Sheet cake facts for kids
Iced and decorated sheet cake for a student graduation
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| Alternative names | slab cake |
|---|---|
| Type | Cake |
| Course | dessert, on its own |
| Serving temperature | cold |
A sheet cake is a special kind of cake that is baked in a large, flat, rectangular pan. You might also hear it called a slab cake. These cakes are usually made in one single layer. They are often covered with frosting and decorated with fun designs along the edges and on top.
Sheet cakes can come in almost any flavor you can imagine! The most popular flavors are usually chocolate and vanilla. Many people bake them at home using a boxed cake mix. You can also add yummy things like sprinkles or chocolate chips right into the batter. Sometimes, people sprinkle nuts, chocolate chips, or coconut on top of the finished cake.
Contents
What Makes a Sheet Cake Special?
Sheet cakes are known for being one continuous piece of cake. This makes them easy to cut into many servings. Sometimes, a sheet cake can even be cut into pieces, filled with jam or frosting, and then stacked to make a layer cake.
Where Can You Find Sheet Cakes?
In places like the United States, you can easily find sheet cakes in supermarkets and bakeries. They are often not too expensive because they are simple to make. This makes them a great choice for parties and celebrations where you need to feed a lot of people!
Understanding Sheet Cake Sizes
The names for sheet cake sizes come from the sheet pan they are baked in.
- A full-size commercial sheet cake pan is very large, about 18 by 24 or 18 by 26 inches.
- A half-sheet cake is, as you might guess, half that size.
- A quarter-sheet cake is one-fourth the size. A common quarter-sheet pan is 9 by 13 inches. This size usually gives you about 16 to 24 servings of cake.
Images for kids
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A man cuts into a slab cake.
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A large sheet cake, served at an inauguration ceremony.
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NASA space shuttle astronauts enjoy a cake-cutting event in the Space Station Training Facility at JSC
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An International Space Station-themed NASA slab cake for students at Kennedy Space Center
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