Sheet cake

Sheet cake
	Iced and decorated American sheet cake for a student graduation
Alternative names	Slab cake
Type	Cake
Course	Dessert
Serving temperature	Cold
	Media: Sheet cake;

A sheet cake or slab cake is a cake baked in a large, flat, rectangular cake pan. Sheet cakes can be grouped into two broad categories.

American sheet cake

American sheet cakes are usually 2 inches (5 cm) deep, although they are sometimes 3 inches (8 cm) deep. These single-layer cakes are frequently frosted, with decorations and ornamental frosting along the borders and the flat top surface.^[1]

They are commonly sold as boxed cake mixes, which can then be baked in the home. They come in a variety of flavors, with chocolate and vanilla being the two most common.^[2] They also often include batter mix-ins, such as sprinkles and chocolate chips. By definition, American sheet cakes they are made from a single continuous piece of cake. Nuts, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, or other toppings can be sprinkled over the top.

To create a layer cake, one can slice through a sheet cake to create layers, then divide each layer with jam or icing, then frost the top.

Purchasing

In the United States, these cakes are commonly available in supermarkets and bakeries and tend to be inexpensive due to their simple manufacturing process.^[3]^[4] There are many brands that sell boxed sheet cake, including Betty Crocker, King Arthur Flour, and Duncan Hines.^[5]

Size

Cake sizes are named after the size of pan that the cake is baked in. A full-size commercial sheet cake pan is 18 by 24 inches (46 cm × 61 cm) or 18 by 26 inches (46 cm × 66 cm) in size.^[6] A half-sheet is half that size, and a quarter-sheet or 9-by-13-inch (23 cm × 33 cm) pan, which usually results in 16 to 24 servings of cake, is one-quarter the size. Sheet cakes, in general, are usually 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) deep.

Gallery

A man cuts into a slab cake.
A large sheet cake, served at a political event
Edible ink printing can produce a photo-like decoration.
Donauwelle, a marble cake with cherries
Chocolate sheet cake topped with nuts
Sheet cake with pineapples and maraschino cherries
Decorated sheet cake, partially cut for serving

German sheet cake

Several kinds of sheet cake are also part of traditional German cuisine. They are typically not iced or decorated for a specific celebration as American sheet cakes are, and may use any kind of dough such as yeast-leavened or sponge.

Examples of German-style sheet cakes (Blechkuchen, pronounced [ˈblɛçˌkuːxn̩]) include Bienenstich, Donauwelle, Butterkuchen and Schmandkuchen [de].