Are Slab And Sheet Cakes The Same Thing?

When it comes to celebrating your favorite people or person, baking or buying a cake is a natural choice. This brings up the question: What kind of cake should it be? Sure, you could go with a basic round one, a heart-shaped one, or a rectangular one. All cakes are great, but we have a soft spot for rectangular cakes for a few reasons. Sheet cakes are quite popular, but there is a different style of cake taking over your feeds and local bakery, and that's a slab cake. Slab cakes are everywhere, and it's easy to see why. 

We love slab cakes because they are easy to recreate at home, and they use comparable techniques to sheet cakes. Since they look so similar, you might be asking yourself if they're the same. Spoiler alert: A slab cake and a sheet cake are actually completely different styles of cake.

Don't worry — we're here to help you understand the differences between a slab cake and a sheet cake so you know exactly what to make or order for your next occasion.

A sheet cake is "a large, one-layer, usually frosted cake," according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. If you are making a sheet cake, it is one basic layer, whereas a slab cake is a multi-layered cake. However, it is possible to make a sheet cake using a layer cake recipe.

It is easy to confuse the two because you cannot always see if something has layers or not. The terms sheet cake and slab cakes are also used interchangeably on occasion, which adds to the general confusion.

Sheet cakes have been around longer than slab cakes, however their origin story is a little uncertain. A blog published in The Library of Congress found that this style of cake probably first emerged in Texas, which is why they are often called Texas sheet cakes. Librarian Lynee Olver found a reference to a large chocolate cake cooked in a shallow pan in a 1936 Texan "Galveston Daily News" clipping, plus a few mentions of Texas sheet cake from the 1950s onwards.

If you're looking to make a sheet cake to celebrate your next occasion, might we suggest trying out our spicy but sweet, gochujang Texas sheet cake? But perhaps you'll want to make something more ambitious with another layer, in which case, read on for the lowdown on slab cakes.

A slab cake is a sheet cake with layers. Think of it like a typical layer cake but rectangular as opposed to round. Although they may sound intimidating to make, they are not as scary as they seem. Typically, they only have two layers and stand at just three inches tall.

Cake bakers love to play around with this style of cake because there is much more surface space to decorate compared to a round cake, so you can create entire scenes if you wish. They're also easier to decorate since you don't need tools to spin them around to make sure everything is covered, and the surface is flatter. And they're simpler to divide up for sharing at big occasions, too.

Slab cakes are reminiscent of a classic sheet cake, which contributes to an element of nostalgia that folks are drawn to these days. Also, they're sturdier and so imagine how much easier it will be to transport from one location to the next.

Just don't forget to add something in-between the two layers. We would recommend using our easy strawberry jam recipe, maybe a buttercream with your favorite flavors and textures, or even a ganache. If you're worried about stacking the layers, you can always try cutting the second layer in half for an easier assembly and then covering the gap with your frosting or other topping. Alternatively, you can freeze the layers for easier handling.