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This is the only cake recipe that you will EVER need! My mother-in-law is famous for her Texas Sheet Cake, and we’ve all decided that her “white” version is the absolute best!
Whether you’re preparing a birthday treat for a child, a sweet dish for a school class, or a festive dessert for the next holiday, this easy homemade sheet cake can be decorated with sprinkles to suit any special occasion!
Can you believe that I had never heard of a Texas Sheet Cake until I met Keith? And since his mom is known for this dessert, it seems appropriate that it’s the first recipe that she ever served me!
Actually, it wasn’t this exact Texas Sheet Cake, since Carole’s original recipe is for a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. That version is amazing, too…but this simple white cake is the TRUE favorite among her grandchildren (and daughters-in-law)!
Ways to Decorate your Texas Sheet Cake
Carole (or “Chi-Chi” as the kids call her) serves the dessert for many holidays, and definitely for all of the family birthdays.
It’s such a versatile treat because you can decorate it to match any theme! Add black and orange sprinkles for Halloween, red and green sprinkles for Christmas, or rainbow sprinkles for a birthday party!
How Many does it Serve?
The kid-friendly treat appeals to big and little appetites, and it’s so much easier to eat than a big, thick, multi-layer cake or cupcake.
Carole cuts the Texas Sheet Cake into small squares, which the 2-and-3-year-old grandsons can pick up and eat like brownies. There’s no messy frosting smeared everywhere and there’s no need for utensils! It’s the perfect cake-to-frosting ratio!
I cut this cake into 36 squares so it can serve a lot of people at parties and gatherings.
Easy to Prepare
If the thought of baking a cake or making frosting from scratch scares you to death, then don’t worry!
This is definitely the place to start. It’s so easy, and it only requires about 15 minutes of prep! After all, I’m the self-proclaimed Queen of the Boxed Cake Mixes, so if I can do this, so can you!
One bite of the homemade Texas Sheet Cake and you’ll be glad that you didn’t bother with a mix…
Why you Should Make this Texas Sheet Cake
As if you needed any other excuses to make this White Texas Sheet Cake, then let me tell you one more reason why I love it…
- The single layer cake is frosted with just a very thin layer of frosting, which means that it’s not a heavy sugar bomb. Yes, it’s a treat. No, it’s not health food.
- It’s light enough that I think it works perfectly as a “snack cake.” In other words, grab a mug of coffee and enjoy a small square of this cake for your mid-morning snack. It’s what I did on my birthday (and for the days that followed)!
- Carole’s White Texas Sheet Cake is a fluffy, moist and perfectly festive dessert for your next special occasion. You can easily adapt it with festive sprinkles for either Valentine’s Day, Easter or Christmas!
- It’s a tried and true recipe that works and is always a big hit even more so than the traditional chocolate version!
Can you Freeze Texas Sheet Cake?
Yes, this cake is great for freezing even with the frosting on top. Cakes in general freeze really well for months!
Once frosting you’re cake will keep well for 3 days in a cool dry place (covered) or place in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Cook’s Top Tips
- Make sure to use a non stick pan and grease it too this ensures it can be removed with ease.
- Make sure to cool the cake completely on a wire rack before frosting.
- You can easily adjust the consistency of the frosting by adding a little milk. It’s great if you feel you have overwhipped the frosting.
- Make sure to use softened room temperature butter or you will get lumpy frosting.
- Use a spatula to make spreading the frosting easy.
Other easy cake recipes that you might enjoy:
- Aunt Bee’s 5-Minute 5-Ingredient Cherry Dump Cake
- 5-Ingredient Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
- Orange Pineapple Fluff Cake
- Claudia’s Easy Triple Chocolate Cake
- Hummingbird Cake
Chi-Chi's Famous White Texas Sheet Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- ½ cup shortening
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups granulated white sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ teaspoon almond extract or up to 1 teaspoon for a stronger flavor
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
For the Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 lb. box of confectioner's sugar
- ½ cup butter softened to room temp
- 3-4 tablespoons milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Grease a 10x15" non-stick jelly roll pan with shortening. Set aside.
- Prepare the cake: Bring shortening, butter, and water to a boil.
- Place flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large mixing bowl.
- Pour hot butter mixture over flour mixture in the bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat for 1 minute on medium speed.
- Slowly add the vanilla, almond extract, buttermilk, and eggs last. Beat for one more minute, and then pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.
- Place cake on a wire rack to cool.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, prepare Buttercream Frosting.
- In a large bowl, with mixer at low speed, combine confectioner’s sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 1-2 minutes, or until fluffy and creamy.
- If desired, add more milk until the frosting is a spreadable consistency.
- Spread frosting on the cooled cake. Slice into small squares.
Notes
- Make sure to use a non stick pan and grease it too this ensures it can be removed with ease.
- Make sure to cool the cake completely on a wire rack before frosting.
- You can easily adjust the consistency of the frosting by adding a little milk. It's great if you feel you have overwhipped the frosting.
- Make sure to use softened room temperature butter or you will get lumpy frosting.
- Use a spatula to make spreading the frosting easy.
- This cake keeps well on the counter (covered) for about 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I use this size jelly roll pan, and I find that this offset spatula makes spreading a thin layer of frosting very easy!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.
Can you replace shortening with anything? By the way, love your dump and bake meals!
Hi, Amber! Not that I know of. I have never tried the cake without the shortening, so I have no idea what the end result would be if you swapped that out.
Sheet cakes are always a delicious idea! I can totally see why this one is such a hit! Yum
Thanks, Kristy! It’s so great!
Do you have Chi Chi’s recipe for Chocolate Sheet Cake?
Yes! The cake recipe is exactly the same, except you omit the almond extract and you add 4 T of unsweetened cocoa powder to the shortening mix that you boil at the beginning.
For the chocolate sheet cake, you need to frost the cake while it’s still warm. The icing is like a glaze that hardens as it cools. Here’s the chocolate icing recipe:
1/2 cup butter
4 Tbs cocoa
6 Tbs milk
1 lb confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
Bring butter, cocoa, and milk to a boil; remove from heat and stir in sugar and vanilla. Beat well until smooth. Ice cake while it is still warm.
This cake is amazing! I’ve made something similar in the past, but this has a little more to it, and I will definitely be making it in the near future.
That’s great, Diane! I agree — it’s amazing, and I hope that you get to try this version soon!
This is moist, delicious and cut well without crumbling or sticking to the pan. I didn’t have shortening or buttermilk so used butter and 1% milk. I doubled the almond flavoring and thinned the icing a bit more. Easy and fabulous! The site won’t let me rate but this is 5 stars!
Awesome! Thank you, Julie!
Made this last night and my kiddos were so excited for the cake !!!
Thanks, Keisha!
This is an awesome recipe! I’ve been making the chocolate version for years, but love this one as well. Just wondering, has anyone tried this recipe w no egg yolks, only egg whites for a true white version? I love white cake but have yet to find a true white! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi, Connie! I haven’t experimented with just egg whites in this recipe, so I’m not sure how that would turn out. Glad that you enjoyed it!
Will this fit a half sheet cake pan 11×13
Hi, Latoier! It should fit, but it will be much thicker than a traditional “sheet cake.” You’ll need to extend the baking time, too.
Do you think this would be less moist if I tried it in a 9 x 13 cake pan? I’ve been needing a yellow from scratch cake that is very moist and I’ve yet to master it.
Thanks!
Hi, Robin! I think it would probably work fine in that size pan. My mother-in-law has also used the batter to make cupcakes. You’ll just need to adjust the baking time for the thicker cake. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you so much! I’ll certainly try it! Looking forward to your blog!