipegirl.com/2010/08/05/... I think blue jello tastes awful. I'd use blueberry juice (Trader Joe's) or white grape juice, plus blue food coloring and an envelope of plain gelatin. In general, when I make jello I start with plain gelatin. But sometimes I use a flavored jello packet but instead of 2 cups of water, one cup water and one cup juice, or fruit puree.

[bblonde]

Ok I was thinking that--great!