This White Texas Sheet Cake is incredibly moist and has the richest Chocolate Frosting that you will love!
My White Texas Sheet Cake recipe is a perfect dessert for weekend dinners, potlucks, and cookouts!
This White Texas Sheet Cake is one of my most popular recipes on my blog. If I had to guess why, it is because this cake is simple, moist, and the photos make you want to try this cake recipe immediately, right? I can’t tell you how many times I have made this cake. My guess is almost close to 10 and that is a lot for me. I happen to think this White Texas Sheet Cake is the perfect cake for novice bakers. If you have never made a cake before, unless it came from a box (there is nothing wrong with that by the way), this cake is perfect for you! It is a bit unorthodox the way it is made. What I mean is the cake starts off on the stove and then transfers to the oven. Typically, cakes start off in a regular mixing bowl and it is taken from there. To be honest, I think warming the ingredients makes for a moist cake. In fact, I made a cake not too long ago where I warmed the milk and the cake came out incredibly moist and soft.
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Although this cake seems easy and simple enough to make, and it is, I have never made a cake using the techniques that are used for making this cake such as melting the butter and the milk and adding it to the dry ingredients and pouring the frosting over a hot cake. I think these techniques are what makes the “Texas Sheet Cake” what it is. Before, I use to look at this cake as a regular cake just made in a rectangular pan, but after tasting it my mind will forever be changed.
I think this White Texas Sheet Cake is great for picnics or just to have friends over. I must warn you, the frosting is very rich and sweet, but it is very, very good.
NOTE: There have been some complaints about this cake not coming out well for some people. I am putting this out there because I want to be transparent with my blog followers and visitors. I have tested this recipe exactly 3 times before posting without any changes or alterations and it came out in the same consistency as you see in this picture. I have listed the links below as to where I have adapted these recipes and followed them down to the letter. I have even received good ratings from Tasty Kitchen from people that have made this cake and it turned out well for them:
This cake recipe was adapted from “Taste of Home”
This icing recipe was adapted from “Paula Deen Texas Sheet Cake Chocolate Frosting”
White Texas Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Enjoy this White Texas Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting for picnics, potlucks, or weekday dinners. This sheet cake is a perfect cake recipe for novice bakers.
Author: Nicole Nared-Washington
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 12 servings
Ingredients
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (you can use vanilla extract if you prefer)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- 1 cup Sugar
- ½ cups unsweetened Cocoa powder, Sifted
- ½ cups Milk
- 4 Tablespoons Butter, cut into cubes
- 2 Tablespoons Light Corn Syrup
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 Degrees
- In a large saucepan, bring butter and water just to a boil.Once the butter has melted remove from heat. Next, add the flour, sour cream, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla (almond) extract and eggs and mix to combine. smooth.
- Pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 375° for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes. The cake will still be somewhat warm.
- NOTE: I used a 9.5X13 inch rectangle glass dish and baked my cake for about 30 minutes or until toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. But if you have a traditional jelly roll pan, use the 15X10 pan that the original recipe recommends. If you use the recommended jelly roll pan, your cake will come out a bit thin. I didn't want a thin cake. But its up to you.
- For the frosting: In a large saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cocoa. Whisk in the milk. Then stir in the butter and corn syrup. Place the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. When the butter has melted and the sauce is slightly smooth, take the pan off the heat, stir in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla.
- Pour the frosting on top of the slightly cooled cake (cool for 5 minutes). It may be a lot of frosting if you are using a 9X13 square rectangle pan( just a precaution). Allow the cake to cool with the frosting to completely set before serving.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1
I dont like the almond extract in the cake…:(. Gives it a bitter taste. Gonna try it again with vanilla.
I loved the almond extract!!
I’m coping your recipe and listening to you at the same time. I hope I do it justice——-will let you know. Treasia Loomis a Texas Girl
I made your cake —– I made a mistake somewhere in the recipe —–I think I mess up with the butter part. I use 2 sticks of butter, thinking that it equal the cup in your recipe——Is that cup of cube butter just the amount of cubes that fit in the one cup ? —–The good part is , I did a great job on the frosting. It’s like eating old fashion fudge! Yum, Yum
I didn’t do well with it. I thought it might be the amount of butter I put in—–which was 2 sticks—–I’ll study the recipe and hopefully, I’ll figure out what I did wrong—-Thank you —–Treasia
Okay. Let me know.
