Transform a mediocre boxed cake mix into a super moist, bakery-worthy birthday cake that everyone will be asking the recipe for! Bake in a 9x13 pan and top with an easy cream cheese frosting for the best "homemade" doctored sheet cake!
More fun birthday cake ideas: Try my Ice Cream Sandwich Cake or 9×13 Zebra Cake!
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Why I Love This Doctored White Cake:
- It's So Moist: This white sheet cake is super moist and has the perfect, dense cake crumb. Unlike a regular cake mix that is fluffy and crumbles when cut, then once slices perfectly!
- It's A Nice Tall Sheet Cake: In my opinion, most box mixes don't produce enough batter for a tall sheet cake. But by adding our secret ingredients, you get a tall, substantial 9x13 cake!
- It's Full of Flavor: The added vanilla and almond extract give this a true white wedding cake flavor that blows any regular boxed mix out of the water!
- Perfect for: Kid's Birthday Cakes, Baby Shower Cakes, Bridal Shower Cake, DIY Wedding Cake, Mother's Day Cake
New! Use this same recipe to make Strawberry Jello Poke Cake!
Yes, start with a cake mix!
I've used this recipe for years but have always been hesitant to post it because the #haters will say that starting with a boxed cake mix is cheating. But guess what, if that's considered cheating then I guess I love cheating.
Because when it tastes this DANG GOOD and better than any from-scratch cake I've ever made, I don't care if it started with a box mix. Besides, in case you didn't know, a lot of real bakeries actually use cake mix as their base (I once saw the backroom of my favorite bakery and lined on the shelves were cake mixes LOL). It's the PERFECT, cheap way to make a bakery-quality cake without spending $20 at the grocery store.
Plus, I am not a fan of most grocery store frosting. This, however, you'll be licking off your finger. I recommend and prefer Pillsbury White "Moist Supreme" but I've also used other brands with a similar result.
Delicious Cream Cheese Frosting
Ditch the canned frosting and top this with a vanilla almond cream cheese frosting to take this cake up a notch! You can also use a traditional buttercream frosting if you want a sturdier, more pipeable frosting but I much prefer the taste of this cream cheese frosting!
Ingredients for the Best Sheet Cake:
- 15.25 ounce White Boxed Cake Mix (I recommend and prefer Pillsbury White Moist Supreme)
- Flour
- Sugar
- Sour Cream
- Egg Whites (save the yolks for tomorrow's scrambled eggs!)
- Vanilla extract
- Water
- Frosting: Cream cheese, powdered, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract
Notice that this recipe requires NO oil, butter or pudding mix! Even without those standard ingredients, this cake transforms into the perfect dense crumb, wedding cake texture and taste. For extra fruity flavor, make my Strawberry Jello Poke Cake.
How to Make White Sheet Cake:
Step 1: Mix Batter
Start by mixing the dry ingredients with a whisk. Once combined, mix in the egg whites, sour cream, and water and continue mixing until combined. You can use an electric mixer, but whisking by hand works well for this recipe.
Step 2: Pour in 9x13 Pan & Bake
Pour batter in greased 9x13 metal pan and bake for 28-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. The edges should look *slightly* brown but you don't want it to darken too much.
If you use the Pillsbury cake mix, the top always bake nice and flat (not domed) which makes it easy to decorate!
Step 3: Cool & Frost
Allow cake to completely cool before frosting.
My personal favorite frosting for this white cake is my delectable cream cheese frosting (recipe below). It’s not too sweet and is the perfect pairing with these vanilla cupcakes. If you want a more pipeable frosting, try out a buttercream frosting instead.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What brand of cake mix do you recommend?
I used and prefer Pillsbury White (Moist Supreme) but I’ve tried it with several other mixes and it works fine.
What’s the difference between this recipe and a cake mix straight-out-of-the-box?
