A sheet cake or slab cake is a
cake
Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate ...
baked
Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferre ...
in a large, flat, rectangular cake pan. Sheet cakes are usually 2 inches deep, although they are sometimes 3 inches deep. These single-layer cakes are frequently
frosted, with decorations and ornamental frosting along the borders and the flat top surface.
Sheet cakes may be made in any flavor, with
chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec ci ...
and
vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus '' Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla ('' V. planifolia'').
Pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from whic ...
being the two most common. Commonly made in the home with boxed cake mixes, they can come in a variety of additional flavors, with
batter mix-ins such as
sprinkles
Sprinkles are very small pieces of confectionery used as an often colourful decoration or to add texture to desserts such as brownies, cupcakes, doughnuts or ice cream. The tiny candies are produced in a variety of colors and are generally use ...
and chocolate chips. By definition, they are made from a single continuous piece of cake. Ingredients such as
nuts,
chocolate chips
Chocolate chips or chocolate morsels are small chunks of sweetened chocolate, used as an ingredient in a number of desserts (notably chocolate chip cookies and muffins), in trail mix and less commonly in some breakfast foods such as pancakes. ...
, or
coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...
may be sprinkled over the top.
A
layer cake may be made from a sheet cake that has been split, filled with jam or icing, and frosted.
Purchasing
In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, these cakes are commonly available in
supermarket
A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...
s and
bakeries and tend to be inexpensive due to their simple manufacturing process.
Size
Cake sizes are named after the size of pan that the cake is baked in. A full-size commercial sheet cake pan is 18x24 or 18x26 inches in size.
A half-sheet is half that size, and a quarter-sheet or 9x13-inch pan, which usually results in 16 to 24 servings of cake, is one-quarter the size. Sheet cakes, in general, are usually two or three inches deep.
Gallery
File:Richard cuts cake MET athon 2017-05 jeh.jpg, A man cuts into a slab cake.
File:Inaugural cake (15308061113).jpg, A large sheet cake, served at an inauguration ceremony.
File:STS-133 crew cake event.jpg, NASA space shuttle astronauts enjoy a cake-cutting event in the Space Station Training Facility at JSC
File:Space Station slab cake.jpg, An International Space Station-themed NASA slab cake for students at Kennedy Space Center, featuring edible ink printing
See also
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Cake decorating
Cake decorating is the art of decorating a cake for special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, national or religious holidays, or as a promotional item.
It is a form of sugar art that uses materials such as icing, fondant, and other edi ...
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Swiss roll
A Swiss roll, jelly roll (United States), roll cake, cream roll, roulade or Swiss log is a type of rolled sponge cake filled with whipped cream, jam, or icing. The origins of the term are unclear; in spite of the name "Swiss roll", the cake i ...
*
List of desserts
A dessert is typically the sweet course that, after the entrée and main course, concludes a meal in the culture of many countries, particularly Western culture. The course usually consists of sweet foods, but may include other items. The word ...
References
{{dessert-stub
American cakes
British cakes
Canadian desserts
Australian desserts