I think the original Texas Sheet Cake was baked in a jelly roll pan, which made it a large cake.
That is correct. The original recipe did call for a 15X11 inch jelly roll pan but I know that the cake would be thinner and I didn’t have that kind of pan and I didn’t want a thin cake.
Hello! I made this cake on last night! I’ve been on this carb cycling lifestyle where I’m very selective about what eat during the weekdays, but I get to choose to have anything that I want on Sunday. I saw this recipe on last week and I knew I had to make this cake! I have never before in life my made a cake from scratch but this recipe, combined with my new found love of cooking really made me want to try it! So I bought the ingredients and I had a go at it! It turned out very well. I was very impressed by your skills! The only problem, and this was totally my fault, your recipe was flawless, was that I ran out of white sugar and so I had to substitute brown sugar crystals in my icing. So my icing has this annoying crunch to it where the sugar crystals never dissolved : ( Eventually, I’ll be able to laugh about this, but right now it really sucks after so much effort. I was a little bummed about that, but otherwise, it would have turned out perfect! The cake is still very much delicious! I live alone in NYC and I have no family here, so I”m trying to figure out what to do with all this leftover cake!!! I thought about giving it to friends, but most of them have shunned processed sugars and empty carbs. I also thought about taking it over to the local firehouse to share with all those delicious firemen! But I’m too embarrassed by that awful crunch! What do I do with all this cake??? Any suggestions?
By the way, Brownsugarma, thank you posting this recipe. I also really enjoyed watching your video! You’re very charismatic and you seem completely at ease in front of the camera. Have you really enjoyed living in Cincinnati? I’ve heard some great things about it as well. I’m considering relocating and I’d love to add another city to my list of possibilities.
Thank you!!!
Thank you Clarissa! I am so glad that my recipe turned out well for you! And yes, the sugar crystals in brown sugar can be hard to dissolve. It can be done but there is a lot of heat and mixing involved, in which your frosting would have turned into caramel. As far as giving your cake away, I am sure the Firemen would not mind your cake giving. They are there for days and eat crap so I am sure they would appreciate it. I work from home so I have to get creative as to how I distribute my goods. What I started doing was making the “bad stuff” when I know I have somewhere to go like a church event or over a friends house. I don’t know if that helps you or not. As far as Cincy, it is a nice city. Its great during the spring and summer times. There is so much going on. I always wanted to visit NYC. It is a great place for young people to be I think. I wouldn’t like all the noise and closeness of people that much. If you ever decide to come to Cincy let me know. I will tell you where to go!
Can you make this in a jelly roll pan like the traditional chocolate Texas sheet cake?
I’m sure you can but just know that the baking time and the thickness of the cake may be a little different.
I loved the cake………….but no wonder it came out too “thin”……..I used a jelly roll pan, and assumed by just guessing at your pan measurement in the recipe that it WAS a jelly roll pan. Is there a pan size between jelly roll and traditional cookie sheet? I even cooked the icing a little too long (forgot to take off fire before adding powdered sugar)……..and it STILL turned out yummy! I thought that for my first try for this recipe, it turned out very well! Will definitely make again……but MUST look for that other pan! Thanks sooooo much for posting this!!
Yummy cake…. Mine sunk a little in the middle…. More room for frosting:)
I hope it works out for you. It worked out well for me and a few other ladies. You can see where I adapted the recipe from if you want to check it. But I didnt have any issues.
Wanting to make this, just wondering if I could use coconut milk?
I am not sure. I don’t see it being a problem. The taste may be a little different.
The recipe calls for a Jelly roll pan is a 15 x 10 pan. 🙂 🙂 She just baked her cake in a 9 x 13 inch pan and gave the cooking time. I like a thin cake, more servings.
Right. Traditionally a jelly roll pan is to be used in a Texas Sheet Cake. I used a 9X13 and it turned out fine for me. You can look at the original measurements on Taste of Home website. Thanks!
I can’t find the post that I want to comment on. But someone mentioned that their cake in a 9×13 pan turned out flat and heavy. I suggest that they check the DATES on their baking powder and baking soda.
Thanks Brenda! I suggested the same thing. I feel bad that people have had a tough time but this recipe has been tested by many and myself a few times and I never had a problem with it. Thank you for the support :-).
I have had no problem with it either. It’s a wonderful recipe!! I’m sure if the person that had the problem tries the recipe again, after check expiration dates on those items, she will have love it, too!! Thanks!!
