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There’s something about an Easy Vanilla Sheet Cake that feels made for celebrations like it was born to show up with a big smile and steal the spotlight for dessert. Now add sprinkles and suddenly it’s Fourth of July energy in cake form.
This sheet cake has a soft vanilla crumb, sweet vanilla frosting, and little pops of red, white, and blue that make every slice look festive without requiring any fancy cake skills. It’s the kind of treat that gets “Where did you get this?” compliments even if you started with a box mix (no judgment – only deliciousness).
Don’t want all the extras in a recipe post? We provide a skip to recipe button in the top left corner, as well as a clickable table of contents, just below, to help make this page easier to navigate.
At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
Table of Contents
How to Make Vanilla Texas Sheet Cake
Whether you’re feeding a crowd or just want a patriotic dessert for your own kitchen celebration, this cake comes together fast and looks amazing on a table. So grab your sprinkles, crank up the holiday vibes, and get ready for that first bite of vanilla that tastes like summer and freedom and cake—everything good.
July 4th Vanilla Sheetcake Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
- All-purpose Flour: The base of the cake, providing structure and substance.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: These are leavening agents that help the cake rise, resulting in a light and fluffy texture.
- Fine Sea Salt: Salt enhances the flavors of the other ingredients and balances out the sweetness.
- Unsalted Butter: Adds richness and moisture to the cake. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the amount of salt in the recipe.
- Granulated Sugar: Provides sweetness and also helps in the browning of the cake.
- Egg Whites: Contribute to the structure of the cake. Using only the whites (as opposed to whole eggs) results in a lighter, whiter cake.
- Whole Milk: Adds moisture and helps create a tender crumb in the cake. The fat in the milk also adds to the flavor.
- Vanilla Extract: Gives the cake a warm, sweet aroma and enhances the flavor of the other ingredients.
- Sour Cream: Its acidity helps to activate the baking soda, and its creaminess adds moisture and richness to the cake, contributing to a tender crumb.
- Patriotic Sprinkles: These are mostly for decoration, adding color and a bit of texture. They’re a fun way to theme the cake for patriotic holidays, but can be swapped out for different colors depending on the occasion.
Steps to Make the Vanilla Sheet Cake
Once you have assembled the ingredients, use this method:
Mix Dry Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with baking spray, set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda, set aside.
Cream Wet Ingredients
In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar for 3 minutes until light and fluffy, scrape down the sides as needed. Add the egg whites into the mixer in three batches, mixing them in fully before the next addition, scrape down the sides.
Mix Batter
Slowly stir in the milk and vanilla until smooth. Add half of the flour mixture and mix in until combined. Mix in half of the sour cream until combined. Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream.
Sprinkle it Up
Scrape down the sides and stir in the sprinkles. Pour the batter into the baking dish and smooth out the top.
Bake
Bake for 35-42 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool
Place on a wire rack to cool completely. See the instructions for the icing below.
Buttercream Icing Ingredients
To make homemade buttercream sheet cake icing, we will need the following ingredients:
- Unsalted Butter: The foundation of buttercream frosting, providing richness, creaminess, and a smooth texture. It’s best to use unsalted butter to control the salt level.
- Powdered Sugar: Also known as confectioner’s sugar, this adds sweetness and helps thicken the frosting to the right consistency. Its fine texture ensures a smooth, lump-free frosting.
- Sea Salt: A small pinch helps to balance out the sweetness and enhance the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Whole Milk: This adds creaminess and helps achieve the right consistency for spreading or piping. The fat in the milk also contributes to the frosting’s overall flavor.
- Vanilla Extract: This adds depth of flavor and a pleasant aroma to the frosting. It complements the flavors of both the butter and the sugar.
- Sprinkles (optional): These don’t contribute to the flavor or texture of the frosting, but they add a festive touch and can be used to coordinate with the colors or theme of your cake.
Steps to Make the Vanilla Buttercream and Assemble
Once you have assembled the ingredients, use this method:
Cream Butter
While the cake is cooling, make the frosting by placing the butter into a large bowl with an electric hand mixer and whip until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until incorporated.
