Vanilla Texas Sheet Cake Recipe
Vanilla Texas Sheet Cake Recipe is a moist, made-from-scratch vanilla sheet cake in a jelly roll pan, topped with a thick chocolate icing!
Friends, this Vanilla Texas Sheet Cake Recipe is a rendition of the original Classic Texas Sheet Cake, instead made with a homemade vanilla cake. It’s delicious, especially if you love cake and brownies!
Vanilla Texas Sheet Cake Recipe
This cake is the best (and easiest) Vanilla Texas Sheet Cake, and the gooey chocolate frosting on top makes a popular crowd-pleasing dessert. You may have also tried our Best Chocolate Cake Recipe.
Grab your jelly roll pan (this is the jelly roll pan that we recommend) for this recipe! [This post is upated from August 2016 with new photos, text, and a video.]
This moist and flavorful vanilla cake is so easy to put together, and truly one of our family favorite desserts. You want to make it one of your go-to cake recipes, too? Let’s get started!
Ingredients for Vanilla Texas Sheet Cake Recipe
Gather these ingredients to make this homemade vanilla cake (print full recipe below).
- Butter
- Sugar
- Flour
- Salt + baking sods
- Eggs
- Sour cream
- Vanilla extract
Ingredients for this thick, rich chocolate frosting
For the icing you’ll start with boiling the milk and butter together. Then you whip in the other ingredients and pour the frosting over the warm cake. It spreads like a charm!
- Butter
- Dark chocolate cocoa (but you can use regular)
- Milk
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Vanilla extract
Why we love this Texas Cake Recipe
Last month we served this cake with homemade vanilla ice cream (my mom Millie’s recipe), and I was reminded again why I love this cake.
First of all, it’s so easy to make.
It’s perfect for baking up before a party, or potluck because it’s ready to eat in a couple hours, and makes a lot of cake!
Yes, this cake serves a crowd. Depending on the sizes that you cut, it can serve 12-24!
I freeze the leftovers and that makes it easy for a “last-minute dessert” for dinner guests (or you just need a good bite of cake!)
How do you make White Texas Sheet Cake?
Sheet cakes are literally the easiest cakes to make. The box cakes just do not taste the same.
- Combine the butter and water in saucepan over medium heat; heat until butter melts.
- Add sugar, flour, salt, eggs, baking soda, sour cream, and vanilla; mix well. Pour into a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan.
- Bake!
- Frost the cake while it is hot – how easy is that? Pour the frosting right over the cake when it comes out of the oven.
How do you make the frosting?
- Combine butter, cocoa, and milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix well with electric mixer.
- Spread frosting over hot cake.
How do you serve a Texas Sheet Cake?
Allow the cake to cool, till the frosting is set then slice and serve it up. You can pre-cut the cake into 12-24 pieces! Or, let guests cut their own serving.
We love this cake served at room temp with vanilla ice cream.
Tips and substitutions:
We use dark cocoa for the richest frosting, but you can use regular.
If you don’t have a bar pan (jelly pan), then buy one. We recommend this jelly roll pan (affiliate link).
This cake tranports well to any party!
This cake gets better the longer it sits, so I try to make it a day ahead.
You can also make a “vanilla frosting” with almond extract. Delish!
Connection is huge for me, being a lover of hospitality. This summer has been unsual, with moving and traveling. We usually have many lovely friends visiting us. We love hosting during all seasons, and making a a good go-to dessert recipe (tried and true) always makes “dessert making” easy for me.
My heart is always around the table, our guests–and a delicious dessert!
ENJOY!
More chocolate recipes to try:
4-Ingredient Chocolate Cherry Cake
Sour Cream Chocolate Banana Cake
Get the Recipe:
Vanilla Texas Sheet Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Make the frosting:
- ½ cup butter
- ¼ cup cocoa, I use dark chocolate
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 box, 1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted (4 1/4 cups sifted)
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
- Combine the butter and water in saucepan over medium heat; heat until butter melts.
- Add sugar, flour, salt, eggs, baking soda, sour cream, and vanilla; mix well. Pour into a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan.
- Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
- Frost the cake while it is hot.
- For frosting, combine butter, cocoa, and milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Add remaining ingredients and mix well with electric mixer.
- Spread frosting over hot cake.
- Cool and serve.
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Looks like a double decker brownie, is it just the frosting soaking into the cake?
Truly the best sheet cake I have ever had! Thank you so much for giving me an ace in my pocket!
The last time I made this my frosting was grainy. This has never happened before, what on earth did I do wrong??
I’m not sure, Kathi. Did you whip the frosting?
I whipped the tar out of it!
I made a second one the next day as the first one was already gone ;) No problems with the frosting, must have been an off day.
Any chance of a pumpkin sheet cake recipe that is this good?
Kathi
Try The Pioneer Woman’s Pumpkin Sheet Cake, Kathi!
totally my cake jam!!! and the ice cream…delish!
Beautiful words (and cake), Sandy. I love the silence, too. xo
I am reading her book “Savor” right now, so I obviously need to get this one after!
Reading this with a slice of this glorious cake? Sign me up!
Just love reading your blogs –your recipes for body and soul. We live just outside of town on a hill ,love the sounds of silence, birds and pray each day to be used in some way to make someone’s path a little smoother. Bless you.
This would definitely be the perfect summer treat for all of us!
YUM! I have made chocolate texas sheet cake, but now know I need to make this version. Great post Sandy. I’m always encouraged by your posts and it has been fun to have read your blog for gosh, probably the last 8 years or so! Maybe if we get to SR next year we’ll have to sit for coffee!