15+ Easy Sheet Cake Recipes

April 10, 2020
Photo: Aaron Kirk; Prop Styling: Kashara Johnson; Food Styling: Pam Lolley
That trusted 13- x 9-inch pan is good for more than just brownies and casseroles. Break it in with these easy sheet cake recipes that are perfect for a special occasion. Skip the hassle of a layer cake, and opt for a simple icing or glaze to top off your cake. From red velvet to strawberry to coconut, there's no shortage of options for your next sheet cake.
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Chocolate Fudge Sheet Cake With Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting

Photo: Aaron Kirk; Prop Styling: Kashara Johnson; Food Styling: Pam Lolley
Chocolate Fudge Sheet Cake With Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

The addition of cinnamon adds a kick of “something special” to this rich chocolate sheet cake, but if you prefer, you can reduce the amount or leave the cinnamon out all together; you will simply have a delightful, classic chocolate cake on your hands. Once topped off with a decadent chocolate-cream cheese frosting, this cake is ready to please at virtually any event you bring it to.

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Carrot-Walnut-Coconut Sheet Cake

Photo: Kelsey Hansen; Food Styling: Karen Rankin; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis
Carrot-Walnut-Coconut Sheet Cake Recipe

This moist, delicious carrot cake has traditional ingredients like carrot, pineapple, and walnuts, with the addition of toasted coconut flakes to dress up cream cheese icing.

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Strawberries-and-Cream Sheet Cake

Photo: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham    
Strawberries-and-Cream Sheet Cake Recipe

Trust us: This simple and swoon-worthy sheet cake will be a keeper in your recipe box. File it under "Springtime Crowd-pleaser."

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Derby Cake

Photo: Daniel Agee; Styling: Karen Rankin
Derby Cake Recipe

This decadent chocolate sheet cake is a prime choice for a Kentucky Derby viewing party—or any party, for that matter.

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Buttermilk-Glazed Cherry Sheet Cake

Photo: Alison Miksch; Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns
Buttermilk-Glazed Cherry Sheet Cake Recipe

If you're ready to step up your brunch game, this beautiful cake will definitely do the trick. Serve with lots (and lots) of coffee. 

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Marble Sheet Cake

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine
Marble Sheet Cake Recipe
Swirl chocolate and yellow cake batter together in this marble sheetcake recipe and top with a rich mocha frosting.
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Grapefruit-Pecan Sheet Cake

Photo: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas 
Grapefruit-Pecan Sheet Cake Recipe
Nothing says easy entertaining quite like serving a classic sheet cake. We love this citrus riff on the Southern standy of Grapefruit-Pecan Sheet Cake.

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Better Than Sex Cake

Photo: Beth Branch
Better Than Sex Cake Recipe

Chocolate, caramel, and Heath candy take chocolate cake to a whole new level.

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1-2-3-4 Cake 

Photographer: Gina DeSimone; Prop stylist: Kashara Johnson; Food Stylist: Briana Riddock
1-2-3-4 Cake  Recipe

Time to oust your box cake mix, and embrace your inner baker with this basic yellow cake formula. This recipe will raise your cake-crafting confidence to new heights the first time you try it. As the name suggests, the numbers represent the measurements of the ingredients in the cake. Just remember what number matches with which ingredient, and you can easily memorize this recipe to whip up anytime you please. The buttery yellow cake is moist and has a perfectly dense crumb. Consider the 1-2-3-4 Cake a blank canvas; have fun adding layers of your buttercream frosting, whipped cream with fruit, or your own favorite frosting. One key to keep in mind when making this cake is that you really do need to have your butter softened and, ideally, your eggs at room temperature. Mixing these ingredients in when cold makes them more difficult to incorporate and can yield a “broken” batter. When baking the cake, be sure to use a light baking pan to help prevent over-browning. If you see that the top of your cake is brown, but the center is still wet, make a foil tent over the cake to keep it from getting darker. 

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Texas Sheet Cake

Photo: Julie Bidwell; Styling: Stephanie Hanes 

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Mississippi Mud Cake

Mississippi Mud Cake Recipe
This must be baked in two 9-inch square pans that are at least 2 inches deep.

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Texas Sheet Cake with Fudge Icing

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Kay Clark
Texas Sheet Cake with Fudge Icing Recipe

Somehow, Texas claimed the sheet cake as its own in the mid-20th century, perhaps because of the pecans, an ingredient that grows in abundance throughout the Lone Star State. The defining element is its shape--and, of course, the icing, which has to be heated and poured on the warm, just-out-of-the-oven cake. The result is a rich, chocolaty treat that's iconic in Texas.

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Sheet Pan Cookie Cake

Time Inc. Video Studio
Sheet Pan Cookie Cake Recipe

This homemade cookie cake is so easy to make and way cheaper than buying one already made. The perfect solution for anyone who doesn’t like actual cake, this sheet pan dessert tastes like a big, perfectly chewy-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside chocolate chip cookie. Feel free to get creative with other mix-ins like white chocolate chips or nuts. We found that this cookie cake cut perfectly into 20 sizable pieces, but you could also cut it into smaller bars if using for a bakesale or serving to a larger party. 

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Fresh Strawberry Sheet Cake

Time Inc. Video Studio
Fresh Strawberry Sheet Cake Recipe

This simple, fresh strawberry cake is the perfect springtime dessert. Besides being wonderfully easy to slice and serve for a crowd, sheet cakes (like this pink beauty) are great for entertaining because they require no special cake frosting skills to look impressive. 

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Parsnip Spice Cake with Caramel Icing

photo by Greg DuPree
Parsnip Spice Cake with Caramel Icing Recipe
Your boring sheet cake days are over
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One-Pot Chocolate Cake

TIFS
One-Pot Chocolate Cake Recipe

This delicious chocolate cake from our friend Joy the Baker comes together in one sauce pan, so you can enjoy the rich flavor and whipped topping without the worry of cleaning too many dishes afterwards!

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Fudge Cake

Photo: Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Anna Hampton
Fudge Cake Recipe

When my mother talks about this fudgy dessert, her eyes glaze over. The cake was sold at the Lowry Motor Court restaurant in Greenville, Mississippi. Mama said they displayed it by the register under a glass dome, and each perfectly square slice was neatly wrapped in wax paper.

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Graveyard Cake

Photo: Mark Thomas
Graveyard Cake Recipe

Halloween desserts definitely call for having a little extra fun in the kitchen. This kinda-cute, kinda-creepy Graveyard Cake is easy to make, fun to decorate (so recruit the kids’ help), and is sure to be a perfectly spooky centerpiece for any Halloween dessert table.

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Tahini-Blueberry Sheet Cake With Strawberry Buttercream

Photo: Aaron Kirk; Prop Styling: Kashara Johnson; Food Styling: Pam Lolley
Tahini-Blueberry Sheet Cake With Strawberry Buttercream Recipe

Perfect for a graduation party or summer cookout, this impressive dessert offers the ease and crowd-friendly factor that we associate with a sheet cake, as well as a delightful twist of creativity and surprising vibrancy with the incorporation of tahini and fresh berries. If you have a jar of the trendy sesame seed paste hanging out in your pantry, trust us—it’s high time to go beyond hummus and welcome it into your dessert life. Tahini lends a delicious toasty quality to the tender cake while fresh blueberries dotted throughout the batter balance this nutty depth with their bright, juicy sweetness. A simple strawberry buttercream ties everything together and makes for a low-effort, eye-catching presentation. 

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