Graduation Sheet Cake Buttercream Roses (Printable)

Moist vanilla sheet cake with smooth buttercream and delicate piped roses for festive occasions.

# What You Need:

→ 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

→ Buttercream Frosting

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, assorted colors

# Directions:

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 thoroughly after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract until fully combined.
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 until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean.
07 - Allow cake to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before frosting.
08 - Beat butter until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, then milk and vanilla. 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). Reserve white frosting for the base layer.
10 - Spread a thin layer of white buttercream over the cooled cake to create a smooth foundation.
11 - Fit piping bags with petal tips for roses and leaf tips for foliage. Pipe roses and leaves across the cake, focusing on corners and borders.
12 - Using a small round piping tip, write a congratulatory message or personalized graduation text on the cake.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • One cake feeds a whole graduation party without needing multiple desserts or fussing with complicated techniques.
  • The buttercream roses look like you hired a professional baker, but you'll know they took maybe twenty minutes to pipe.
  • Vanilla cake paired with smooth buttercream hits that perfect balance between elegant and comforting, so nobody's bored after the first bite.
02 -
  • Room temperature ingredients are not a suggestion—they literally change whether your cake comes out tender or dense, so don't skip this step even when you're in a hurry.
  • Gel food coloring is non-negotiable for roses because even one tiny drop of liquid coloring can thin out your buttercream and make it impossible to pipe clean lines.
03 -
  • Invest in a good offset spatula and quality piping tips because these two tools are the difference between struggling through decorating and actually enjoying it.
  • Practice your roses on a separate surface like a plate first if you're nervous, because two minutes of practice makes you so much more confident when you're actually piping on the cake.
Return