This Cherry Sheet Cake is perfect for the summer! Cherry-studded, sweet, delicious – makes for a perfect afternoon snack or dessert.
If you want a cake that’s easy and quick, this cherry sheet cake is the answer. This sheet cake is perfect for this time of year, since cherries are in season and there’s an abundance of them in markets right now!
You will love this cake – especially if you’re a cherry lover like I am, I take advantage of them whenever I can! This cake is light and fluffy – every time you bite into one of those huge cherries, you get a burst of flavor, it’s just delicious.
Ingredients
Keep scrolling down to the printable recipe card for FULL ingredient amounts and instructions or click the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page!
- Butter – I used unsalted to control the sodium!
- Sugar – Granulated.
- Vanilla Sugar – You can replace the vanilla sugar with 2 tsp of vanilla extract if you don’t have it!
- Eggs – Large.
- Lemon Zest
- Flour – I used all-purpose flour.
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Cherries – I used fresh, pitted cherries. Frozen cherries could be used as well, but I prefer fresh cherries, especially if doing this when cherries are in season. You can easily remove the pits from cherries with this OXO Good Grips Cherry Pitter. (See all Pitters)
- Powdered Sugar – For dusting, optional.
How to make cherry sheet cake
- Preheat – Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
- Prep Pan – Spray your baking dish with cooking spray, line it with parchment paper then spray the parchment paper as well. Set aside.
- Combine “Wet” Ingredients – In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Beat in the lemon zest.
- Mix Dry Ingredients & Combine – In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to the egg mixture, and mix until just combined.
- Add in the Cherries – Spread the batter evenly in the pan using a spatula. Next, arrange the cherries evenly over the top of the cake. Do not press them down too deeply, because as the cake bakes it will rise around the cherries.
- Bake – Bake for 30 minutes or until light and golden brown.
- Finish & Serve – Let cool, then dust with powdered sugar – cut and serve.
Can I make this in another pan?
A sheet cake is normally baked in a very large, flat rectangular pan. You can do this in a 10×15″ pan, however if you only have a 9×13″ pan, that should work as well, which is what I used. If you use a larger pan, obviously the cake will be thinner, hence the name sheet cake.
How to serve
Once you have dusted your cherry sheet cake with the powdered sugar, which in my opinion, is a must, cut it into squares and serve it for breakfast, afternoon tea, snacks or of course, dessert.
How to store cherry sheet cake
Store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.
Did you like this recipe? Try these!
- Carrot Cake
- Strawberry Lemon Bundt Cake
- Peach Upside Down Cake
- Cherry Clafoutis
- Easy Strawberry Cake
- Cherry Rolls
- Blueberry Coffee Cake
- Cherry Cobbler
- Chocolate Cherry Cake
- Peach and Cherry Tarts
- Cherry Jam Filled Sour Cream Donuts
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Cherry Sheet Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter unsalted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (zest from 1 lemon)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound cherries fresh, pitted
- powdered sugar for dusting, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
- Spray a 10×15 or 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray, line it with parchment paper then spray the parchment paper as well. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Beat in the lemon zest.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture to the egg mixture, and mix until just combined.
- Spread the batter evenly in the pan, using a spatula to even it out. Next, arrange the cherries evenly over the top of the cake. Do not press them down too deeply, because as the cake bakes it will rise around the cherries.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until light and golden brown. To check for doneness insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and if it comes out clean, the cake is done.
- Let cool, then dust with powdered sugar, cut and serve.
Video
Recipe Notes
- You can replace the vanilla sugar with 2 tsp of vanilla extract.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
This is the second recipe I’ve tried in a many days. Woot woot, so good. I had 3 squares immediately (can’t believe I admitted that!)
Thank you!!
Can you use frozen cherries, and how???
I’m assuming the frozen cherries are pitted, I would just sprinkle about 1 tbsp of flour over them and just toss them with the batter as instructed.
This recipe was the best dessert I have ever made! It was so light and fluffy and delicious. I substituted margarine for butter, and I think it turned out AMAZING. I also used a smaller pan, so they were higher. It took a lot longer to bake, but it baked all the way through and was delicious. Me and my family are raving about it. And I will for sure make this again.
I just made this cherry cake this morning and it really is absolutely delicious!!! I followed the recipe as is, with cherries that were forgotten in the back of my fridge. I used a knife to cut them in half and remove the pit. I put half a cherry, instead of a whole one, where we were supposed to put the cherries and it still turned out phenomenal.
Thank you Jo for this as your other awesome recipes! This is definitely a keeper and will be shared with all those I love!
Can sour cherries be used and will they make the cake taste sour? Thanks in advance.
You can use them, and yes they’ll add a sour flavor!
Can blueberries be used
Yes, blueberries would be great, peaches as well.
Well, the dogs didn’t eat my homework but they did eat the cherries from Publix. Went ahead and made with cherry pie filling on top and we really liked the flavor. Next time, Labor Day, I believe, I will stash the cherries first before going out to mow the lawn! Never gave it a 2nd thought as our 2 dogs (5 & 11 yrs) have never taken anything off the table, counter or floor and eat it, if wasn’t theirs. Publix must have the best cherries in the whole world! ha ha
Dogs will always find ways to surprise us, hey?
I have lots of frozen cherries from last August that I need to use. How would I do this recipe with these cherries versus fresh.
I would thaw out the cherries first, then just follow the recipe as stated.
I don’t normally post a comment unless I have made the recipe. It’s too hot to turn the oven on for the next couple of months, but I HAVE TO make this! I love fresh cherries and have been enjoying them while I can get them. This recipe and the pics just might make me break the “no oven in Summer rule” for one hour.
Let me know how you like it! We made it twice this week and each time it was gone within a couple hours. 🙂
I made it tonight. So good! I should have checked it a couple minutes early though siince I know my oven runs hot. It was a little dry because of it, but that’s no fault of yours! It was worth turning the oven on even though it was close to 110 degrees here today. Thanks for the recipe.
Yum! I love cherries! I haven’t tried them in a cake yet so I will have to give this a try.
che meraviglia questa torta! l’ho fatta anche io, ma con le susine o con le fragole! troppo troppo buona! un bacione 🙂
Splendid! I’m gonna try every piece of sheet that this cherry cake is made of. It’s enticing.
lol, you crack me up!
This is beauutifulll, what a lovely recipe 🙂
I have seen a few of these recently… always stunning looking great post, next time I pick up a bag, these are on my list!
Dave
Yeah, there are a few different kinds of cherry cakes, cherry clafoutis being the most popular one probably and one of my favorites.