This buttery yellow sheet cake is simple and straightforward. Made from basic ingredients, it’s soft, tender, and perfectly moist. Baked in a half sheet pan or quarter sheet pan, this classic birthday cake doesn’t require any special assembly or decoration. Top with my creamy and rich chocolate fudge frosting.
If you’re not making confetti cake, this buttery yellow cake with rich chocolate frosting is the quintessential treat for your birthday candles this year. After plenty of recipe testing, I landed on a simple combination of basic ingredients that yield a tender and flavorful cake crumb.
You know the super moist cakes that stick to your fork? That’s what this is!
This Yellow Sheet Cake Is:
- Simple to make, assemble, and decorate
- Flavorful and moist
- Extra buttery and soft
- Perfect for a half sheet or quarter sheet pan
- Covered in fudge-like chocolate frosting
Best Ingredients to Use for Yellow Sheet Cake & Why
- Cake Flour: Cake flour produces a wonderfully light and cakey crumb. I highly recommend it. If you don’t have cake flour, you can use this DIY cake flour substitute.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: I used to make this cake as written below, but with 1 teaspoon of baking soda. (No baking powder.) In recent years, I began using a particular mix of baking powder and baking soda. This change is in the recipe below. The crumb was instantly lifted and the cake was even fluffier. Note: I use a *touch* extra baking powder here than in my layered yellow cake.
- Salt & Vanilla Extract: Flavor.
- Unsalted Butter: Like vanilla cake, creamed butter and sugar is the base of this yellow sheet cake. There’s simply no other way to achieve the same cakey and soft crumb. (For denser cakes, such as carrot cake, we use oil since we’re looking for a different texture.) Make sure you are using proper room temperature butter.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the cake.
- Eggs: My layered yellow cake uses whole eggs, plus additional egg yolks. In that recipe, I also whip egg whites into peaks before folding into the cake batter. Layer cakes require a little more finesse because you’re stacking cakes on top of one another, squishing them down. I don’t find either addition (more egg yolks and whipped egg whites) necessary here. However, feel free to mix in just the egg yolks where you add the whole eggs in the written recipe below. Then whip the egg whites separately before folding into the batter after you add the milk. I don’t take that extra step here though.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream promises a tender cake crumb. Plain yogurt works as a substitute if needed.
- Whole Milk: Liquid is key in most cakes because it thins out the batter. You can use nondairy or lower fat milks in a pinch, but the cake’s texture isn’t as rich or moist.
I use the same ingredients in my yellow cupcakes, too.
Check out this chocolate fudge frosting! It’s the same frosting I use for my piñata cake. (Another cake that’s perfect for a birthday celebration.) What I love most about this particular frosting is that it’s dense and smooth, not whipped or fluffy like I usually make it.
The recipe yields enough for a thick layer of frosting.
The Many Benefits of Sheet Cakes
I love sheet cakes because they feed a large crowd, bake up fast, and cool pretty quickly. There’s also no assembly required or special decorating techniques needed.
I call sheet cakes the fuss-free cakes.
You can use a 9×13-inch cake pan for a quarter sheet cake or a 12×17-inch sheet pan for a half sheet cake (pictured below). The quarter sheet cake, which is pictured above, is thicker and requires a little longer in the oven. Both bake times are included below. If sheet cakes are your preference too, try this cookies and cream cake, apple cake, zucchini cake, or funfetti sheet cake next!
Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: half sheet serves 25, quarter sheet serves 12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
The ultimate birthday cake is right here! This yellow sheet cake with chocolate fudge frosting is the only yellow cake recipe you’ll ever need.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (266g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream, at room temperature*
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, at room temperature*
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 and 1/2 cups (540g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3/4 cup (62g) natural unsweetened or dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
- 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup*
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- optional: rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Generously grease and lightly flour a 12×17-inch half sheet pan or a 9×13-inch quarter sheet pan. Set aside.
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed for 3 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Turn the mixer down to medium-high speed and beat in the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the sour cream.
- Add 1/2 of the cake flour mixture/dry ingredients and 1/2 of the milk and beat on low speed until combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients and milk and beat on low speed until combined. Do not overmix this batter. The batter will be smooth, velvety, and slightly thick. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl.
