Graduation Sheet Cake

Three weeks left at Amazon. I have been doing the work of transition. Handoff docs. Onboarding notes for my successor (a bright engineer named Daniel who is going to inherit my project). Goodbye lunches with individual colleagues. Farewell coffees. A small exit interview with HR that I will submit Thursday.

Priya gave a speech at the team farewell lunch Friday that I did not know was coming. She stood up with a glass of water (it was noon, nobody was drinking real drinks) and she said, "Stephanie has been with me for six years. She came in as an SDE I. She leaves as a Principal Engineer. She is one of the best engineers I have ever managed and one of the three best people. I am sad she is leaving. I am happy she is starting something of her own. Whatever she builds, you will want to be a customer of it. I am going to be the customer of it. Stephanie — thank you." I cried a little in front of my team. I said a short thanks. I sat back down. Daniel, my successor, patted my shoulder. I had given him a Moleskine at the start of the lunch. He said, "I will take good notes." He will.

James has been steady. He is also starting to think about when he will leave Microsoft to join Banchan Labs with me. We have not set a date for him. The plan is — I launch the company through the first year alone (with part-time help we hire), and he joins when we have revenue that supports his salary. It is the sensible plan. It is also the conservative plan. He will argue about the pace later this year.

I made a sourdough loaf on Saturday. I have been neglecting my sourdough starter, which I've kept alive since 2020. It sulked for a week but came back to life after three feeds. The loaf this weekend was excellent — open crumb, good crust, nicely tangy. I cut a slice and ate it warm with butter and salt. James had two slices. It has been a while since I baked bread, and I noticed, in the act of doing it again, that my hands are steady and confident in a way they were not in 2020. I have grown into the baker I hoped to become.

Karen has had a mostly stable October so far. Two rough days with tremors, three good days. The balance of a week. She has been talking about the wedding constantly. She has a small album of wedding photos on her phone. She shows it to everyone — her book club, the mailman, Rosa's husband. She is proud. I am proud that she is proud.

Dr. Yoon: we talked about leaving Amazon. She said, "You have been there your whole adult life." I said, "I know." She said, "Leaving may feel like a small grief." I said, "It feels like a small grief." She said, "Let it." I am letting it.

The recipe this week is my sourdough loaf. 75% hydration. Starter fed twice before levain. Four hours bulk with four stretches and folds. Overnight in the fridge. Shaped cold. Baked in a Dutch oven, lid on for 25 minutes at 500, lid off for 15 minutes at 450. Cool on a rack. Cut warm. Butter. Salt. Eat. This is not Korean. This is not Taiwanese. This is just something I have been doing with my hands for four years. This is the recipe of my hands.

Priya’s words at that farewell lunch stayed with me all weekend—the kind of send-off you don’t plan for and can’t quite absorb until you’re standing at your kitchen counter the next morning, hands still. I baked sourdough on Saturday because I needed something that required patience and faith, but I kept thinking about celebration, about the kind of cake you bring to a table when a chapter genuinely deserves to be honored. This Graduation Sheet Cake is that cake: big enough to share, simple enough to make from memory, and sweet in the uncomplicated way that milestones sometimes need to be.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 24

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3–4 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Sprinkles or decorations, optional

Instructions

Prep the pan and oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13×18-inch rimmed sheet pan (half-sheet pan) with butter or nonstick spray, then line with parchment paper.
Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat softened butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed for 3–4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down sides as needed.
Add eggs and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
Alternate wet and dry. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk in two additions (flour — buttermilk — flour — buttermilk — flour). Mix just until no dry streaks remain; do not overmix.
Bake. Spread batter evenly into the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top springs back lightly when touched. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Make the frosting. Beat softened butter on medium-high for 2 minutes until fluffy. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low. Add heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until the frosting is smooth and spreadable. Mix in vanilla and salt. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 1 minute until light.
Frost and decorate. Spread frosting evenly over the completely cooled cake. Add sprinkles or any decorations. Cut into 24 squares and serve from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Graduation Sheet Cake — Baking Toward What Comes Next