There are certainly times when I want to make a fancier cake with all of the bells and whistles, but sometimes I just want to whip up a traditional, comforting style of cake. That’s when I make this yellow sheet cake.
One of the best things about this cake is its simplicity. It’s not fussy or fancy — but it is moist and delicious, and the perfect base for nearly any frosting flavor. We all know I am a lazy baker so for something to be good enough to make from scratch… you know it is tasty!
As for the topping, I’m partial to chocolate buttercream frosting — it reminds me of a classic birthday cake. I’ve actually made it for plenty of birthdays, but even when it’s not for a celebration, I’m still half-tempted to put a few candles in it.
Why Make Yellow Sheet Cake From Scratch?
There are plenty of reasons to fall in love with this classic cake.
- Easy – The ingredients are simple and the steps to incorporate them all are straightforward. It isn’t much more work than a box mix.
- Traditional – This traditional cake is easy for everyone to love, no matter what event or celebration you take it to; mother’s day, birthday cake, random Sunday.
- Customizable – While you may not want to change up the recipe itself too much, once it’s baked it’s a perfect blank canvas for your creativity. You can choose any flavor frosting or glaze and you can decorate it as simply or ornately as you like. You can even make it a snack cake with a light powdered sugar dusting.
- Affordable – Many of the ingredients are staples you likely already have in your fridge or pantry. So, you don’t have to drop a lot of dough to make this cake.
Ingredients
This homemade cake doesn’t require a long list of ingredients, mostly pantry staples, and it comes together so quickly.
- Large eggs plus egg yolks – This cake gets its beautiful shade of yellow from the butter but also from the extra egg yolks as well so be sure not to skimp by skipping the extra yolks.
- Buttermilk – Buttermilk adds a touch of tanginess to the cake.
- Vanilla extract – Vanilla balances the ingredients and highlights their flavor.
- Bleached cake flour – While all-purpose flour is great for making dough for breads or pizza crust, or for when you’re baking cookies, its gluten content makes it less ideal for cakes. Instead, use cake flour which has a lower level of gluten that makes for a softer texture in this cake.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar is perfect for baking since it dissolves so quickly when it’s mixed with wet ingredients.
- Baking powder – This leavening agent will help the cake to rise.
- Baking soda – This recipe calls for both baking powder and baking soda so be sure to use both — it affects the way that the cake rises as well as its color.
- Fine sea salt – Just a bit of sea salt helps to balance out all of the flavors. It also enhances the sweetness of the sugar and the tang of the buttermilk.
- Unsalted butter – Since the cake gets its color from the yolks and the butter, be sure to use high quality yellow European butter for the best results. Also be sure to soften (but not melt) the butter prior to mixing the batter.
- Vegetable oil – While butter is one of the fats that is necessary to make this cake, oil is crucial, too. While butter provides some necessary fat, its role in this cake is more involved with imparting buttery flavor while the oil is used to make it more moist.
How To Make Yellow Sheet Cake
Make sure to use the reverse creaming method of adding the wet ingredients and fats to the mixed dry ingredients. This better ensures that the flour mixture is moistened throughout resulting in a moist, delicious cake.
- Wet Ingredients. Add the whole eggs, yolks, buttermilk, and vanilla to the medium mixing bowl. Whisk together the ingredients until combined.
- Dry Ingredients. Add dry ingredients to a separate bowl of a stand mixer. On low speed, mix the ingredients together until they are evenly dispersed.
- Add Fats. Slowly add the butter and oil while continuing to mix. Then, gradually turn the mixer to medium-high speed, incorporating all ingredients completely.
- Mix Well. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to mix. Don’t shy away from mixing for the recommended amount of time — since cake flour is being used instead of all purpose flour, there is little chance of the cake ending up too dense.
- Transfer to Pan. When the cake batter is ready, pour it into a prepared pan sprayed with cooking spray. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to get all of the batter into the cake pan.
- Release Air Bubbles. Gently tap the pan several times to ensure that any air bubbles in the batter are released.
- Bake. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool and Frost. Place the cake on a wire rack to cool. Once the cake cools, frost it or store it — it’s important to make sure the cake is completely cooled to ensure that your frosting doesn’t melt.
Variations
Since baking a perfectly moist cake does require some precision in terms of ingredients and techniques, you probably don’t want to stray too far from this standard recipe. But there are a few things that you can switch up.
- Extracts – If you’re looking for a different flavor, swap out some or all of the vanilla extract for another flavor — almond extract works well. Do be mindful that if you use an extract that has color it will affect the color of the finished cake.
- Applesauce – Applesauce is an option that you can swap in to replace some or all of the oil.
- Simple syrup – To keep your cake from drying out, once it has finished baking you can brush a slight bit of simple syrup over the top. This is a great trick for when you’ve baked a cake a couple days before you intend to serve it — just don’t overdo it.
- Topping – Instead of the classic frosting, you can make a glaze or a whipped cream-based topping. You can even just dust it with powdered sugar for a simple presentation.
- Cupcakes – Instead of a full sheet cake you can make yellow cupcakes.
- Frosting– The easiest way to transform any cake is with the frosting. Give it fall vibes with a Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting, or just a plain cream cheese frosting. Vanilla buttercream frosting is also delicious!
Storage, Make Ahead and Freezing
While you may be able to leave this cake out at room temperature you’ll likely find that it stays fresh for a longer period of time if you refrigerate it. You can also freeze cake, either frosted or unfrosted.
How Far In Advance Can I Bake a Cake?
You can make this cake a day or two ahead of when you’re intending to serve it, however baked goods are more often than not, enjoyed sooner rather than later.
How to Store a Sheet Cake
If you’re storing the entire cake in the refrigerator, just wrap it with aluminum foil or cover it with plastic wrap — it should remain fresh for 4-5 days. You can also store slices in an airtight container.
Cake can be stored covered at room temperture, but will start to dry out faster.
Can I Freeze Cake?
You can freeze individual slices in ziploc bags or wrap the entire cake tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Thaw at room temperture.
If freezing the whole cake, wait to frost it until after defrosted. If storing individual slices, frosting should be fine.
More Easy Cakes and Cupcakes
We love easy dessert recipes, here are a few more simple cakes to add to your recipe box.
Gooey Butter Cake
Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake Recipe
Peach Dump Cake Recipe
Yellow Sheet Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups bleached cake flour
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- Homemade Chocolate Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack to the center of the oven. Spray a 9×13 baking dish liberally and then flour, tapping out excess. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks, buttermilk and vanilla, approximately 1 minute. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt, mixing on low for 30 seconds.
- Add the butter and oil, slowly increasing speed and mixing for about 1 minute. Slowly add the liquid mixture while still blending until no dry spots appear. Stop and scrape down the sides and then beat for an additional 3 minutes on medium speed.
- Pour into the prepared cake pan, tapping several times to release air bubbles.
- Bake for 28-32 minutes or until the cake passes the toothpick test. Cool fully on a wire rack.
Nutrition
The chocolate on top is perfect, thank you for sharing
Love this yellow sheet cake recipe, easy and looks delicious, we love baking cakes and will make this recipe soon. Thanks for sharing 🙂
This simple and delicious yellow sheet cake with chocolate frosting is perfect for those days you need to serve dessert but don’t want to spend hours on it.
This was great! You just can’t beat that classic yellow cake with chocolate frosting, and it was big enough to feed a crowd – we loved it!
This is my new go-to yellow cake recipe! It’s easy to make and works nicely with a variety of frostings – including your chocolate buttercream.