White Texas Sheet Cake
This simple, pristine White Texas Sheet Cake is pretty much the perfect dessert to take anywhere you need to feed a crowd.
Is it slightly weird that I’m posting a recipe for White Texas Sheet Cake when I don’t even have a recipe on here for traditional Texas Sheet Cake?
Brian would say it is shocking, sad, and devastating since classic Texas Sheet Cake is one of his favorite desserts in the history of ever making the lack of a post about it all the more tragic, according to him.
We do make it occasionally (when we do, he’s usually in charge since it’s his family’s recipe) but since there are 100 million versions of regular ol’ chocolate Texas Sheet Cake in the universe, I wanted to be rebellious and give you a white sheet cake version first.
It’s good. Really, really good.
Just like the chocolate version, boiling part of the cake ingredients and also part of the icing gives this cake its soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
It bakes up into a deliciously light, thin cake layer and is complimented beautifully by the skinny layer of sweet icing. Funny how rereading that sentence makes me think if I ate another piece or three, I might actually lose weight. Dream on, Mel, dream on.
This simple, pristine cake is pretty much the perfect dessert to take anywhere you need to feed a crowd (potlucks, right?) since it fills up a large cookie sheet and is super un-fussy to serve.
I’ve included a note below about subbing in a bit of this and a little of that (coconut oil, for starters) to make this cake into a coconut lover’s paradise.
It’s unbelievable (both the original posted version and the coconut version). And speaking of coconut oil, stay tuned because next week it’s time we sat down over a batch of freshly baked cookies and had a serious chat about the trendy stuff.
One Year Ago: Cheesecake Rice Pudding {Plus a Chocolate Version!}
Two Years Ago: Herb Focaccia Bread
Three Years Ago: Skillet Chicken with Mexican Green Rice
White Texas Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup (113 g) sour cream, light or regular
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup (85 g) sweetened, shredded coconut (optional)
Icing:
- ½ cup (113 g) salted butter
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 3 cups (342 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 12X18-inch rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder; set aside. In a medium saucepan combine the butter and water and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a rolling boil, remove from the heat and stir it into the flour mixture until combined. Whisk in the sour cream, eggs, almond extract and coconut (if using).
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Toward the end of the baking time for the cake, in a saucepan, combine the butter and milk for the icing. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and whisk in the almond extract and then gradually whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth.
- Once the cake has been taken out of the oven, pour the icing over the warm cake.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from my cousin Katie (Aunt Marilyn’s daughter) by way of her sister-in-law, Amy C. (decreased the sugar a bit, experimented with coconut oil and extract, altered baking time just a tad) – thanks, Katie and Amy!
55 Comments on “White Texas Sheet Cake”
Halved the recipe and baked it in an 8×8 pan for 25 minutes. Came out perfectly, just a little taller than the traditional sheet cake. I also added about 1 Tbl of instant espresso to the (half batch) frosting and upped the almond. No coconut this time. It was a big hit!
THIS. CAKE. It is marvelous. I wanted to try Mel’s coconut version of this cake but I didn’t want it to be too strongly coconut in case I didn’t like it so for the cake I subbed the butter for half coconut oil and half butter, and then half almond extract and half coconut extract. And for the icing I subbed the butter and almond extract using the same system. I didn’t know almond extract and coconut extract combined could be so amazing!! I am dying over it. It is just the most delightful cake in all the world. The cake is thin and and so moist and the icing cracks so beautifully on the top. I think I even dreamed about it last night.
I love this cake! I have made it every 4th of July for the last 4 years! I turn it into a flag cake, I use blueberries for the stars and strawberries for the red strips and the toasted coconut flakes for white strips! It’s a huge hit! I normally do the original version, but this year I am going to fo the coconut version! Nailed it once again Mel!
What a great idea, Kayla! I bet it’s so pretty!
Is this something that would freeze well?
Yes, I think so!
I’m just not an almond extract fan – but I like the coconut addition. Maybe I’ll try and sub some vanilla for the almond extract – or even some butter extract?
This cake is what non-chocolate dreams are made of. I can’t wait to share some with friends tonight or I would eat the whole thing.
Thank you for posting a white version of Texas sheer cake for those of us who do not like chocolate.
This is a family favorite! Sometimes I grind up freeze dried strawberries or raspberries and mix them into the frosting. So good! The small bits of freeze dried fruit won’t change the consistency of the frosting but just blends in beautifully for a fruity flavor.
