Allergy friendly. cupcake happy!

I have always loved Texas sheet cake. But I didn’t make it often because my husband Kevin doesn’t eat chocolate (I know, crazy, isn’t it?). I decided to develop a recipe for White Texas Sheet Cake.

Recently, I found a recipe on allrecipes.com. Of course, the it is full of allergens that Savannah can’t have: butter, sour cream, and eggs. So I did some experimenting of vegan substitutions, and the result is the recipe you see here.

This recipe is great for potlucks, and trust me, nobody will know it is dairy and egg-free!

White Texas Sheet Cake

Serves 24

Cake:
1 cup non-dairy margarine (recommended: Earth Balance Organic Soy-Free Non-Hydrogenated Buttery Spread)
1 cup water
2 cups white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup non-dairy sour cream (Tofutti)
1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

Frosting:
1/2 cup non-dairy margarine
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
1 cup chopped peanut-free walnuts, optional (recommended: Now Foods brand Walnuts packaged in a peanut-free facility)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 10 x 15 x 1 inch baking pan.
2. In a large saucepan, bring non-dairy margarine and water to a boil. Remove from heat, and sift in sugar, flour, salt, and baking soda. Add vinegar, non-dairy sour cream, and almond or vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 to 22 minutes, or until cake is golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool on cooling rack.
4. After cake has been cooling about 10 minutes, make frosting. Combine margarine and non-dairy milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Mix in sugar and almond or vanilla extract. Stir in walnuts if desired. Spread frosting over warm cake.

Baker’s Notes: The first time I tried this recipe the batter was lumpy, which is why I added the sifting step. Since there are some recipes out there that use buttermilk, I also tried a version using non-dairy buttermilk, but the non-dairy sour cream gives much better results (a good rise and a much more tender crumb). I also reduced the amount of powdered sugar in the frosting by 1 cup just because I wanted to, and it turned out great. Many almond extracts are made without almonds or other tree nuts, but some do have an almond oil base, so be careful to read ingredient labels if you have a nut allergy. If you’re feeling festive, sprinkle the icing immediately with sprinkles, if desired. The above photo is the cake I made for Independence Day, sans walnuts.