Sheet cakes may not be as fancy looking as layered cakes, angel food cakes or Bundt cakes, but they’re easy to prepare. Sheet cakes are commonly baked in a 13x9x2-inch baking pan, and the cake is cut into squares to serve. Never mind about baking layers, worrying whether cakes will come out of fancy pans intact or how to ice multiple layers.

In "Layer Cakes and Sheet Cakes” ( Harper Collins , 1996), au...