That sounds amazing!
WOW! Made this yesterday for a family dinner and it was a huge hit (even with the diabetics – lol)! I stuck with the recipe as written, but I loved it so much that I can’t wait to start tinkering with it now (coconut, vanilla, possibly orange or lemon extract). The possibilities seem endless… Thanks for another great one, Mel!
Is it too late to say something about this recipe? I just made this cake today (two years after you posted this recipe!), and I have to tell you that it was delicious! I used 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup coconut oil in the cake. It was so very moist and yummy, and I love the flaked coconut in the cake, too. I decorated the white icing with melted chocolate chips in a web pattern, with spiders all over it made with halved malted milk balls and legs from the melted chocolate (squeezed from a zip-lock bag with the corner snipped off). It looked pretty cute. I wish I could enclose a picture but I don’t see that I can. Thanks, Mel, for your great recipes!
Made this tonight. Just wondering how you got your icing white. I followed the directions exactly but my icing was translucent.
I also thought it was a little off. It reminded me of rare pancakes ,but on the other hand might be good with maple icing and bacon bits for breakfast yummmm…
Made this yesterday and while the flavor was so good, the texture was off for my tastes. I’ve never made a cake where you boiled some of the ingredients so maybe that was it, but it was almost rubbery. Definitely not a soft crumb, very dense. It was also a half recipe so maybe I cooked it too long? Oh well, like I said the flavor was SO good and it didn’t stop me from eating it, just was expecting something different. Thanks for all your hard work, we love your site!!
This was easy and super YUMMY! I used only vanilla extract. I used butter in the cake and replaced about 1/4 of the icing butter with coconut oil, for a hint of coconut flavor. Amazing. Thanks Mel!!
I made this last night fia last minute family party. I added vanilla to the mix instead of almond or coconut, and it was FABULOUS! After I poured the frosting on, I threw rainbow sprinkles on and it looked so pretty. Huge hit and was so easy to serve for a picnic! Thanks Mel, you never disappoint!
I made this cake for a church party tonight. I went strictly by the recipe, no coconut & it was AMAZING! Everyone loved it. This just might be my new birthday cake. Keep it up Mel!
Olá amei amo amêndoas, hum ki delicia esse fim de semana ja esta garantida a sobresa .Maravilha !!! Obrigada por essa receita maravilhosa.
OK, thanks, Mel. I want to try it again, since I love almond white cake and even coconut. I will reduce the sugar and bake it longer.
Hi Mel. I made this yesterday in a large baking sheet with sides and think I might have undercooked it. I took it out after 20 minutes, and the cake tester came out clean, so I frosted it. The texture is gooey. What is it supposed to be like? Also, I find it extremely sweet.
Hi Andrea – the cake is definitely sweet and on the softer side although mine wasn’t necessarily gooey. You might need to tack a few minutes on to baking time just depending on your oven’s exact temperature.
Made the coconut version tonight without the flakes (texture thing) and it was absolutely fabulous. Adding it to my list of favorites.
I’ve never heard of Texas Sheet Cake before, but now I cannot wait to whip these bad boys up and enjoy. Thanks!
Funny! I just posted this last month too. I swear we have the same taste buds 😉 This cake IS awesome, isn’t it? It is so creamy, buttery and smooth it’s hard not to eat the whole pan. Glad this recipe is getting out there in the blog world…it’s awesome!!
http://dealstomeals.blogspot.com/2013/08/almond-butter-sheet-cake.html
Made this… delish!
This recipe works well halved in 9×13 pan… thanks for the suggestion!
It’s strange how things happen. This morning I woke up with a funny thought in my mind: how come I have a really easy chocolate cake recipe that needs no mixer because it calls for boiling water and I’ve never heard of a white cake just as easy? I was going to look it up but decided to go through my email first and bam! Here’s my answer! Thank you!
I made this cake tonight with a few changes and it was delicious! We have a milk allergy in our home, so I swapped the butter for coconut oil, the milk for coconut milk, and the sour cream for applesauce. So moist, delicious and flavorful! Thank you.
I’m going to have to make this soon! Since I love almonds, I’ll have to sprinkle some over the top.
Several years ago I read a recipe for Texas Sheet Cake and remember reading in the comments that someone made variations on it depending on what she needed. I remember chocolate, white, yellow and spice. I’ve also seen strawberry and peanut butter variations.
