What Is A Half Sheet Cake? (Size, Serving, Benefits)

Cake, cake, and more cake! There are so many different kinds of desserts out there, from brownies and cookies and ice cream to fancier ones like creme brulee eclairs and crepes, but we are focusing on the dessert called cake this time around. Cake is definitely popular in the dessert section of food mostly because of its sponginess and soft texture.

There are so many different ways that cakes are made these days, from huge wedding cakes with intricate designs, to ice cream cakes, and even full and half sheet cakes. They have so many flavors to choose from as well, honestly, anything you can think of, it’s most likely already is or can be a cake flavor/

So, you should know by reading the title, that this particular article is about amazing half-sheet cakes. These cakes are usually a popular choice for parties and events. They can come in a large variety of flavors, like any other cake. This article will cover what a half-sheet cake is, the sizes, how many it can feed, and a lot of other questions, so keep reading!

What Is Half Sheet?

So, what exactly is a half-sheet cake? Well, the name in itself will tell you exactly what it is. It is simply half of a full sheet cake. You can make them with half-sheet cake pans, or do it the easier way and cut a full-sheet cake in half and get two half-sheet cakes. You can always use icing to cover where you cut!

A half sheet cake is a rectangular cake that is usually served for gatherings, or a party, or weddings. It can be either a single layer or a double layer of frosting. It can also come in single, double, or multi-layers as well. There are many things you can do with half-sheet cakes, it is amazing!

Since these half-sheet cakes are half of a full one, what does a full-sheet cake look like? These cakes are large rectangular cakes. Both full and half-sheet cakes can come with many decorations and flavors, as well as icing choices.

Sizes

Can a half-sheet cake come in different sizes? Are they only one size? Half sheets can come in a variety of sizes. This is possible because of the variety of half-sheet cake pans that are available.

These sizes for the half-sheet cakes can be 18” x 13”, 12” x 18”, and 12” x 16”. There are different serving sizes per pan size, but that’s going to be covered in the “Servings” section.

There are also other sizes of sheet cakes come in. Full sheet cakes which are the biggest size (unless you put multiple layers on them), quarter sheet, as well as the smallest and probably easiest one to make, the ⅛ sheet cake.

Benefits

There are many different benefits to buying a half-sheet cake. Some of those benefits may just be enough to spend that money on one of these. Let’s get into it!

For one they are perfect for a group of people celebrating something like a baby shower, birthday, or just a gathering. With a half-sheet cake, you can cut it into small square pieces, with the piece size depending on how many are there.

Another really great benefit is the flat top they have. This allows you to decorate your cake the way you want, or pay a baker to put them on for you. That all depends on what you prefer. But there is always room for decorations as well!

The last benefit we are talking about is the fact that you can put whatever icing you want on it. This is a benefit a lot of cakes share in general, but it really is still worth mentioning. Icing definitely brings a cake to its sweet, creamy perfection. It makes sure that there isn’t just cake in your mouth and that there is even more flavor.

Servings

We now have gone over the benefits of a half sheet cake, and what it is. So, one of the pieces of information that’s pretty important to know is how many servings are known to be in a half-sheet cake.

Throughout the research for this answer, I saw many different answers varying from 20 to 108 servings. I thought that was a little high, so with a little more research, I found the average estimated serving number a half-sheet cake has.

The average amount of servings is 18 to 40 servings if the half sheet cake is a single layer, it can be more slices however if it is a multi-layered cake. Let’s just look at how many servings a multilayered half-sheet cake has to it. It turns out the 108 I mentioned before is about the average for a multi-layered cake of this specific type.

How Much Does A 1/2 Sheet Cake Feed?

Since this kind of cake is sought after for birthdays, gatherings, meetings, and baby showers we can expect a half-sheet cake to feed at least a decent amount of people. The average pan size for a half-sheet cake is an 11 by 15 inch pan. This size pan can serve 18 to 40 people.

Now if you have a half-sheet cake pan measuring 11 by 15 inches like stated above, 25 to 40 people if you cut small-ish pieces. This is for a single-layer half-sheet cake. If you were going for a two-layered one, that can serve up to 54 party-size servings.

Since this type of cake can still feed so many people even though it isn’t a full-sized sheet cake, it is why this is chosen for office parties, baby showers, and any other gathering you can think of. Although, if you have anything close to 100 people, you would definitely want a full-sized one.

