Okay so I offered to make a sheet cake for my 2daughters kindergarten graduation. I just got back from hobby lobby buying a 12"X18"X2" pan and thought that was a sheet cake... Now I have read through a few post and it sounds like I got the wrong size??

I am so very confused... So should I take my pan back and get a different one??

Also do I need to use a heating core, the pan say it is even heated baking.?

Also last but not least the bigest cake box I seen @ hobby lobby was a 19"X14"X4".

Also I couldn't find any bigger board than one to fit that cake? Should I be going somewhere else to find these things???

TIA,

Maria

Hi Maria

I'm doing the same thing, I'm making my daughter's PRE\\K graduation cake. There are going to be about 60-75 people there as a estimate.
I'm making 2 cakes that are the size that you have. (The 12x18x12)
I'm going to decorate one of the cakes as the one that will be presented in front of everyone and then the other cake is just going to be a plain buttercream white cake with no decorations. So that way, I will have enough cake for everyone.

I don't know much about a heating cord, but I've learned from the posts on here that I use 2 flower nails in the cake and my cakes alwasy come out nice and even.

I've gotton my cake boxes from boxes from Michael's. I don't know the size, of the top of my head, but they fit the 12x18x12 cake perfect. and as far as the board, I use a cutting board to help support my cake. I use the cardboard boards to have my cake one and I put the cutting board in the box. It really was a fluke that it worked out for me. I used to use a cookie sheet and that worked until when I needed it, it was in the oven making cookies, so I grabed the cutting board and have used it ever since.

Some of the memeber may be able to help you better (I'm still learning)
What type of design are you doing for your cake? Let me find the design I'm going to do from my favories and post it for you. The gallery of photo's is so helpful to look at for idea's.
Carissa

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-photo_8520.html

This is the cake that I'm going to make.. Thank you again "thecakegirl" for letting me use your design and telling me how to do it..

The pan you bought is considered a '1/2 sheet' by many. It will serve 54 - each serving a 2x2x2 square.
It does not fit to the board sold as a '1/2 sheet'
You will have to trim the edges of the cake down about 1" (from the long side & short side) so you have room to make a border on it.Another choice for a board is to purchase a couple of full size foamcore boards and glue them together before covering them w/grease-proff paper.
Those can be cut down to what ever size you want if needed. Remember though it will not fit into a cake box unless you use the size you already bought!

Another reason to stop calling them '1/2 sheet' or '1/4 sheet' because there is so much differences out there everyone get confused.

kakeladi - The cake I'm making for my daughter's graduation is the pan taht looks like a open book, do you know if there are different sizes to the pan? I've only found it on the wilton site and it looks small. I want to do it as a 1/2 sheet cake.

thanks so much for your help,
Carissa

Thank you ladies so much for all of your help!!!

carrissa123,
The book pan - is I remember correctly - comes in two sizes - a one-mix and a two-mix.
If you get teh two-mix you can use an 11x15 beneath it to get a two layer cake. But either one you can't use it to make a 12x18 cake.

HOWEVER, you can make two 12x18 and carved them a bit so when 'pushed' together they look like a book.

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner....I've been very busy....
but you got the answer(s) to your ?
Wilton does have two sizes of 'book' pan.
And Yes, you can use sheet cake to look like a book by carving out a 'v' in the center and rounding the edges a bit.

That is a "half sheet pan", although it's really not a half sheet, it's too deep. A true half sheet pan is a half sheet pan. The term come from the hotel industry. A full sheet pan is 13x 36x 1. A half sheet is well half of that 13x 18x 1. I think that's my biggest pet peevs, calling something that it is not. It would be like calling a 10'' cake a 10'' cake, but it was baked in a 9'' pan.. not 10''. You can get reall half sheet pans at sam's club for $ 10.57 for 2 or any restuarant supply store.

If you're concerned it won't be big enough, you could do a double layer. According to Wilton that one feeds 75-98, if memory serves me correctly. I can tell you it's one BIG CAKE. Be sure to double board it or use the foam core though, because it's heavy.