The humble sheet cake. I really can’t say enough good things about them. They’re made from scratch, but super easy. Transporting them couldn’t be more simple (no layers sliding around here). And you get a WHOLE lot of cake! When I need to bring dessert for a crowd, sheet cakes are my go-to! We’ve made quite a few variations of the sheet cake over the years, but today we’re bringing it back to basics with this vanilla White Texas Sheet Cake.

16 large slices
20m prep time
25m cook time

CAKE

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup water
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs

FROSTING

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla

CAKE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and thoroughly grease a large baking sheet (we used a 12×18).

Add the butter and water to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Stir to combine then remove from heat.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda and whisk together.

Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.

Add vanilla, sour cream, and the eggs to the batter and mix while scraping the sides of the bowl.

Pour batter into prepared baking sheet to form one level layer.

Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a inserted toothpick comes out clean of batter.

FROSTING

Once the cake is finished baking, start on the frosting.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter.

Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, sour cream, salt, and vanilla. Mix until there are no lumps.

Add remaining powdered sugar and mix until incorporated.

After cake has cooled for 20 minutes, pour frosting over cake and spread into an even layer.

Allow cake to cool for at least 1 hour (until frosting sets) before cutting.