- Spread the cake batter into the prepared pan. Smooth it out into a thin, even layer. For a 12×17 inch sheet cake, bake for 20-22 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For a 9×13 inch sheet cake, bake for 36-40 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. With either size, make sure you rotate the cake pan once or twice during bake time.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan placed on a wire rack. As the cake cools, make the frosting.
- Make the frosting: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until pale, smooth, and creamy, about 2 minutes. Using a fine mesh strainer, sift the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa together. Add the sugar/cocoa mixture to the butter, then beat on low speed for 20 seconds. Stop the mixer, then add the milk, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. If the frosting is too thick, beat in an extra splash of milk.
- Frost cooled cake and top with sprinkles. Slice and serve. Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Cake can be made 1 day in advance, covered tightly at room temperature, and then frosted right before serving. Frosting can also be made 1 day ahead of time. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. Bring frosting to room temperature, then beat the frosting on medium speed for a few seconds so it’s creamy again. Adding a splash of milk will help thin the frosting out, if needed. Frosted or unfrosted cake can be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12×17-inch Half Sheet Pan or 9×13-inch Quarter Sheet Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack | Fine Mesh Strainer | Icing Spatula
- Cake Flour: Cake flour produces an extra light cake. I recommend it, especially if making the thicker 9×13 inch cake. If desired, you can use the same amount of all-purpose flour instead. The original recipe was written with all-purpose flour. Or you can try this cake flour substitute.
- Sour Cream: Full-fat sour cream lends the best flavor. You can substitute plain yogurt in a pinch. I suggest a full-fat variety.
- Milk: For a rich and moist cake, I highly recommend whole milk. You can use lower fat or nondairy milk in a pinch, but the cake won’t taste as rich or moist. You can use buttermilk instead, too. I recommend whole milk or even half-and-half in the frosting, but lower fat or nondairy milk works in a pinch.
- Corn Syrup: A little corn syrup makes the frosting uniquely glossy and shiny. You can leave it out if you’d like.
- Yellow Cupcakes: You can use this cake batter to make about 20 cupcakes. I also have a yellow cupcakes recipe that produces the same buttery moist texture and flavor. If using this cake batter, follow the same baking instructions as the yellow cupcakes.
- Yellow Layer Cake: Here is my layered yellow cake recipe.
Hi. The yield for this recipe seems a bit unclear. I just want to clarify that it yields TWO 13 x 9 cakes or one 1/2 sheet? Is this correct? Thank you!
Hi Vera, Either of these pans will yield one cake. The 9×13 will be a thicker cake.
I’d like to make a yellow sheet cake and have buttermilk I need to use up. How can I use it in this recipe? Sub it for sour cream or the milk?
Hi Deb, The best way to use buttermilk in this recipe is to replace BOTH the whole milk and the sour cream – so you will use a total of 1.5 cups of buttermilk. Enjoy!
The cake is moist and, as a coworker said, “dense but in a good way.” I didn’t have cake flour or cornstarch so I used all-purpose flour which probably accounts for the denseness. If I were to make this cake again, I would do the recipe at 1.5 because a single recipe just isn’t enough cake in a 9×13 pan, even if it was made with cake flour. I skipped this frosting recipe for a chocolate sour cream one, which was a huge hit.
hi…my pan is 12 x 18 and i plan to make 2 cakes for a 2 layer cake .. from all the comments it seems need to at least triple the recipe to yield 15-16 cups of batter to divide over the 2 pans? is that correct? about how long would i need to cook each pan? and is it best to use the less butter and cooking oil (what cooking oil do you recommend?) combo? to prevent the cake from sinking? many thanks in advance
Hi Jane, here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes. We recommend sticking with the recipe as written for best results, but let us know what you try!
I just made this cake this afternoon. My husband commented, this is the fluffiest cake!
We loved it! Thanks
Hi Sally and team! How many cups of batter does this yield? I am trying to determine which yellow cake recipe is best for a 10inchx8.5×2 inch pan (it’s a number “2” pan for my son’s 2nd birthday), so that the cake does not become too dense and thick. Thank you for any guidance!