You might be thinking, “what’s so different about this recipe if you are still using a boxed cake mix?” Well, I will tell you. The secret is sour cream and egg whites. Yes, sour cream ain’t just for baked potatoes anymore. It is used to moisten many types of cakes/batters and any time I’ve used it, the result has always been amazing. And the egg whites? Since you are removing fat content (by taking out the yolk), you need to use the sour cream to balance that back out to produce a soft & moist cake.
Tip: Save the egg yolks in a plastic bowl (covered with saran wrap) and toss into a big batch of scrambled eggs in the morning. Or use the liquid egg whites you can buy in a carton to avoid having leftover egg yolks.
Can I make these into cupcakes?
Yes! If you want to turn these into cupcakes, you can bake them for 18-20 minutes. I have that step-by-step in my White Wedding Cupcake post.
If you're looking for a pipeable frosting for cupcakes, you can use my Buttercream Frosting recipe instead of the cream cheese one (although I personally like the cream cheese better!).
Do I have to refrigerate this cake?
If you're making the cream cheese frosting, you will want to refrigerate the cake if sitting out for more than 1-2 hours.
You can also freeze white cake for up to a month by wrapping in plastic wrap and storing in airtight container. Any longer and your cake might dry out.
What if I don't have almond extract?
I will say that almond extract does give this cake the best flavor but if you don't have it, you could substitute for extra vanilla extract or lemon extract.
The BEST White Sheet Cake (Doctored Cake Mix!)
Ingredients
9x13 White Cake
- 1 15.25 ounce box white cake mix I prefer Pillsbury Moist Supreme
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups water
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 4 large egg whites (equal to ½ cup if using liquid carton egg whites)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar add more for stiffer frosting
Before you begin! If you make this, will you do me a huge favor and leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe? This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, whisk together white cake mix (15.25 ounce), all-purpose flour (1 cup), and granulated sugar (½ cup).
- Once incorporated, add in the vanilla extract (1 teaspoon), water (1 ½ cups), sour cream (¾ cup), and egg whites (½ cup, or 4 large eggs) one at a time until combined. Do not whip the cake mix; just mix until everything is incorporated."
- Pour batter into greased 9x13 metal pan and bake for 28-30 minutes or until toothpick or fork come out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
To Make Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a large bowl, beat the softened unsalted butter (½ cup, i.e. 1 stick) and softened cream cheese (4 ounces) on medium speed using a hand or stand mixer (with paddle attachment) for 2-3 minutes (until light and creamy).
- Keeping the mixer on medium speed, slowly add in vanilla extract (1 teaspoon), almond extract (¼ teaspoon) and powdered sugar (1 ¼ cups). Once incorporated, turn mixer to high speed and beat for 2 minutes until creamy.
- Spread on cooled cake and top with sprinkles!
- If not enjoying immediately or within 1-2 hours, refrigerate cake until serving.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Notes
- Looking for a more pipe-able, fluffy frosting? Try my Buttercream Frosting recipe instead!
- If you don't have almond extract you can substitute for extra vanilla or even lemon extract. Although I do think almond extract gives the best flavor!
- You can turn these in cupcakes by baking for 18-20 minutes. Recipe yields 24 standard sized cupcakes.
- I used and prefer Pillsbury White (Moist Supreme) but I’ve tried it with several other mixes and it works fine.
Nutrition
Did you make these cookies? Be sure to leave a comment below with how you liked them!
Mary alice nicoletti says
Not yet! But it is my very next cake to make. Sounds so yummy.
Judy says
I could not believe how good this cake was. It was very popular with our many guests.
I will be making it again soon!
Melissa says
So happy to hear everyone loved the recipe, Judy! Thank you so much for leaving a review!
Kristin says
Best cake recipe!!! I made it for a friend last night and it was devoured. Everyone liked it.
Melissa says
So glad to hear everyone loved the recipe! Thank you so much for leaving a review, Kristin!
brenda j browning says
better than my own homemade!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Melissa says
Thank you so much for leaving a review, Brenda!
