Simple First Communion Cake (Printable)

Moist vanilla sheet cake with velvety buttercream and intricate floral decorations for festive occasions.

# What You'll Need:

→ For the Sheet Cake

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

→ For the Buttercream

09 - 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened
10 - 6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
11 - ¼ cup whole milk
12 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
13 - Food coloring as desired

# How To Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
03 - In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.
04 - Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.
05 - Add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined; avoid overmixing.
06 - Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
07 - Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
08 - Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
09 - Beat butter until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, alternating with milk, beating until smooth and fluffy. Mix in vanilla extract.
10 - Divide buttercream into bowls and tint portions with food coloring for flowers and leaves.
11 - Spread a generous layer of plain buttercream over cooled cake.
12 - Fill piping bags fitted with flower and leaf tips with colored buttercream. Pipe flowers and leaves decoratively across the cake, focusing on corners or along edges.
13 - Optionally, pipe a cross or add First Communion text with a small round tip.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • The cake stays impossibly moist for days, which means you can bake it ahead without anxiety.
  • Buttercream piping looks intimidating until the moment you realize you're actually creating something beautiful, and suddenly you feel like a baker.
  • One pan, zero fancy equipment required, and it feeds a crowd without fussing over individual plating.
02 -
  • Room temperature ingredients are not a suggestion—they're the difference between a silky batter and a broken one that won't blend smoothly.
  • Don't overmix the batter once you've added the flour; a few streaks of flour are your friend, because continuing to mix develops gluten and toughens the crumb.
  • Gel food coloring is a game changer for buttercream because liquid coloring waters it down and makes piping nearly impossible.
03 -
  • If your buttercream is too soft after piping, refrigerate it for 15 minutes and it'll set up enough to hold its shape beautifully.
  • Use the edge of an offset spatula dipped in warm water to smooth the base layer of frosting before piping flowers—it creates a cleaner canvas.
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