Introduction As a cookbook author, recipe developer, and instructor, I've spent my career streamlining, demystifying, and modernizing baking for home bakers of all experience levels. My goal is always to guide you through each recipe, offering all the instructions, tips, and techniques you’ll need for baking with confidence and success.
Sheet Cake exemplifies and highlights this philosophy. Within its pages you’ll discover that one half-sheet pan—the same one you already own and use for shortcut dinners—is the only pan you need to create fun and festive cakes that are surprisingly easy to make. No matter which cake style you choose—classic, stacked, or rolled—it will bake in a fraction of the time that traditional cake layers take, it will cool even faster, and it can be ready to serve, in many cases, in under an hour. I’ve laid out fifty cakes, teamed with soaks (sometimes optional), frostings, and, when applicable, fillings, along with some tasty accompaniments that add to the cake’s already great flavors. With so many fillings and frostings, soaks and sauces, the mix-and-match options are practically endless. Experiment and have some fun creating new cake combos.
The goal of these cake recipes is not to create something perfect. It doesn’t matter a lick if your finished cake looks like mine, or if the roll is cracked or the stacked cake is lopsided, or if the frosting is speckled with cake crumbs. What you baked with care will still taste delicious and will tickle the taste buds of your family and friends.
I am always here to help, so if you have questions or need some baking encouragement, please visit me at www.abbydodge.com and “Ask Abby.” I can’t wait to hear from you!
Copyright © 2021 by Abigail Johnson Dodge. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