How Many People Does A Full Sheet Cake Serve?

Since full sheet cakes are the big version of a half sheet cake, why don’t we learn a little about them? They are fully rectangular cakes, big enough to serve a huge party or event with many people attending.

An average full sheet pan is 18 by 24 inches, which can usually feed around 48 to 96 people. This also depends on the size of the pan you use, which always determines how many people can be fed by it.

Full sheet cakes make amazing event cakes for charity events, weddings, or big company celebrations. Just like a half-sheet cake, a full one can be decorated in any custom style, icing is super easy to use on the top, and it makes people happy to eat it.

Buying a full sheet cake for a huge event is definitely an amazing way to make sure you have enough cake for everyone and maybe a little left over to take home. However, you can also buy a full sheet cake and cut it into two half-sheet cakes if you wanted to do that as well.

What Is The Difference Between A Full and Half Sheet Cake?

We have covered so much about half-sheet cakes, as well as full-sheet cakes. A half-sheet cake can’t serve as much as a full-sheet cake can. A full-sheet cake is also the better option for huge company events, offices, etc., while half-sheet cakes are better for birthday parties, small celebrations like baby showers, and maybe even a gathering.

Another very simple way to tell the difference between a half-sheet cake, and a full-sheet cake is by the pan size. The half sheet cake is obviously smaller, therefore it would need a smaller sized pan. A full sheet cake has a bigger sized pan because… surprise! It is bigger than a half-sheet cake.

There are so many differences between these two kinds of cakes, but they both taste amazing, and they are quite similar, after all, you can cut a full sheet cake and make two half sheet cakes or even stack the two halves and make a two-layered half sheet cake!

What Is The Standard Size Of A Sheet Cake?

According to the research I got from howdykitchen, there are multiple different sizes for full, and half, as well as a couple of sizes for a quarter sheet cake! This chart also includes the dimensions for those sizes, surface area, and a 2 by 2-inch serving count (which shows how many slices of cake you can get out of the sizes, by cutting the pieces 2 inches by 2 inches. This chart also has a 2 by 3-inch piece serving count.

So, what is the standard size for a sheet cake? That would be the 18 by 24-inch full sheet cake. This size typically can serve close to 108. This will be more than enough for any party you may need to host, or a meeting or charity event.

If you do have a smaller party, this is always an amazing way to make sure there are multiple pieces of cake for each person, which just makes it a little sweeter for everyone involved. Even if you decide to do the 2 by 2, 2 by 3, or even bigger pieces!

1/4 Sheet Cake Versus ½ Sheet Cake

The quarter sheet cake sizing is in the charts above, so how about we learn a little about the differences between a quarter and a half sheet cake. First, a quarter sheet cake is as the name suggests. It’s a quarter of what a full or a half-sheet cake would be.

The first thing we should understand about the quarter sheet cake is the size of the pan is only 9 inches by 13 inches. That is pretty small, but size doesn’t matter when it comes to how many people you can feed with a cake!

A half-sheet cake comes in a couple of different sizes, all much bigger than a quarter sheet. This is one difference between these two sizes. The pans may not be too much bigger, but you will be able to tell.

So, with such a small cake, how many people will be fed? A cake this size can feed about 30 people in total. This makes this size of sheet cake an even better option for a kids’ birthday party, or a small family gathering at the park, etc.

As we have covered many times in this article, a half-sheet cake is the better option for a birthday party with a decent amount of people attending, a small celebration, or a family reunion. Knowing how many people are attending will definitely help with figuring out if you need a quarter sheet or a half sheet cake, and I hope this helps!

When To Buy A Multi-Layer Half Sheet Cake

We have briefly mentioned when the half sheet cakes can be multi-layered. So, when is the best time to buy one and how many people can it feed? Is it good for parties, or better for a huge celebration?

The best time to get or make a multi-layered half-sheet cake is when you either have a birthday or office party, where everyone loves it and would want more than one piece, or a decent sized celebration or event that may be happening.

This size of cake is the perfect small gathering, or small meeting introduction cake, or just to eat by yourself, like I would do. Cake is amazing, no judgment here at all. If you want an even smaller size for maybe just yourself, try an ⅛ sheet cake as I mentioned in the beginning. However, a half-sheet cake has more.