Name: Easy Vanilla Sheet Cake
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 large eggs, at room temperature; 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g); 12 Tablespoons butter (170 g); 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste; 3/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons whole milk (200 mL); 2 cups plus 6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (300 g); 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature; 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g); 2 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature (28 g); 1 Tablespoon milk or cream (15 mL); 1 tsp vanilla extract

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It’s hard not to love this easy vanilla sheet cake with it’s soft, moist, and tender not too sweet crumb and tangy cream cheese icing.

If you are short on time and need an easy birthday cake that feeds a lot of people without much fuss, this is a good choice.

Growing up, my Mom made a lot of Texas sheet cake. I love how simple and uncomplicated sheet tray cakes are. Make a batter, bake it in one layer, ice it. Done!

I think people get intimidated by cake because decorating them can both take a long time and be involved and require skill. Yet I tell my students all the time that Texas sheet cake, be it white like this vanilla sheet cake or chocolate like classic Texas sheet cake is the only cake that you really need to know how to make. In fact, though I regularly make 30 layer baumkuchen, dobos torte and other complicated cakes, my kids regularly ask for a simple cake like this for their birthdays.

You will never have any complaints over this classic cake. And if you have a party you need a cake for 30 minutes ago, this recipe is for you!

Let’s crack some eggs and make some sheet cake!

stacked pieces of vanilla sheet cake on plate on napkin

Easy Vanilla Sheet Cake

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What you’ll love about this recipe

So easy: You can truly mix and go with this cake. This would be a contender for one of the first cakes you teach a child to bake.
Pantry ingredients: except for the sprinkles, there’s no fancy ingredients here. You likely have everything you need at any given moment.
Not too sweet: I’ve cut the sugar way down on this cake. I’ve been baking more German style cakes the past couple years and I love how the sugar ratios in their recipes are much lower than American style cakes. We’d all do better with less sugar in our lives in general. What I like about this particular cake is that because the cake itself doesn’t taste like an instant cavity, you actually taste the sharp tang of the cream cheese. Frankly, that’s interesting!
Better than a box: [Mini rant on]: I wish all box cakes would be jettisoned into space never to return. They taste artificial and have unnatural texture, and frankly they save you very little time when you have recipes like this one. You can make up this cake in barely more time than a dumb box and it will taste lightyears better since it has no creepy ingredients in it.
Save time and headaches with simple decoration: if you’re looking for a cake recipe to make with kids, this is a good place to start. Spreading simple delicious cream cheese icing is way simpler than trying to crumb coat things. Add some sprinkles and you’re winning.
Portability: because you bake this cake in a 13×9 pan, just cover it and take it anywhere you need to go.
Skip the frosting if you like: I often skip frosting entirely on cake. I’ve been happily scraping it off cake since I was about 4. A little dusting of powdered sugar is perfectly fine for this unfancy perfect vanilla cake. Just like sauce does not make good BBQ, frosting does not make good cake!

Ingredients for vanilla sheet cake

Vanilla Cake

Eggs
Sugar
Butter
Vanilla extract or vanilla paste: for flavor
Milk
Flour: all-purpose
Baking powder: for leavening
Salt: for flavor
Sprinkles: for decoration

Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese
Powdered sugar
Butter
Milk
Vanilla extract

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stacked pieces of vanilla sheet cake on plate on napkin with text overlay

How to make a simple vanilla sheet cake

Beat: whip the eggs and sugar until they thicken and lighten.
Mix: mix in the melted butter for a few seconds.
Pour: pour in the milk and whip for a few seconds.
Sift: sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt in a couple additions.
Fold: fold in the flour until the flour just disappears.
Bake: Bake the cake until the center is set, and you see little golden brown flecks on top.
Ice: beat the frosting ingredients together. Smooth the cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake, then hit it with some sprinkles. This cake is almost an instant birthday.

Ways to make your sheet cake more interesting

As simple as this cake is, it doesn’t have to be. Here’s some ideas to mix it up:

Cupcakes: bake the same batter into a muffin tin lined with decorative papers. If you pipe the same cream cheese, you’ve instantly fancied up the same recipe.
Mini cakes: bake the cake into a half sheet pan. Cut small rounds with a biscuit cutter, then sandwich 3 layers with the same icing or another one. I love this cake with German buttercream.
Proper layer cake: bake the same batter in 3 8″ round pans. Sandwich them with whipped cream frosting and fresh berries for an easy summer cake.
Ice cream cake: make any of the no-churn ice creams. Soften up the ice cream, then spread it between layers you’ve baked of this cake of any size. Pop it back into the freezer to firm up, and you’ll have an easy ice cream cake.

Easy Vanilla Sheet Cake

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Author: Elizabeth Farr
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 18 pieces

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Description

A simple mix and bake cake you can bake in a 13×9 pan, as cupcakes, or really any pan you have. The tender vanilla crumb and cream cheese icing are good almost anywhere.

Ingredients

Scale

4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
12 Tablespoons butter (170 g)
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
3/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons whole milk (200 mL)
2 cups plus 6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (300 g)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar (120 g)
2 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature (28 g)
1 Tablespoon milk or cream (15 mL)
1 tsp vanilla extract

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 F).
Butter the bottom and sides of a 13×9″ pan.
Melt the butter, then set aside to cool while you whip the eggs.
Whip the eggs with the sugar in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until the eggs have lightened and thickened. They will look bubbly, and the batter should fall off the end of the beater in thin ribbons.
With the motor still running, beating the eggs, pour the butter down the side of the bowl. Whip for a few seconds to incorporate the butter.
Add in the vanilla and whip a few seconds longer.
Stream in the milk and whip until you have a smooth mixture.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
Sift the flour into the egg mixture a little bit at a time, beating for a couple seconds. Alternatively, you can fold in the flour a bit at a time by hand.
When the flour has disappeared into the batter, use a spatula to scrape around the edges. Make a couple turns by hand to make sure all the flour is combined and you have a smooth, even batter.
Smooth the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake the cake for 30 minutes, until the center springs back on touching it, and you see golden brown flecks on top the cake.
Set aside the cake to cool on a wire rack completely, about 30 minutes.
If you’re skipping the frosting, sift powdered sugar over the top just before serving.
Meanwhile, beat all the frosting ingredients together until the mixture is light, smooth, and creamy.
When the cake is cool, spread the cream cheese frosting over the top. Add some sprinkles to finish it off.
This cake is best cold, and will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Notes

Easy Vanilla Cupcakes: fill 18 muffin tins with muffin liners. Fill the papers about 1/2″ from the top and bake for 20 minutes. Use 8 oz. cream cheese, 1 stick butter, 2 cups of powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla for a pipeable frosting.
Skip the frosting?: if you’d like, skip the frosting entirely. I personally love this cake with powdered sugar simply sifted over the top.
Vanilla Extract vs. Vanilla paste: use vanilla paste if you want a richer vanilla bean flavor.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Additional Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Category: Easy cakes
Cuisine: American