Thank you Brenda. You don’t know how happy that makes me to hear that. I am actually going to go ahead and test it again today and take photos as I go along and hope that will help.
I want you know that I appreciate your honesty and concern. Your willingness to retest the recipe shows your character. Again, I had no problem….but sometimes recipes that work for one person, don’t work for someone else. Thank you for being our helpful friend!!
I LOVED this cake and I’m not a huge cake person. The fudge icing on top was the perfect touch. I wish I had more!!
I’m getting ready to make this cake, I’m not fully understanding the frosting part. How long does this need to cook? Until the butter melts, till it starts to boil? It could be well blended and not even be warm.
When the butter was melted is when you move on to adding the powdered sugar. I added that little detail in the recipe.
Thanks!
Thanks! Now I’ll try my luck with it!
It should turn out well for you. Come back and let me know.
Made your Texas Sheet cake. It was a very good. There was no problem with the recipe. I will make it again.
Thank you Carla! I’m glad it turned out well for you!
I like how this says it is one serving. Works for me!!!
I made this cake two days ago, and it’s awesome. The cake texture is extraordinary and it tastes delicious. I’ll use the recipe again — both with the fudge icing and with buttercream frosting. I used a 9×13 pan — the ratio of cake to frosting is perfect. Thank you!
You are most welcome and I am so glad that you enjoyed it!
I made this Cake today and it turned out very good mmmm good!!
YAAAY!!!! I’m so glad :-)!
I made this today.. Although the favor is good, it doesn’t look as light as yours? I just bought my baking powder and soda… I followed your directions. I wonder if I over mixed it??
I’m glad the flavor was good. As far as it not coming out as light it could very well have to do with over mixing the batter or opening the oven one too many times.
I made this today and it is absolutely delicious! I did se a 9 x 13 pan. Fabulous!
I am so glad that it came out good for you!
The only problem, with this cake and frosting – It is now EXPECTED, at all events when I need to bring something. Love the ease, the flavor Thank you, Brown
Sugar, for sharing
You are very welcome! I am glad it worked out for you!
Wow! This looks amazing! I have to try it ASAP!
Just so I am straight, there’s a total of five cups of sugar in this frosting? Four cups of powdered and one cup of granulated? Just want to be sure because I’ve never seen a recipe call for this much sugar, plus the sugar that’s in the cake.
I know. The cake really isn’t that sweet but the frosting is rich. I adapted the recipe from Paula Deen.
I made your cake today after pinning it from Tasty Kitchen. Mine also looked fine coming out of the oven, but was a gooey mess after adding the frosting ….. which was wonderful all by itself. I noticed that your recipe here calls for water in the cake, while the recipe at Tasty Kitchen calls for milk in the batter. I’m not sure if that would be the problem or not. The idea of a vanilla Texas sheet cake was intriguing. Your looks fantastic!
Hi there! I’m very excited to try this recipe! I live in Texas and make the original sheet cake recipe all the time- so it will be fun to try this variation. I scrolled thru the comments to see if anyone gave a reason for the name “sheet cake” and didn’t see one. I believe the reason for the name is because we Texans call ALL large silver baking pans cookie “sheets”. My gramma used to say “thin cookie sheet (for cookies) and thick cookie sheet (jelly roll pan for cake). SO, in Texas, if it’s baked in a thick cookie sheet (jelly roll pan) THEN it’s a sheet cake! There might be different explanations out there but I thought i’d share!
Thanks for sharing. I hope the cake turns out good for you. Come back and let me know how it comes out.
Do you come up with your own recipes? This recipe is almost the exact same recipe as a Texas Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting recipe on Paula Deen’s website. http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/texas_sheet_cake_with_chocolate_fudge_frosting/
It looks amazing. About to give it a try.
For the most part I do come up with my own recipes. But if I try a recipe from another place and I love it, I share it. I actually got the cake recipe from Taste of Home and the icing from Paula Deen. I have the links to their websites below! Let me know how it comes out for you!
I wanted you to know that I pinned this recipe today and made it tonight for a family meal and it came out exactly like the one in your picture – and was a huge hit with everyone! I used the 15″x10″ pan and 1/2 tsp. of almond and vanilla extracts (because I couldn’t make up my mind!) and I wouldn’t change a thing. Just the right amount of frosting and such a great texture, density and flavor! And I threw it together in less than an hour! I cut smallish square pieces and everyone had two – my 8-year-old grandson was begging me for a third piece! Very glad I tried your recipe and I will be making this a LOT in the future! Thanks so much; your adaptations were perfect!
