I'm a novice cake decorator & have been asked to make a half-sheet cake for an informal bridal shower. Is it ever appropriate to leave the sheet cake in its aluminum pan and serve from it ? or is that tacky? How would you "flip" the cake out and onto a cardboard?
Thanks!

depends on what the bride wants. usually when people order cake, they expect it presented on a cke board,decorated round the side.
no advice on fliping it out, not done that kind of cake, but id go for putting the board (i always cool my cakes on a wire rack though) on top of the pan, and flipping it all as one.
xx

I wouldn't leave the cake in the pan...definitely tacky...
When I take my cakes out of the pan, I level the top if it needs leveling, lay a piece of waxed paper on top, then a cooling rack, and flip. Then I ease off the pan. I cover it loosely while it cools. After it's cooled, you can transfer it to a cake board.

Yes, you should put it on a cardboard. There's nothing pretty about a metal sheet pan at a bridal shower, no matter how informal. lol Plus, you might not get the sheet pan back. JMO

If you're making 12x18 cakes (half sheets), be sure to have at least 2 cooling racks that are AT LEAST 14x20. Lay the rack on top of the cake pan; flip the pan, releasing the cake onto the cake rack. Immediately lay the 2nd cooking rack on the cake and flip it again. This allows the cake to sit on it's "bottom" .... nice and flat ..... during the cooling process.

And yeah .... do NOT leave it in the pan when you deliver it to the shower.

The only exception might be some special cakes, like some Tres Leches recipes, or I had one for a coconut cake soaked in rum syrup -- it was more a trifle than a cake. Or some Tiramisu cakes -- some are pretty soft and fragile.

Since you mention you are a decorator, however, usually, as the others said, you'd want to get that cake out of the pan!

Thanks so much for your kind replies; I'll definitely put it out on cardboards; I appreciate your time today!

My cooling racks aren't that large. Sometimes I put two together to cool - risky if I'm not careful. For large/heavy cakes, when it comes to flipping, a lot of times, I'll use my pampered chef stones - it's a workout but it works. I've even delivered a cake on the board and on a cookie sheet or stone. I put it where it's going to STAY and carefully slide it off the sheet. You might have to get creative sometimes.

clovely, they're not that expensive. It will be a great investment if you're going to do large cakes. Here's some for $15 you can get via Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000VMIV8/?tag=cakecentral-20