Hi Jenna, this recipe yields about 5 cups of batter. Hope it’s a hit for your son’s birthday!
I followed the recipe exactly. It came out extremely dry.
What might I have done wrong ?
Hi Jackie, I’m sorry this cake came out dry for you! How are you measuring your flour? Be sure to weigh or else spoon & level your flour, so you don’t add too much. Also, you may find it helpful to review these tips on how to prevent dense and dry cakes. Hope this helps for next time!
Hello, i love baking with your recipes! They always come out perfectly. Sometimes it is a challenge finding the correct sized pans here in Germany but other than that all is good.
Now to the question
I am looking for a fudgier frosting for our all time favorite chocolate cake with raspberries. Everyone loves it and want that i bake it for the birthdays.
I came across this frosting…1. question is it really so diffent from the „normal“ chocolate buttercream frosting?
Question 2 Will this frosting be enough to generously frost a 2 or 3 layer 9 inch cake? Thank you very much for your efforts in Advance
Kind regards Greta
Hi Greta, this frosting is more on the dense and smooth side, rather than whipped or fluffy. It’s quite fudgy! A bit of corn syrup also helps to give it a unique glossy shine. For a layer cake, we’d recommend using the frosting ratios for this pinata cake (it uses the same frosting, but in a larger amount). Hope you enjoy it!
I loved this cake but found the frosting to be too buttery tasting. And made the pizza dough which was outstanding!
This is the BEST yellow cake I have ever made and ever had! I made this for my boss’ birthday, and it was a huge hit with my co-workers. Just fabulous.
The cake is lovely; however I was looking for a recipe to fit a half sheet sized cake pan. This made enough for a healthy 9 x 13, but was only half what was needed for the half sheet sized cake pan.
I enjoyed making this cake with the tasty frosting. My family enjoyed it.
But I have to add the nutritional facts, for my foods class project. I don’t suppose you could send them to me?
Hi Jaaden, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
One question: I plan to bake either this cake or the vanilla sheet cake that utilizes the reverse-creaming method. Which recipe more closely resembles the store bought mixes that turn out so tender and nearly melt in the mouth? That’s the recipe I’d prefer trying first. Thank you. Love your recipes!
Hi Pam, both are wonderfully soft and moist, so it really depends whether you are looking for a yellow cake taste or more traditional vanilla cake. Let us know what you try!
Wonderful recipe – I’d love to make a chocolate version of the cake, any suggestions?
Hi Lauren, here is our chocolate cake instead—see recipe Notes for 9×13 instructions!
Everything I’ve made from Sally’s is incredible. I’ve never had volcano cakes to actually come out of the custard cups until I made Sally’s!
That being said, I think I’ll reduce the butter in this recipe next time. Tastes delicious but a bit on the buttery side.
Hi!!
Ok so I want to make this in advance but I don’t want to freeze the cake. How long can I leave it in fridge or or room temperature ?
Hi Rylee, see recipe Notes for our recommended make-ahead instructions. Enjoy!
Hey! I love your recipes and I often swap the flour for my gluten free 1:1 flour. With this being cake flour, I’m curious if I should do a GF all purpose (14 TB + 2 TB) corn starch mix, or 1:1 and corn starch mix or if the 1:1 by itself will be fine. The 1:1 has very low protein and is mostly made of rice flour and potato starch (I’ve used better batter, King Arthur and bobs red mill) so I’m inclined to think a simple 1:1 swap will do. Any suggestions? Thank you!
Hi Courtney, we do not have any experience swapping cake flour with gluten free flour, so we’re unsure of the exact results or any additional tweaks that may be needed. Let us know if you decide to try it!
Hi Sally! Would I be able to cut this recipe in half to feed a smaller group and use a 9×9 or 8×8? Thank you!
Hi Priyanka, here’s everything you need to know about cake pan sizes and conversions—that will help for scaling this one down for your needs. Hope it’s a hit!
Hi Sally, I am obsessed with this recipe. I LOVE IT! Best cake ever. So if I am planning on making a this recipe for 25 people… how can i go about making this into a round cake? Do you have any recommendations? I would use the cake conversion pan page but I think I need more than that to get a right idea of what size pan i can use and how many layers. Please let me know your thoughts! Thanks!