Finish Frosting
Add the salt, milk, and vanilla, stir it in until combined then whip it on medium-high speed until light and fluffy for 3 minutes.
Ice Cake
Frost the cake and add more sprinkles if desired, cut and serve.
Tips and Tricks to Perfect Sheetcake
Make a double batch of frosting. This cake frosting is perfect for one sheet cake with a thin layer – if you like thicker layer of frosting, make a 1 1/2 or double batch of buttercream icing.
Separate wet and dry. Separate dry and wet ingredients and be sure to mix following our directions below to keep your cake moist, with a good crumb and even texture.
Don’t overmix. Don’t overwork cake batter, but mix well to prevent any clumps.
Cream well. Make sure to cream butter and sugar together completely to smooth!
Use a sifter. Sift dry ingredients for easiest mixing without overworking batter.
Prep pans. Make sure to use prepared pans – grease pan with shortening, use cake release spray (we prefer sprays with flour for the best nonstick) before adding batter.
Let cool completely. Let cool completely before icing – in the pan or on a cooling rack.
Serve from the pan. Cake can be served in the sheet pan for the easiest serving, but can also be served on a platter.
Let edges brown. Let the edges brown and be sure to check the middle of the cake for doneness – nobody wants a runny cake in the middle.
Don’t overstir batter with sprinkles. Stirring cake batter too much or using the wrong kind of sprinkles can make the colors bleed all over your cake – making it grey and clumpy looking. For the best results, be sure to follow our tips below:
Add sprinkles to top after frosting. To keep color from sprinkles bleeding and turning the icing another color, we recommend adding sprinkles to the top after your cake is iced.
Let cake cool before frosting. Cool cake completely before icing to prevent melting.
Smooth icing. Use an offset spatula or a butter knife to smooth icing, but don’t worry too much – sheet cake is supposed to look home-made!
Add sprinkles at end. Add sprinkles at the very end of mixing batter – minimize the amount of time stirring to prevent colors bleeding.
Other Easy Cakes
You can also find our complete easy dessert archives here.
If you’re looking for even more delicious cake ideas, check out some of our favorite easy cake recipes:
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The Best Easy Vanilla Sheet Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, + 2 tablespoons
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temp
- 1.5 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large egg whites, room temp
- ¾ cup whole milk, room temp
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream, room temp
- ¾ cup patriotic sprinkles
For the Frosting
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 pinch of sea salt
- 2 tbsp whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup patriotic sprinkles, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with baking spray, set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda, set aside.
- In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar for 3 minutes until light and fluffy, scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add the egg whites into the mixer in three batches, mixing them in fully before the next addition, scrape down the sides.
- Slowly stir in the milk and vanilla until smooth.
- Add half of the flour mixture and mix in until combined.
- Mix in half of the sour cream until combined.
- Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream.
- Scrape down the sides and stir in the sprinkles.
- Pour the batter into the baking dish and smooth out the top.
- Bake for 35-42 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Place on a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, make the frosting by placing the butter into a large bowl with an electric hand mixer and whip until smooth.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until incorporated.
- Add the salt, milk, and vanilla, stir it in until combined then whip it on medium-high speed until light and fluffy for 3 minutes.
- Frost the cake and add more sprinkles if desired, cut and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Vanilla July 4th Sheet Cake FAQs
Sheet cake lasts up to three days, covered in plastic wrap and kept in the refrigerator.
If you want to use round pans, you can use two 9u0022 round cake pans instead of the 9×13 cake pan or sheet pan.
You can stack sheet cakes on top of each other to make a layer cake.
Yes, you can freeze it. Once the icing has set, cut the cake into slices, wrap each slice tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months.
If your cake turned out dry, it may have been over baked. Be sure to check your cake for doneness a few minutes before the suggested baking time ends.
Yes, in fact, it tastes even better a day after baking as the flavors have time to meld together. Simply cover it tightly and store it at room temperature.
The exact origin of the name is unknown, but there are a few theories. Some suggest it’s due to the cake’s large size (like Texas itself!)
