Get ready for brown butter vanilla Texas sheet cake: a sweet, salty, fragrant, but still simple cake you can make in under an hour from start to finish.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour your 9x13 pan to prep.
In a small saucepan, brown ½ cup of butter to amber color, and then add the water. Remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature.
In your mixing bowl, whisk together the flour sugar, baking powder, and salt. Create a well in the center.
Beat the egg, vanilla, and sour cream together in the well, and then gently fold in the flour mix. Once mostly incorporated, whisk in the browned butter liquid.
Pour the batter into the prepared 9x13 pan, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
When the cake has about 15 minutes left, brown the butter for the icing in the same pan as before. Remove from heat.
In that same pan, whisk in the powdered sugar and a pinch of salt, and thin with milk. Continue whisking until there are no lumps.
Pour the warm icing over your cake right after it comes out of the oven. Cool completely before serving.
Keyword Brown Butter, Cake, Texas Sheet Cake, Vanilla