Sheet cakes are ideal for volume service because they require little labor to bake, ice, and decorate, and they keep well as long as they are uncut.
For special occasions, sheet cakes are sometimes decorated as a single unit with a design or picture in colored icing, a “Happy Special Occasion” message, and so on. It is more common, however, to ice them for individual service, as in the following procedure.
Procedure: Icing Sheet Cakes
Turn out the cake onto the bottom of another sheet pan or tray, as described . Cool the cake thoroughly.
Trim the edges evenly with a serrated knife.
Brush all crumbs from the cake.
Place a quantity of icing in the center of the cake. With a spatula, push the icing to the edges. Smooth the top with the spatula, giving the entire cake an even layer of icing.
With a long knife or spatula, mark the entire cake off into portions, as in Figure 34.6 , by pressing the back of the knife lightly into the icing. Do not cut the cake.
Using a paper cone or pastry bag fitted with a star tube, pipe a rosette or swirl of icing onto the center of each marked-off portion, or select another decoration, as desired. Whatever decorations you use, keep them simple, and make them the same for every portion. The finished sheet cake will resemble that in Figure 34.7 .
Hold for service. Cut as close as possible to service time to keep the cake from drying.
Figure 34.6 Cake-cutting guides for sheet cakes and round layer cakes. For sheets measuring 13 × 18 in. (33 × 46 cm), simply divide the diagrams for full-sized sheet cakes in half.
6 × 8 = 48 portions
8 × 8 = 64 portions
8 × 12 = 96 portions
8 to 10-inch layers 12 portions
10 to 12-inch layers 16 portions
Figure 34.7 A finished sheet cake marked off into portions and decorated so each portion is identical.
