Vanilla Graduation Sheet Cake (Printable)

Fluffy vanilla sheet topped with creamy buttercream and festive decorations for celebrations.

# What You Need:

→ For the Cake

01 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2½ teaspoons baking powder
03 - ½ teaspoon baking soda
04 - ½ teaspoon salt
05 - 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
06 - 2 cups granulated sugar
07 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
08 - 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
09 - 1½ cups whole milk, room temperature

→ For the Vanilla Buttercream

10 - 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
11 - 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
12 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
13 - ¼ cup whole milk, room temperature
14 - Pinch of salt

→ For Decoration

15 - Graduation-themed sprinkles or edible decorations
16 - Gel food coloring, optional for school colors

# Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 12x18-inch sheet pan with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
03 - In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
04 - Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.
05 - Add half the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix on low speed. Pour in half the milk and mix gently. Repeat with remaining dry ingredients and milk, mixing until just combined.
06 - Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
07 - Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
08 - Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
09 - Beat butter until creamy, approximately 2 minutes. Gradually add powdered sugar, mixing on low speed. Add vanilla, milk, and salt. Beat on high for 2 to 3 minutes until fluffy. Incorporate food coloring if desired.
10 - Spread buttercream evenly over the cooled cake. Decorate with graduation-themed sprinkles or edible decorations.
11 - Cut cake into individual portions and serve.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It feeds a crowd without requiring you to fuss over individual layers or complicated decorating techniques.
  • The crumb is genuinely tender—not dry or dense—which honestly surprised me the first time I nailed the milk-to-flour ratio.
  • You can frost it an hour before serving, which means one less thing to stress about during the party itself.
02 -
  • The biggest mistake I made early on was adding room-temperature ingredients to cold ones—the batter separated and the cake came out with a strange texture that no amount of frosting could fix, so trust me on this one.
  • Overmixing the batter after you've added the dry ingredients will turn your tender vanilla cake into something closer to a rubber sponge, so mix just until combined and resist the urge to beat it into submission.
03 -
  • For extra flavor depth, add ½ tsp almond extract to the batter—it amplifies the vanilla without tasting like almonds.
  • If your kitchen is cold, set the mixing bowl over warm water for 30 seconds before beating butter and sugar to help them cream faster and incorporate more air.
Return