White Texas Sheet Cake

Everybody needs to have a sheet cake recipe or two in their repertoire for special occasions, and this white Texas sheet cake recipe is more special than most. It’s surprisingly rich and moist, while still soft and delicate and the almond extract gives it a subtle flavor.

Better yet, the cake’s unusual method means it’s unbelievably quick to make. You even apply the frosting while the cake is warm, so it’s well under an hour from measuring your first ingredient to tasting that first forkful. How many sheet cakes can do that?

White Texas Sheet Cake Ingredients

• Flour: While the sugar, eggs and butter give a cake its rich sweetness, flour provides most of the structure that holds it together.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar is just a sweetener here. It plays a structural role in many cakes, but not this one.
• Baking powder: Baking powder reacts with heat and moisture to help the cake rise. This recipe jump-starts it by using hot liquids.
• Baking soda: Baking soda is also a leavening agent. Unlike baking powder, it requires a separate acidic ingredient in order to work, which in this case is the sour cream.
• Butter: The butter brings richness and flavor to both the cake and the frosting, and also helps make the cake moist.
• Eggs: Emulsifiers in the yolks help the dry, liquid and fatty ingredients blend together more easily. Eggs also add richness and moisture to the cake.
• Sour cream: Sour cream makes the cake’s flavor and texture richer and softer. It also provides the acidity needed to activate the baking soda.
• Almond extract: Almond extract gives both the cake and its frosting a subtle, mellow and sweet flavor.
• Milk: The reduced-fat milk, along with the melted butter, provide the frosting with much of its volume and all of its moisture.
• Confectioners’ sugar: Confectioners’ sugar sweetens the frosting, while the cornstarch that’s added to the powdered sugar to keep it from clumping and helps thicken this unusual hot-liquid approach to frosting.
• Chopped walnuts: The chopped, toasted walnuts add an eye-pleasing garnish, a textural contrast and a nutty flavor that complements the almond extract.

Directions

Step 1: Prepare your oven and pan

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Heat your oven to a temperature of 375°F. While it’s warming, grease a 15-x-10-inch, 1-inch deep baking pan.

Step 2: Mix the sheet cake batter

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In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt. In a small saucepan, combine the butter and water and bring them to a boil. Stir the hot mixture into the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, sour cream and almond extract until they’re blended. Add this to the flour mixture, whisking constantly until it’s just incorporated.

Step 3: Bake the cake

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Transfer the batter to your prepared baking pan. Bake the cake on your oven’s middle rack for 18 to 22 minutes, or until it’s golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool the cake on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

Step 4: Frost the cake

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Bring the butter and milk just to a boil in a large saucepan. Remove the pan from the burner, and gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar and almond extract until the frosting is smooth. Stir in the walnuts, then pour the warm icing over the warm cake and spread it evenly.

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White Texas Sheet Cake Variations

• Go with chocolate icing: The combination of almond-flavored cake and icing is good, but opting for a chocolate icing takes this white Texas sheet cake recipe to a different level. For a chocolate version of the cake’s unusual frosting, replace ¼ to ⅓ cup of the confectioners’ sugar with cocoa. Whisk that into the sugar, and then incorporate the mixture into your icing as directed.
• Change the flavoring: Almond extract is a pleasantly understated flavoring, but you can certainly opt for other alternatives. Replacing the almond flavoring with rum or brandy extract is an easy substitution. Matching lemon zest and lemon extract, or orange zest and orange extract (with or without the almond; almond and citrus are very compatible) gives the cake a fresh, summery spin. The same flavorings can be added to the icing, if desired.
• Add add-ins, garnishes or toppings: This sheet cake works well for birthdays and other occasions, because of its simplicity and good flavor. Make it better-suited for the occasion with add-ins like chocolate chips, mini M&Ms or even colorful sprinkles (for that “confetti cake” look). Other add-ins, from shredded coconut to broken-up candy bars, can fine-tune it to suit the guest of honor. For non-birthday events slices of fresh berries or fruit and your favorite dessert sauce turn a simple sheet cake into an appealing plated dessert.

How to Store a White Texas Sheet Cake

If a large portion of the cake is left after your initial servings, you can simply cover the pan and leave the cake in place. Remember to press a piece of wax paper, parchment or plastic wrap against the cut edge, to keep it from drying out. For smaller portions of leftovers, transfer them to a food storage container with a tight-fitting lid.

How long will Texas white sheet cake keep?

A well-wrapped sheet cake will retain its quality for 3 days at room temperature. In the fridge, in a food storage container with an airtight lid, that may stretch to 5 days. Its flavor will actually improve overnight, should you choose to make it a day ahead of time.

Can I freeze this sheet cake?

Yes, it freezes pretty well. If you’re making one with the intention of freezing it, leave off the icing and freeze it whole in its well-wrapped pan. When you want to serve the cake, thaw it and rewarm it gently before making and applying the icing as usual. To freeze leftover cake that’s already frosted, cut the cake into smaller sections or individual portions. Freeze those on a parchment-lined sheet pan, then wrap them individually before packing them into heavy-duty freezer bags or freezer-safe containers. The cake will keep for 1 to 3 months, depending how well it’s wrapped.

White Texas Sheet Cake Tips

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I’ve seen this cake before, but I thought the icing had pecans?

Yes, a lot of recipes call for pecans instead of walnuts. Walnuts are a wallet-friendly alternative, and an excellent choice in their own right, but pecans are regionally-appropriate so use them if you have them. In fact, if you have leftovers from making other pecan recipes, this is a delicious way to use some up.

My pans aren’t non-stick. Should I use parchment instead?

The cake shouldn’t stick to a well-greased pan. You can opt for greasing and flouring if your pans have been problematic in the past and you’d rather be safe than sorry. Parchment will also work, if you’re okay with carefully creasing it in the corners for a neat appearance. Use the sheet of parchment to slide any leftover cake out of the pan afterwards, which makes it easier to portion and pack up the leftovers.

I don’t have a jelly-roll pan. Can I make the recipe bigger or smaller?

Sure, you can scale it down to a 13×9-inch pan if you like, or scale it up to a half-sheet for a bigger crowd. We’ve written a guide to pan-size conversions, if you want to go that route. Alternatively you can make a full recipe in any combination of other pans that add up to roughly the same size (two 11×7-inch rectangular pans, two 9-inch squares or 10-inch rounds, three 8-inch rounds, or a 13×9-inch and a 6-inch square). If that’s too much math, make a 13×9-inch cake and just bake the rest as cupcakes.