Thank you so much Jackie! I am so pleased that this cake worked out well for you.
Hi
you mentioned that you mix butter with milk but your recipe says a cup of water.
Is it a cup of milk or water for the cake. Thanks.
Hello Asma,
I am not quite sure where you read that in the recipe. It is possible that I am not seeing it. Could you let me know exactly where you see this mix up? Sorry for the delay.
Think she’s reading recipe wrong. There’s water in the cake, and milk in the icing. The recipe is perfect!
Great! Thank you.
I am quoting it from your post not the recipe box. Its in the 2nd para where you speak about the technique. That was the reason I was confused. I did follow your recipe but the cake came out too sweet and too moist on the 2nd day. I think the frosting was way too sweet for me.
Thanks anyways and appreciate your follow up msg.
No problem. The frosting is a bit on the sweet side. I do agree. However, I am not an icing person anyway but my family and co-workers loved it.
I made this cake last night. First homemade cake ever (meaning not out of a Betty Crocker box). It is outstanding. Directions were easy to follow, cake came out pretty, icing is OMG delicious. FYI I used a dark 9×13 cake pan as that’s all I had…total cook time was only 22 minutes til perfection. Thanks!!
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This makes me very happy. I am so happy it worked out well for you.
Nicole!! just saw this on Pinterest!! love love love. . and pinned!!!
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Thank you so much Alice!!!
The Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake used to be my families favorite, but not anymore! I have made this cake twice now and it turned out perfect both times! We devoured it! Making it now for the family for Christmas. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I am writing it down incase I lose this website. By-the-way, I used the jelly roll pan and it was great. The size is no different than the chocolate one I have made for years.
You have no idea how happy this makes me! I know some people had some issues with it but I am glad to hear the success stories! I hope you keep coming back!
I’ve used this recipe 4 times already (getting ready to make it again tonight!) and thought the least I could do is leave my feedback for this amazing recipe! I can’t express enough delicious this is and everyone that tries it always asks for the recipe. I’ve made tried this both in a 15X10 and a 9X13, each time trying different extracts (Vanilla or Almond- love both ways), but to anyone interested, I did half the icing recipe for the 9X13 pan and it was the perfect amount. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing your feedback Alicia. I’ve made it 5 times myself.
In your cooking instructions for the cake, you leave out adding the almond or vanilla extract and the baking soda, maybe that’s where the mix up occurs. It’s listed in the ingredient list, but not in the instructions.
Thank you for the catch. I added it to the recipe.
This. Is. Wonderful. Beautiful moist yellow cake, fudge glaze. Cooked it about 25 min in 9×13 metal pan. Yummy!!!
I am so glad to hear the Suzy! Thank you so much trying!
Hi there, I’m a keen baker but haven’t come across measuring firm butter in cups before. The recipe says ‘cubed’, so it’s clear you melt the butter AFTER that. I guess I’m unsure because the amount of butter you use depends entirely on how big your cubes are (and therefore how many gaps you have in between), and perhaps how much you try to jam into the measuring cup! [Could this possibly be another cause of the cakes that didn’t turn out??]. Would you perhaps consider using a weight measurement instead/as well? I’m from New Zealand, and our butter wrappers are printed with stripes showing 50g increments, so even if you don’t have scales, it’s possible to get a somewhat accurate result. Not sure if this is an option in the States. Thanks so much for your help. I’m so keen to try it! 🙂
Hello Mali. Thank your for your question. You will use two sticks of butter and cut them into cubes. Does that help?
Ma queste ricette tutte in inglese…In ITALIANO NON SI POSSONO AVERE?
Mi dispiace Anna . È sempre possibile utilizzare il traduttore di Google per aiutare .
Had I read the instruction properly this cake might have had a different taste! I didn’t do the heating the butter the pot with the sugar I imagine that was a important step. However, the cake was very good and moist I loved the almond taste in it next time I will follow direction and do the cake the right way! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you Jeanette! I love this cake!
The cake was wonderful, but the icing was way too thick – I actually had to add milk to get the consistency to where I could stir it enough to spread it on the cake. Not sure what I did wrong??
