• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Makes about 3 cups

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 tablespoons heavy cream

¼ cup light corn syrup

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

7 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar

Beat the butter, cream, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy and smooth.

Add about 6½ cups confectioners’ sugar and beat at low speed until smooth.

Add more confectioners’ sugar in ¼-cup increments and beat at medium speed until a smooth, creamy frosting forms (usually about 1 additional cup confectioners’ sugar).

You can also frost the Vanilla Sheet Cake with:

Chocolate Frosting

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

a half recipe of the Chocolate Mousse Frosting

a half recipe of the Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

or a double recipe of Lemon Curd Filling

Devil’s Food Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting

This chocolate classic is paired with a dark, rich frosting. Makes one 17 × 11-inch sheet cake

2/3 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup boiling water

12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) cool unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus additional for greasing the pan

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons cake flour, plus additional for dusting the pan

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1¾ cups sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

½ cup regular or low-fat sour cream (do not use fat-free)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting (recipe follows)

Place the cocoa powder in a small bowl, whisk in the boiling water until smooth, and set aside for 10 minutes.

Position the rack in the center of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 17 × 11-inch baking pan (also known as a half hotel sheet pan). Dust it with flour, making sure it’s evenly coated before shaking out the excess.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the sugar and butter in a large bowl until smooth, creamy, and velvety, about 5 minutes.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition and making sure each has been thoroughly incorporated before adding the next. Beat in the sour cream, vanilla, and cocoa mixture until smooth.

Turn off the beaters, add the flour mixture, and beat at low speed just until moistened, probably less than 1 minute. Scrape down the beaters and remove them.

Use a rubber spatula to turn the batter a few times just to make sure that there are no streaks of undissolved flour. Pour and scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pan; rap it against the counter a couple of times to knock out any air pockets.

Bake until springy to the touch, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes. When cooled, ice with the Chocolate Frosting.

To cool: Set on a wire rack until room temperature, at least 1 hour, before icing.

To store: Do not ice. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days; allow it to sit out at room temperature for 20 minutes before icing.

Chocolate Frosting

18 tablespoons (2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped, melted in the microwave or a double boiler over simmering water, and cooled

1½ tablespoons heavy cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

3½ to 4½ cups confectioners’ sugar

Beat the butter, melted chocolate, cream, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until soft and creamy, about 2 minutes.

Beat in the confectioners’ sugar in ½-cup increments at low speed until a soft, spreadable, and smooth frosting forms. Spread evenly over the top of the cake with an offset or rubber spatula.

You can also frost the Devil’s Food Sheet Cake with:

Vanilla Frosting

Cream Cheese Sour Cream Frosting

Italian Meringue Icing

or Chocolate Whipped Cream

Carrot Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Sour Cream Frosting

We prefer to make this cake in a 13 × 9-inch pan, deeper than a sheet pan. The cake then has a denser texture that stands up to this