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Butter Vanilla Sheet Cake

Homemade Butter Vanilla Sheet Cake with the perfect crumb & topped with a delightful blend of spring colored buttercream frosting! Showstopping cake that is EASY to make- step-by-step instructions & photos included!
Prep Time1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Cooling Time1 hour
Total Time2 hours 45 minutes
Course: Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Butter Vanilla Sheet Cake
Servings: 16
Calories: 676kcal

Equipment

  • 9x13 Cake Pan
  • 6 Frosting Bags
  • Ateco Tip #869 (yellow)
  • Ateco Tip #863 (yellow)
  • Ateco Tip #861 (purple)
  • Ateco Tip #849 (purple)
  • Ateco Tip #860 (pink)
  • Ateco Tip #862 (teal)
  • Mixing Bowls
  • Rubber Spatulas (I used 4, one for each frosting color)
  • Measuring Cups + Spoons

Ingredients

Butter Vanilla Cake Ingredients

  • 3 Cups All Purpose Flour
  • 1 ⅓ Cups Granulated Sugar
  • ¾ Cup Milk
  • Cup Oil
  • 1 Cup Butter room temp, 2 sticks
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
  • 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 2 Teaspoons Salt

Buttercream Frosting Ingredients

  • 5 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 3 Cups Unsalted Butter room temp, 6 sticks
  • 3 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Teaspoons Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Teal Gel Food Dye
  • 1 Teaspoon Yellow Gel Food Dye
  • ½ Teaspoon Bright Pink Gel Food Dye
  • ½ Teaspoon Purple Gel Food Dye

Instructions

Making the Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray the 9x13 cake pan with nonstick spray.
  • Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla, eggs, oil, and milk to the bowl with the butter mixture. Use a hand mixer and beat on medium speed until fully combined.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix well.
  • Combine the butter and flour mixture and beat on medium until no lumps remain and all ingredients are fully combined.
  • Pour into the prepared cake pan, spread evenly, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let fully cool. This can take about an hour.
  • While the cake is cooling, place half the butter for the frosting in a large mixing bowl and use the hand mixture to beat it until smooth. Add the rest of the butter, vanilla, and salt. Mix again until smooth and combined.
  • One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar to the butter mixture and beat until fully incorporated. Once finished, place the frosting in the fridge while your cake cools.
  • Once the cake is ready, separate the frosting into four equal parts, each in their own bowl. Place a different color in each bowl and mix until no white streaks appear. If you need to add a little more color to get the right hue, do so now.

Decorating the Cake

  • Place ¾ of the purple frosting in a frosting bag with tip #849 and make around 6-7 medium rosettes randomly across the surface of the cake. I do this by starting from the outside and working my way in with a circular motion.
  • Place half of the yellow in a frosting bag with tip #869, however, don’t do rosettes like the purple, do dollops. Do this in around 6-7 spots randomly across the cake. Make the dollops by holding the tip straight up and down, squeezing the frosting into a small pile, lightly pressing down, and then squeezing out more frosting into a small pile on top of the first, ending with a light press down and release of the pressure on the frosting.
  • Place the teal frosting in a frosting bag with tip #862 and place small dollops randomly across the cake. A lot of them. Have fun with it. Do this by releasing a bit of frosting and ending with a light press down and release of pressure (stop squeezing the frosting out).
  • Repeat the same exact process as the teal, with the pink frosting, except use its own frosting bag and tip #860. Do even more of the pink than the teal. Revisit the purple and start doing dollops with the same tip instead of rosettes.  Do this all over, where you see fit.
  • Add the rest of the yellow frosting to a frosting bag and use tip #863 and fill in small holes with small dollops. Add the rest of the purple frosting to a frosting bag and use tip #861 and fill in smaller holes with tiny dollops.
  • Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Notes

Once I had all my frosting bags ready, I did each color, then bounced back and forth between the various sizes and colors, filling in holes to finish up. As long as you keep a good spread, you can’t mess it up. It’s just a random coloring process, which is what makes it so easy. Just don’t clump a lot of one color together in big groups, and you’ll do just fine. 
It’s super humid where I live, so I paused about halfway through decorating and placed the cake in the fridge to let the frosting firm back up before continuing. If need be, this is a great way to keep the cake looking perfect at serving time instead of partially melted. If your frosting bags during the decorating process start to get super squishy and the frosting starts acting super soft, go ahead and let it go in the fridge for a few minutes to firm back up. It makes for nicer decorating. However, note that if the frosting is too cold, it won’t come out of the tips.
You can use any combination of colors you prefer. I would just at least use 4 or more colors to really give it that colorful look.

Nutrition

Calories: 676kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 134mg | Sodium: 610mg | Potassium: 123mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 54g | Vitamin A: 1142IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 1mg