White Texas Sheet Cake

This White Texas Sheet Cake is a twist on the classic chocolate Texas sheet cake. It’s simple to assemble in under an hour and the ultimate easy dessert to serve to a crowd.

After living in Texas for several years, we are huge fans of Texas Sheet Cake. In fact, our Texas Sheet Cake Bites have gone viral several times on our social media. If you’ve never had this cake before, it’s traditionally a moist chocolate cake made in baking sheet (sheet pan) and topped with a rich, crackly chocolate icing.

In the white version, we are making it with almond or vanilla extract and a white frosting on top. It’s rich, decadent, and perfect for any level of baker. If you love making cakes, be sure to also try our Peaches and Cream Cake and Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Great cake recipe to serve a crowd. This White Texas Sheet Cake is ideal for any large gathering because it’s made in a baking sheet. Slicing and serving is simple and it’s easy to transport too!
• A foolproof cake recipe we’ve been making for years. We love the classic chocolate version of this cake, but the vanilla or almond version is also delicious. It’s a great dessert for beginner bakers to try because it’s simple in prep.
• Rich in flavor. This is one of those desserts that’s going to be gone instantly, everyone always loves how moist and decadent a Texas sheet cake is.

Laura Ashley’s Tip: When it comes to making a white version of this Texas Sheet Cake, we love using almond extract or vanilla extract. Both versions are equally delicious depending on what flavors you love more!

Ingredients

Scroll Down for Ingredient Amounts Listed in the Recipe Card Below

For the Cake

• Salted butter: The creamy base of the cake that also adds moisture.
• Water: Moistens the cake batter to the right consistency.
• Sour cream: Adds creaminess and moisture to the cake as well as a hint of tang.
• Eggs: Binds the cake batter.
• Almond extract or vanilla extract: Gives a nice hint of almond or vanilla flavor.
• All-purpose flour: The flour that makes the base of the batter.
• Baking soda: Helps the cake to rise and be tender in each bite.
• Salt: Always add salt to your baked goods! It brings out the other flavors in the dessert.
• Granulated sugar: Sweetens the cake batter.

For the Icing

• Salted butter: The base of any good buttercream.
• Milk: Used to help thin out the icing to the right consistency.
• Powdered sugar: Adds structure to the icing and also helps to sweeten it.
• Almond extract or vanilla extract: We add more almond extract here too for even more of that sweet flavor we all love.
• Sliced almonds or chopped pecans or walnuts: We love a bit of nutty crunch on this cake but you can also omit the nuts too. See “Expert Tips” below if you decide to remove them.

Tools You’ll Love

• Mixing Bowls
• Rubber Spatula
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Liquid Measuring Cups
• Small Saucepan
• 13″x18 Sheet Pan or 15×10 Sheet Pan (I use a 15×10!)

How to make White Texas Sheet Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 15×10-inch pan or 13×18 sheet pan with butter or nonstick spray.
2. In a saucepan, bring butter and water to a boil. Remove from heat.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream and almond or vanilla extract. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

5. Gradually add the hot butter and water mixture, stirring until smooth and combined.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 24-28 minutes in a 15×10-inch pan or 18-22 minutes in a 13×18-inch sheet pan, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes with a few moist crumbs.
7. When 5-10 minutes remains on the cake, prepare the icing. Combine butter and milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla or almond extract until smooth. Fold in nuts.

8. Dollop the hot icing evenly on top of the cake. Slowly spread in an even layer. Allow it to cool slightly before serving.

Expert Tips

• Be sure to bake the cake in a baking sheet. This is key to a Texas sheet cake, it’s a thinner cake with a crackly, crunchy icing on top!
• We make a boiled icing for this cake, it’s key to attaining that beautiful shiny top that also crinkles when you put your fork into it.
• Icing Tips. We love to add nuts to our White Texas Sheet cake. They pair nicely with the almond extract and add a little hint of texture. If you’re not adding nuts, reduce the milk to 3 tablespoons and use 5-6 cups powdered sugar. If using nuts, start with 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar and add more to your desired spreadable texture. Depending on how many nuts you use will determine how much powdered sugar you’ll need for optimal thickness.
• You want to icing the cake while it’s still warm. Both the cake and the icing will be warm and then when you let them cool together, it creates that perfect soft and rich texture.
• If you don’t like almond flavor, you can swap for the vanilla extract.

Storage

Store any leftover cake in an airtight container in at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can freeze the cake too for up to 2 months, just be sure to thaw before serving.

It’s also a great cake to make in advance, and it’s so easy to serve to a crowd. Making it in a baking sheet also allows it easily transport to any family gathering too!

FAQs

More Easy dessert Recipes

• Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
• Cake Mix Cookie Bars
• Lemon Delight
• Almond Pound Cake