Linda Wynn says
This cake was a huge hit! I made it for my daughters birthday and everyone loved it. I did not make the icing. Instead I bought vanilla marshmallow which was amazing with it! Yum!
Melissa says
Thank you so much for leaving a review, Linda!
Linda wynn says
Why doesn’t the cake recipe call for almond extract? You keep referring to it but I don’t see it in the cakevrecipe
Melissa says
Hi! The almond extract is only in the frosting recipe. But if you want more of that flavor, you can add 1/4 teaspoon to the cake, too!
Holly says
I'm planning to make this on Friday. But it needs to be in a sheet pan, so more like 15 1/2 x 10 1/2. Have you ever tried this cake in a jelly roll pan? I'm just curious if I need to add more batter or leave it as is? Obviously, I would need to reduce the baking time.
Melissa says
I haven’t done it but I think one batch will be enough since it makes a good amount of batter!
Cindy Dupont says
This cake recipe is amazing, hands down makes the cake so special!!! My family are all requesting this for their birthdays♥️
Melissa says
Yay, so glad you loved the recipe, Cindy! Thank you so much for leaving a review!
Roberta Cook says
Will this work for a regular 13 x 18 actual sheet cake pan? I know it won't be as tall but us there enough batter for it?
Melissa says
I haven't tested this size but it does make a larger batch of batter so I think you'd have enough!
Nita M Miller says
I make this cake for my birthday every year now
Janelle says
Easy to make and delicious. Everyone at the birthday party loved it!
Melissa says
So happy to hear you all loved the recipe, Janelle! Thank you so much for leaving a review!
Kelly says
I made this cake today with red, white & blue sprinkles and it was amazing. I added a teaspoon of almond extract to the cake batter because I really love almond but other than that made no changes to the ingredients. It took about 10 minutes longer to bake but when it came out of the oven it looked so perfect it was almost a shame to frost it. I’m not sure if it was the texture or the flavor that impressed me the most but I know I’ll be making this recipe over and over again.
Melissa says
Yay, so glad you loved this recipe, Kelly! Thank you so much for leaving a review, I really appreciate it! :)
Nancy says
I made this cake today and it is really good. So moist! The almond extract in the frosting really rings it all together nicely.
Melissa says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Nancy! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Eileen says
When I went to add the second layer of frosting, the first layer lifted up. I could see that the cake underneath had a lot of moisture. I did the best I could to fix the frosting, but I was not happy with the way it looked. This cake was for a friend's graduation so I will not be able to see or taste the cake. I am thinking maybe it was the egg whites that caused the frosting to separate from the cake? I will give this cake another try but will use the whole egg instead of just the whites.
Melissa says
Can you clarify what you mean by second layer of frosting? Did you split the sheet cake in half and put a layer in between?
If you’re talking about just spreading two layers on top, you can use a piping or ziploc bag to apply all the frosting at once (zig zag across the pan) and then use a offset spatula or knife to smooth it out being sure not to touch the top of the cake.
You will also want to make sure your butter and cream cheese is nice and softened since a firmer frosting is likely to tear up the top of the cake and create crumbs. This frosting recipe is a pretty creamy texture so it shouldn’t lift up the cake unless it’s too cold and thick.
Hope that helps!
Lindsey says
This looks delicious.. planning to make this for my moms birthday tomorrow, just had a few questions. I don’t have a hand mixer for the icing… would mixing by hand work? Also, I only have salted butter. Would that make a huge difference? AND lastly, I have Neufchâtel cheese, not cream cheese - would this work? Just wondering if I can make without a run to the grocery store. Thanks!
Melissa says
Hi! As long as your ingredients are softened to room temperature, you should be able to get by without a mixer! For the butter, using salted is just fine. And neufchatel cheese should also work fine! You may just need to add a little more powdered sugar since it tends to have more moisture than cream cheese. Would love to hear how it turns out!
Jorn says
Hello, Should the egg whites and Sour Cream be at room temperature?
Melissa says
That is ideal but I've made this straight from the fridge and it works fine, too :)