Vanilla Sheet Cake with Vanilla Frosting

Perfect for birthdays, this simple sheet cake needs a level oven to keep it even in the pan. Don’t try baking this cake in any other size pan than the one called for, often designated a “half hotel sheet pan” in cookware stores.

1 pound (4 sticks) cool unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus additional for greasing the pan

31⁄2 cups cake fl our, plus additional for dusting the pan

1 teaspoon baking powder

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

10 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Vanilla Frosting

• Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 17  11-inch sheet pan; dust it with fl our, particularly in the crease between the bottom and the edges, before shaking out any excess fl our.
• Whisk the fl our, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Use an electric mixer at low speed to beat the butter in a large bowl until slightly softened. Add the sugar, raise the speed to medium, and continue beating until light, creamy, and pale yellow, about 5 minutes.
• Beat in the eggs two at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary and ensuring that each addition has been incorporated before adding the next. The whole process should take about 4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.
• Turn off the beaters, add the half the fl our mixture, and beat at low speed until a light, smooth batter forms. Add the rest of the fl our mixture and beat just until moistened, no more than several turns.
• Scrape down the beaters and remove them. Give the batter a few turns with a rubber spatula to ensure that all the fl our has been incorporated from the bottom. Pour and scrape evenly into the prepared pan. Rap the pan a couple of times against your work surface to get rid of any air bubbles.
• Bake until lightly browned but springy to the touch, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. When fully cooled, ice with the Vanilla Frosting.
• To cool: Set on a wire rack until room temperature, a little over 1 hour, before icing.
• To store: Do not ice. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days; let the cake stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before icing.

Makes one 17x11-inch sheet cake