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This delicious White Texas Sheet Cake recipe has a hint of almond flavoring and is light, moist, and delicious with fresh fruit. This amazing cake is one of my all-time favorites!
If you love easy dessert recipes, you'll love my Original Gooey Butter Cake, Funfetti Cupcakes and easy Ice Cream Sandwiches.
My Mother in Law's Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake is everyone in the family's favorite! A few years ago my Aunt prompted me to adapt that recipe into a white sheet cake, and since then, this has become our new favorite!
Why I love this cake:
- Easy – Sheet pan cakes are so quick to whip together, and this one bakes in just 20 minutes!
- Light and Fresh – I love topping this cake with fresh berries (we often use strawberries, raspberries and blueberries for a patriotic look!) It's the perfect sweet treat that wont leaving you feeling like you overindulged.
- Feeds a Crowd – it's the cake to bring to a BBQ, potluck or party because it feeds a group and is easy to transport. You can even make it a day or two ahead of time. If you want more sheet cakes, try my Chocolate Sheet Cake or Carrot Cake Sheet Cake!
How to make White Sheet Cake:
Mix Wet and Dry Ingredients Separately: Start by mixing the dry ingredients together; flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, mix the sour cream, eggs and almond extract.
Combine Batter: Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix to combine.
Boil Butter and Water: In a small saucepan, melt the butter and water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and stir into the batter.
Bake: Pour the batter into a greased bakers half sheet, or jelly roll pan and bake for 17-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Prepare Frosting: For the frosting, add milk and butter to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and almond extract. Mix with hand-held mixer to get rid of any lumps. Pour warm icing over warm cake. Use a spatula to gently spread it.
Serve: Allow to cool completely, then top with berries if desired. A trick I've learned for cutting this cake is to use a plastic knife! It will glide more smoothly through the frosting.
Recipe Variations:
- Greek Yogurt – I often substitute greek yogurt for the sour cream and always have great results!
- Fruit – Use your favorite fruit on top, or whatever is in season! I love swapping them out for blueberries and raspberries for 4th of July, or fresh peaches.
- Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake – here's my favorite recipe!
More Popular Cake Recipes:
- Berry Cake
- Oreo Cupcakes
- Nothing Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Mug Cake
- Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting
- Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Cake
- Coconut Cake with Pineapple Filling
- Cherry Cobbler
White Texas Sheet Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup water, (240 ml)
- 1 cup salted butter, (227g)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, (250g)
- 2 cups granulated sugar, (400g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream, , plain Greek yogurt (120g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
For the Frosting:
- 6 Tablespoons milk, (90 ml)
- 1/2 cup salted butter, (113g)
- 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar, (470g)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract, (5 ml)
- Berries, for topping, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a bakers half sheet jelly roll pan (13×18'').
- Mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In another small bowl mix together the sour cream, eggs and almond extract. Add sour cream/egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix just until combined.
- Add water and butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring mixture to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, remove from heat and add to the batter, mixing to combine.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth with a spatula into an even layer.
- Bake in preheated oven for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. When the cake is about 5 minutes away from being done cooking, prepare the frosting.
For the Frosting:
- Add milk and butter to a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and almond extract. I like to beat the mixture with my hand-held mixer to get rid of any lumps.
- Pour warm icing over warm cake. Use a spatula to gently spread it evenly over the cake.
- Allow cake to cool completely, then top with fresh berries, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe May 2015. Updated January 2018 and again in May 2023 with a name change from Almond Sheet Cake, to White Texas Sheet Cake.
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I took this to a super bowl party, and it was a hit!
Let’s say you might have used baking powder instead of baking soda…..
….and let’s say the results were kinda of dense and not at all light and cake-like.
Hmmmm. You could ask yourself if this is how the recipe is supposed to be, because
they taste delicious, or you could look at the recipe again and realize you made a mistake.
Now, the good part ….I get to make them again (using baking soda of course), and taste the difference!
I alwasys wondered what the difference is between bp and bs. NOW I KNOW!!!
Made this cake for a family get together and was BLOWN AWAY. Family is Dutch, and this tastes like banket (Dutch pastry) – but with about 1/10th the effort required of banket. I was worried about it creating a too-thin cake in my Wilton half-sheet, but that was unfounded. The cake came out thick and tender, and served more than the large family could eat! The recipe was requested several times that afternoon.
I tend to make pretty extravagant cakes several times a year, but this one is going into my standard “every day” cake rotation. Thank you Lauren!
That’s wonderful, I’m so happy everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing Maggie!
Love this cake I have made it several times. It is a favorite in our house. Thank you.
This is now my most favorite cake EVER!
Question: can I store in covered on counter? I don’t really like the coldness of the cake in fridge.
The counter is probably ok for a day or two, not longer.
Can I make this in a round pan?
You could try it. This is not a very dense cake so I don’t think it will bake well in a pan that it is not served in. You will also need to adjust the baking time.
Does this use salted butter plus the extra salt?
Yes. You can leave out the extra salt if you want.
If I made this a day in advance, what would be the best way to store it? In the fridge? Should I wait to put the frosting on the day of serving? Also would it work in a normal 13 x 18 sheet pan? Thanks!
Hi Ellen, Yes a 13×18” pan will work perfectly! (I just updated that in the directions.)
I would make the cake completely (with the frosting), allow it to cool completely and store it, covered, in the fridge. This cake keeps really well–it will be fantastic the next day 🙂 Good luck–I really hope you enjoy it, and I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Hi there! Our family had this last week at my daughter’s and it was AMAZING!! Everyone loved it!! Tried to make it myself today and it didn’t turn out the same. It seemed kind of flat and just not quite right. I just noticed on the write-up that it says “baking powder”, but on the recipe it calls for “baking soda”. I used baking soda, so maybe that was why it was different? I couldn’t reach my daughter to see if she had used baking powder. Just wanted to check in to see if that is what I did wrong? Can’t wait to dial this in! Thanks so much!! (Beautiful photos!!)
Hi Gardiner,
Thanks for your comment. It is baking soda that you should use! I’m not sure excatly what went wrong. Is it possible that you baking soda wasn’t fresh? I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out the second time! I hope you get the chance to try again!
I noticed it said you updated the recipe in Jan. Did you change anything major? I’ve made this in the past, but when I just made it, the batter seemed more watery than I remembered it and even when it came out of the óven, it didn’t seem right. I don’t think I left anything out. Any ideas what I did wrong?
Hi Erin, I did not change or edit the recipe at all–just added new photos process photos. The cake batter is going to be really runny when you pour it into the pan. When it’s finished baking it’s soft and really light/tender–not dense at all.