You may not have done anything wrong. It could be just a matter of preference. I had thick frosting too but we kind of liked that.
I’m making this cake as I type this, however, I do not have corn syrup. Is this ingredient a must?
Hello Monica. I beleive this ingredient is essential.
I just made this yesterday, because sometimes you need cake on Tuesday. 🙂 I had pinned it a few weeks ago. I LOVE Texas sheet cake, but I love white cake with chocolate icing almost as much, especially with almond flavoring! After reading through all the comments, I decided to make the 9×13 size. I baked it for 25 min in a non-stick pan. Came out PERFECTLY! Just as fluffy as your picture. I meant to make half the recipe for the frosting, but mistakenly added the whole 2 Ts of corn syrup, so I went back and added in the other half of the icing ingredients to make the full amount. I have to say, I’m glad I did – too much chocolate frosting is never a problem in my opinion! 🙂 This was so yummy. I am definitely adding it to my “make again” file!! Thanks so much for a great recipe!
OH my gosh ELisa,this makes me so happy to read! Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
It turned out very well Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful receipe
Awesome Mahes!
I made this today and it is outstanding!! The cake was moist and so flavorful and the chocolate fudge frosting put it over the top..Delicious!!
Hubby even gave it a big thumbs up! This will be my go to recipe and can’t wait to try the cake with maybe…caramel frosting! Thanks for sharing!
I love you Linda!!!!! I am so glad it came out good for you! I will be making a recipe video out of this soon.
This looks delicious! Definitely going to have to try this out soon!!
oooo looks good!
WOW! I bake all of the time, but I never make yellow cake. I always imagine a too-thick-bland yellow cake.. Oh MY was I wrong. This is AMAZING. I’m a chocolate lover 100%, but I have been changed! The cake and icing worked perfectly for me. I followed the directions, except I mixed the dry ingredients together first and didn’t beat the eggs before adding them(old habits, ha!) I also did half vanilla/half almond extract.
Cake is moist, delicious, flavorful. The icing is perfect. I did a half recipe of the icing for the cake baked in a 9″ x 13″ glass pan.
This is a new favorite. Thank you so much for sharing it!
I am so glad to hear this came out well for you! Thank you Jaime!
This was the absolute best cake. My whole family loved it. I made it as written with the almond extract. So yummy and moist. Made 9×13 cause wanted a cake for my daughter’s anniversary. I’ve never been a white cake fan, but after tasting this cake, I may never go back! So yummy!! It makes plenty of frosting for 9×13, but still almost used it all. I’m sure perfect for the bars. Thanks for a great recipe! Five stars!
Thank you Jan!!!!!
This was an awesome tasting cake. Due to an emergency I was unable to frost the cake until the second day. Several people tried the cake while it was not frosted. Thiscake was very tasty and moist without the frosting. I made the cake exactly as instructed except I did use the jelly roll pan. The frosting I changed up. I try to limit the amount sugar used. (I do not always accomplish this) I used 3/4 cup granulated sugar and only 1 cup of confectionery sugar. I added maybe a teaspoon of expresso. I love my coffee! I had to wait til the frosting was slightly cooled and thicken since I had added less confectionery sugar and so it would not drip off the side of the cake that was missing from being eaten the day before. A very awesome cake worth repeating.
Thank you Sheryl! I am so glad it worked out well for you and your guests!
I made this cake for my husband for Fathers Day!! I followed the recipe exactly but cut everything in half and baked it in a 8×8 casserole for 25 min. It turned out delicious!!! Loved the almond but will try it with vanilla next time! Thank you for posting!?
Thanks Chris!!!!! I am so happy it turned out well for you!!!!
I made this cake yesterday and it’s one of the best cakes I”ve ever made. I bake a LOT from scratch and very rarely do I try a new recipe that makes it into my recipe book but I will be adding this one. When I bake a cake, I like for the cake to taste good/have a good texture even with no icing (even though no one eats cake plain) and I find that a lot of cakes aren’t good plain. However, this one definitely is. Love this cake and icing!
Thank you so much Jennifer!
Made this cake this morning, turned out perfect and the fudge icing is delicious and to me the perfect amount!!! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Thank you Karen!
Just wanted to say, I’ve made many, many Tx sheet cakes of all flavors, and have never, ever made one in a jelly roll pan. I’ve been making them for 47 years and will be making this one next week for daughter’s birthday. Thanks for sharing!
Awww no problem!