Hi Rylee, for a round cake, we’d use this yellow layer cake recipe instead. Same great taste!
I always love your baking skills and have baked many items but my cake as someone said 9 x 13 Pyrex started to overflow a bit center fell a bit it feels tender made my own cake flour turned cake ??? If taste ok putting whip cream n berries for the fourth hoping for the best!
Thank you! Easiest and best homemade cake I’ve made so far! Everyone loved it and the chocolate fudge frosting! I love all of your recipes that I have tried
Just wanted to thank you again for clarifying the recipe!! Made 2 13×9 cakes. Turned out perfectly. Frosting recipe sufficiently covered both cakes in the pan, not grainy and wonderfully delicious, not overly sweet… and I’m not a frosting girl. Quality cocoa is key. Cakes got rave reviews! Paired well with a homemade Sea Salt Vanilla Ice Cream. Keep Calm and Bake On.
Thank you for your response but… Is the milk added to the other wet ingredients (i.e. butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, sour cream)? It never states that. Cake flour/dry ingredients to me means flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt. Am I understanding this incorrectly?
You’ll have mixed together the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. To that mixture, add in 1/2 of the dry mixture and 1/2 of the milk, and mix that all together until combined. Then add in the rest of the dry ingredients and the rest of the milk, and mix again until combined. Hope this clarifies it for you!
Thank you very much!!! That is much clearer. Maybe I’m the only one who has had this problem but your explanation is far clearer than the recipe. Might be nice to make that alteration for clarity. Was asked to make 2 of these cakes for a friend’s birthday party and don’t have time to make mistakes. Really appreciate your time responding. Take care & happy baking!!!
Happy I could help! Enjoy the cake. 🙂
Hi! I loved your recipes. But this one caused the cake to overflow, it burnt in the center and at the end it collapsed. I’m sure I did something wrong. Can you help me? This never happened to me before.
Hi Angelica, I’m so sorry to hear about your cake disaster! What size pan did you use?
Am I missing something here? I presume I add the milk to the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla mixture? Does milk go in last in the wet ingredient series? Never states that and then only references adding the milk, not milk mixture, to the dry ingredients.
Hi Cat, in step 4 of the recipe, it says: “Add 1/2 of the cake flour mixture/dry ingredients and 1/2 of the milk and beat on low speed until combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients and milk and beat on low speed until combined.” Hope this helps!
I’m not sure what I might have done wrong. I thought I followed the recipe exactly but my cake came out not light and fluffy but very dense. It was almost a strange texture. The frosting was very smooth and tasty, maybe a bit sweet, but I was really disappointed with the cake.
The cake itself is delicious and won rave reviews tonight. I didn’t care for the frosting but I just don’t like powdered sugar frostings, they’re too sweet. However, 2 out of the 4 of us loved the frosting as well.
My grandmother tasted one bite and was in tears. She said it was just like her mother used to make it. My question is that sometimes there are still lumps of butter in my frosting, I’ve tried what I know to do. Any tips?
Hi Kelsey, be sure to use room temperature butter so that it fully incorporates with the other ingredients. And feel free to mix for a bit longer if needed to make sure it’s completely smooth. We’re so glad the cake was a hit!
Hi! Would this recipe be suitable for a layer cake? Also, could layers be baked ahead, wrapped, and frozen?
Hi Lisa, we’d recommend following our recipe for yellow layer cake instead. And yes, here’s everything you need to know about how to freeze cakes!
It looks like the option to comment on the yellow layer cake recipe is gone. Just wanted to say that the middles sank and it’s crumbly. I’ve baked other cakes from this site and it’s my first time with this problem 🙁 I saw that other people had the same same issue and you said you had been testing it with vegetable oil and less butter. Do you happen to remember if using vegetable oil worked better? Thanks!
Hi Cami, we are in the process of re-testing this recipe, but have had success with reducing the butter to 3/4 cup butter (1.5 sticks/170g), + adding 1/2 cup vegetable oil. If you try it, please report back on your results!