Graduation Sheet Cake Buttercream (Printable)

Moist vanilla sheet cake topped with creamy buttercream and vibrant piped roses for special occasions.

# What You Need:

→ For the Sheet Cake

01 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2½ teaspoons baking powder
03 - ½ teaspoon baking soda
04 - ½ teaspoon salt
05 - 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
06 - 2 cups granulated sugar
07 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
08 - 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
09 - 1¼ cups whole milk, room temperature

→ For the Buttercream

10 - 1½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature
11 - 6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
12 - ¼ cup whole milk
13 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
14 - Gel food coloring in assorted colors for roses and leaves

# How to Make:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 12x18-inch sheet cake pan with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
03 - In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, approximately 3-4 minutes.
04 - Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.
05 - Alternately add flour mixture and milk to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.
06 - Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
07 - Cool cake completely in the pan on a wire rack.
08 - Beat butter until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, then milk and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes.
09 - Divide buttercream into separate bowls. Tint portions with gel food coloring for roses (red, pink, yellow) and leaves (green). Leave remaining buttercream white for the base layer.
10 - Spread a thin layer of white buttercream over the cooled cake to create a smooth base.
11 - Fit piping bags with desired tips (petal tip for roses, leaf tip for leaves). Pipe roses and leaves across the cake, focusing on corners or creating a decorative border.
12 - Using a small round piping tip, add a congratulatory message or personalized graduation greeting to the cake.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It feeds a crowd without requiring you to bake multiple smaller cakes, which means less stress and more time enjoying the moment.
  • The buttercream roses are surprisingly learnable once you get the hang of the piping bag, and that first perfect rose tastes as good as it looks.
  • You can make it ahead, decorate it the morning of, and it only gets more stable as it sits in the fridge.
02 -
  • Cooling the cake completely is not optional; a warm cake will cause buttercream to melt and slide right off, and you'll feel defeated before you even start decorating.
  • Gel food coloring changes everything about decorating—liquid coloring will ruin your buttercream consistency, but gel gives you restaurant-quality color without the mess.
  • If your piped roses don't look perfect on the first try, just smooth them back into the frosting and try again; buttercream is forgiving that way.
03 -
  • Room temperature is not a suggestion for the butter, eggs, and milk; it's the difference between silky batter and a broken, grainy mess.
  • If your piping bag keeps tearing or your piping tips keep clogging, fill the bag less full and refill it more often rather than overstuffing it.
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