I made this today because it just looked so divine and I LOVE white cake! The only thing I changed was sub sour cream for the milk in the icing because I love the taste of sour cream in desserts and did half and half almond and vanilla extract in batter and all vanilla extract in icing. It turned out very well. It’s very rich and also very, very sweet. But delicious nonetheless! If I made again, I might experiment with decreasing the amount of sugar. The recipe is simple and turned out just as I expected which I greatly appreciate.
Thoughts about putting a citrus spin on this? Lemon or lime or (gasp) grapefruit?
Haha! My husband’s birthday was yesterday and I made Texas Sheet Cake. It can’t be a real birthday for him without it. I’m going to have to give this a try. Who knows it may be one I make for my birthday?!
I don’t even know what to say… Just this past Sunday, I was having dinner w/Friends and they were talking about this version of Texas Sheet Cake and I LOVE almond! I am so making this… On the former note “I don’t even know what to say” – I am new to your blog, so I’ve been acquanting myself with it and your recipes and now I feel like a dog chasing his tail because I want to make everything, and I want to do it all NOW! I love your site, and the recipes. I’m so glad I’m one of your new subscribers! yeah me!
What a great recipe! I made half a batch of the coconut version yesterday in a 9×13 and it was really good! I was half way into making it when I remembered that I was slap out of flour (I mean really what half decent cook is ever out of flour right?? In my defence I was going to go shopping saturday for the must haves and DH got home at 5.30 pm instead of 11.30 am….) Anyway I had some fresh ground wheat berries (prairie gold if that makes a difference) so I used that instead of the regular flour and it was a little wheaty but still amazing. If fact so good that I think it would probably be a good idea to use all wheat all the time because I don’t know if I could stop eating if it was to much better. Now I haven’t tried this yet but the next time I make it (this weekend!!) I am going to put some cream cheese in the frosting. I’ll let you know how that goes =)
Hi Mel-
Should the sour cream and eggs be room temperature?
I am passionate about sheet cakes! This looks beyond good, I can’t wait to make this! So pretty too!
Made it! Loved it!!!! This was my first sheet cake and not the last. I didn’t have sour cream and subbed plain Greek yogurt and it was downright delish! Thanks, Mel!!
I love almond extract in recipes, so I can’t wait to make this. I also love cake! Yesterday I was searching your recipe archive for something to make and I came across the black bean and corn quinoa dish. I made it last night and it was absolutely delicious. I don’t know how I missed it since I check your blog daily!
I love this cake like crazy. It’s my favorite. I’m not a fan of almond so I use vanilla. I also renamed it Oklahoma Sheet Cake–I discovered the recipe 3 years ago while living in Oklahoma. Also, Oklahomans and Texans don’t really get along. My husband prefers the Texas version, but I love this one!
I can’t wait to try this! I am thinking of putting stripes of black frosting and making them look like spider webs to take to a Halloween party!
This is almost identical to the one I make. I bake mine in a 10×15 jelly roll pan so the squares are a bit thicker. It’s one of the top 3 recipes viewed on my site since I’ve been blogging. Yes, it is really, really good and dangerous to have around the house!
Yum! Texas sheet cake is one of those total comfort food recipes to me because my grandma always used to make it. I might try adding some almonds on top because my grandma’s recipe was always topped with walnuts…almonds seem good for the white version, especially with the almond extract!
Looks delicious!
I absolutely need a piece (or ten) of this cake. With coconut (!!!)? You’re a genius!
You have once again saved the day…. I have been thinking all morning about what treat I could make that doesn’t require brown sugar… i’m all out and don’t want to go to the store… Can’t wait to try this!!!
this is one of my fav cakes! I havent made it in forever! thanks for reminding me!
Currently scouring my kitchen to see if I have all the ingredients to make this. Must happen IMMEDIATELY!!!
I always associate Texas cake with buttermilk. I’m assuming I could switch the sour cream with buttermilk.
Huge fan of the chocolate version here, but this looks divine, and my husband would love, love, love the coconut version. Thanks Mel!
This looks delicious, both versions. Thanks, now I have to find a reason to make so much cake.
I’m rarely a fan of chocolate cake, so this version actually interests me more!
Now I want cake for breakfast – and that cake looks like it would make a very tasty breakfast!
I have never had Texas Sheet cake, but I have have always wanted to try it. Your white version looks amazing. I will definitely make this!