I've never had to make a 9 x 13" sheet cake before so bear with me. Do most of you do two layers (bake 2, 9 x13" cakes) and stack? Or do most people just torte one layer?

Thanks for answering this idiotic question!

katie

Not a stupid question at all! Wait til you see the myriad of responses you get. You'll be more confused than ever!

Whether or not to bake 2 9x13's depends on the number of servings you need. You'll have twice as much cake if you stack 2 cakes. Do you need 20 servings? Or 40 servings?

If I'm making the cake for mostly children, I won't torte and fill. There's plenty of icing on the top and sides.

If I'm making the cake for children and adults, I'll torte and fill if the client wants it.

Finally, if it's for all adults, I'll definitely torte and fill.

I follow the same guidelines for a single layer or double layer.

Also depends on what's normal for your area. Around here, if people order a 9x13 sheet cake, then they expect to get a single layer rectangle cake covered in icing. Not layered, not torted.

I don't torte my 9x13 and I never stack them - just doesn't look right to me. I rarely do them anymore though - I always try to encourage a round cake unless the design would work better with a sheet cake.

Here they're always 3 layer stacked

Thanks for your great responses. The cake is just for my family (I would never in a million years make a cake for anyone else because I truly have no idea what I am doing!) so I guess I don't need more than 20 servings. If I just do a 9 x 13 and don't fill it, will it be tall enough? I definitely want to put borders around it and I want to make sure there is space between the top and bottom borders.
Thanks again - you guys are the best!

Katie

It should be fine. A Costco cake is just one layer with some filling in the middle so they aren't much taller. If you need a visual just turn your cake pan upside down. It'll end up fairly close to that if you don't stack another layer on top.

What IndyDebi said