Things You'll Need:
- Oblong cake pan or jellyroll pan
- Cooking spray or shortening and flour
- Mixer
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup shortening
- 4 tbs. cocoa
- 1 stick oleo
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp. soda
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 eggs
- Mixing bowl
- Saucepan
- Spoon
- Ready-to-spread frosting
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Step 1
Choose the type of sheet cake you want to make. If you use an oblong pan, your cake is going to be thicker than if you use a jellyroll pan.
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Step 2
Prepare the pan. Spray the bottom and sides lightly with cooking spray, or cover the bottom and sides with shortening, then sprinkle some flour in the pan and shake it around until the flour coats the bottom. Dump out any excess flour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
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Step 3
Place the flour and sugar in a large bowl. Mix the shortening, cocoa, oleo and water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Pour this liquid mixture over the flour. Add the cinnamon, buttermilk, soda, vanilla and eggs to the ingredients in the mixing bowl.
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Step 4
Mix the cake ingredients thoroughly with the mixer. Mix the cake at least 2 minutes to get a light and fluffy cake. Pour the cake batter into the pan.
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Step 5
Bake the cake 30 minutes. Make sure the jellyroll pan doesn't warp if you are using that kind of pan. If it does, turn the pan halfway through baking to make sure the sheet cake remains level in the pan.
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Step 6
Test the cake for doneness. Press your finger lightly in the center of the cake. If the cake springs back, it is ready to come out of the oven. Or you can insert a toothpick in the cake: If it comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven. Let the cake cool.
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Step 7
Frost the cake with the ready-to-spread frosting when the cake is completely cool. If you are using a chocolate frosting, remove the foil covering on the frosting container and microwave for 40 seconds. Stir it. When it is thin, pour it over the cake. If it's not thin enough, microwave it another 10 seconds. Continue to decorate the cake with other decorations if you wish.
