White Texas Sheet Cake

Close up of a slice of sheet cake on a spatula.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cake, sheet cake, texas sheet cake, white texas sheet cake

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings slices

Calories 344kcal

Author Wendie

Equipment

1 Jelly Roll Pan

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ cup sour cream
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

For the Icing

¾ cup unsalted butter cubed
½ cup milk
6 cups confectioners sugar
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 cups walnuts chopped and divided
Fresh berries for garnish optional (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease an 18x13” (large jelly roll baking sheet) rimmed ½ sheet pan well with nonstick spray or shortening.
a. Note: A large rimmed cookie sheet, or a jelly roll pan works best for this recipe. Using a 9x13 standard cookie sheet is too small.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium/low heat. Once melted, whisk in the water then bring to a low boil for 30 seconds.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and let cool for 2 minutes, stirring in intervals.
In a large glass mixing bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt with a spoon or spatula and stir to combine.
a. Note: Use a glass that can allow some* heat when the butter/water mixture is added.
Pour the warmed butter mixture into the flour and mix by hand with a spatula. Once combined, add the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Continue mixing, and make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until the cake is cooked. While the cake is cooling, make the icing.
In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Once melted, add the milk and continue whisking until combined.
Add 1 cup of confectioner sugar at a time, whisking each time until the sugar is combined. This process will take approximately 5 minutes. Add the almond extract with the final cup of powdered sugar, and then mix until smooth and blended.
Remove the frosting from heat and fold in 1 cup of chopped walnuts.
Pour the cooked frosting over the warm cake and spread evenly over the top using the back of a spoon or spatula. Garnish the cake with the remaining walnuts.
a. *This step requires you to work quickly- the frosting will start setting up while you spread it over the cake.
Let it cool at room temperature for about 1 hour for the icing to set up.
Serve immediately at room temperature.

Notes

Regular vanilla can be used if you don’t have clear vanilla, yet it might deepen the cake color.
When the frosting is made by adding 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, its color will lighten to a beautiful, slightly tinted white.
The frosting, while warm will have the consistency of a loose sauce or gravy.
When spreading, the frosting sets up quickly! Pour the frosting starting at the corners and then ending in the middle so it can be pushed and spread evenly all over the cake.
The walnuts can be substituted for chopped pecans or sliced almonds, or omitted completely by garnishing with fresh berries.

Nutrition