Vanilla Texas Sheet Cake is one of the most tender cakes out there, and with a touch of cream cheese and almond extract in the frosting, it also tastes a little like the world’s softest frosted sugar cookie.  In other words, it’s a win-win!

The 4th of July is going to be a little different for us this year…no fireworks, no entertaining, but that doesn’t mean it can’t still be special.  It’s going to be memorable either way, so I’ve decided to try to fill it with good memories by making some of our favorite and most festive foods. So for this batch of Vanilla Texas Sheet Cake, I pulled out some patriotic sprinkles and piped some melted red and blue candy melts into stars. They don’t look professional, but that doesn’t matter at all.  Everything about this cake is easy, just have fun with it!

Why is it called Texas Sheet Cake?

We lived in Texas for several years and the motto, “everything is bigger in Texas” says it all.  A big state with bigger bridges, bigger homes, bigger steaks, and even bigger cakes.  So as you can imagine, this is a big cake!  But with that in mind, there will be plenty to take to neighbors…or the recipe can easily be cut in half for a smaller batch.  But our family was able to eat our way through this cake just fine – haha.

Texas is also practical, classy, and full of delicious food.  And so this is a no-fuss recipe that I turn to again and again. I also have a more traditional chocolate sheet cake that I will share another time, but for now we’ll get started on this one!

The Batter

Just like traditional chocolate Texas sheet cakes, this cake starts with melted butter.  Melt 2 sticks of butter with some water, over a very low heat until the butter is just melted.

Let cool for 5 minutes and add the sugar.

The sugar will almost totally dissolve and that’s fine.  To this mixture, add the sour cream and eggs.

The mixture may curdle a little, that okay too.  Next, add the vanilla and almond extracts, soda, salt, and flour.

This mixture will be very runny, but that’s the way you want it!  This wet batter will translate to a very tender and moist baked cake.

Pour into a greased half sheet pan (18 x 13 x 1″) and gently rock the pan back and forth so the batter spreads evenly across the pan.

Bake until golden and cooked through.

The Frosting

While the cake cools, prepare the frosting.  This frosting has the usual ingredients…butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, pinch of salt.  The only thing a little different is a few ounces of cream cheese and a dash of almond extract.  These ingredients will cut through the sweetness and make it taste a little like a sugar cookie – in cake form.  Life doesn’t get much better than that!

I like to use these little indivdual packets from Costco in my cooking and baking.  It keeps me from wasting a whole package of cream cheese, when all I need is a few ounces.

Mix the ingrdients until smooth and fluffy!

Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cake.  I like to use an offset spatual to make quick work of this step!

The Decorations!

I haven’t talked about it recently, but I collect sprinkles like some women collect shoes.  I’m a real sucker for a bottle of bright, cheerful sugar.  And I’m a big fan of Sweetapolita’s sprinkle line.

Sprinkle liberally over the the frosted cake!  I like to apply sprinkles right after I ice a cake so that the sprinkles set into the frosting a little, instead of rolling across the surface of the cake.

I also melted some Red and Royal Blue Milton Candy Melts and piped it into stars on parchment paper.  I like melting the candy melts in the microwave, in a heat safe bowl, in twenty second intervals.  Like I mentioned earlier the stars don’t necessarily look professional, but it sure was fun – and it’s something anyone can do! And when we can’t have fireworks, I’ll do anything I can to bring more cheer to our celebration.

These stars will store at room temperature for several days.  Garnish slices of cake with stars just before serving.

I hope you all love this recipe as much as we do!

Vanilla Texas Sheet Cake

Cake:

1 cup butter
1 cup water
2 cups granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Frosting:

3/4 cup butter, softened
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
6 tablespoons whole milk
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Pinch of kosher salt

Decorations:

Sprinkles
Candy Melts

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a half sheet pan (18x13x1” pan) with nonstick cooking spray.

Put 1 cup butter and water in a large saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Let cool slightly for about 5 minutes and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and stir until combined. Add eggs, sour cream, and extracts. Mix thoroughly. It might look a little curdled – but that’s okay, just keep going! Add baking soda, salt, flour. Stir just until combined. The batter will be very thin, but that’s the way you want it. Thin batter = moist cake.

Pour the batter into prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until cake is a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 20-30 minutes.

In the bowl of a large mixer, cream the butter, cream cheese, milk, salt, and extracts together until smooth and fluffy. Spread across cooled cake. l. Add the powdered sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy.

Top with sprinkles, and star candy melts (see above for instructions) if desired.  It’s time to celebrate!

**This recipe can be cut in half and baked in a quarter sheet pan (which measures about 9.5 x 13 x 1″). If you don’t have a quarter sheet pan, you could even use a regular 9 x 13″ pan, and just be prepared that the cake is a thin sheet cake and won’t rise to the top of the pan like other recipes would. The baking time may also be a minute or 2 shorter, so start checking at 16 minutes of baking for doneness.**