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Moist Cherry Sheet Cake is topped with a homemade almond buttercream frosting. It is easy and SO delicious!!
Cherry sheet cake is packed full of delicious cherry flavors!!! If you love cherry desserts like I do, you’ll also love Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes, Cherry Almond Cupcakes, and Glazed Cherry Bars.
WHO LOVES CHERRIES?
The family loves cherries! Do you?
I know, I know – Maraschnio cherries are filled with sugar and have lost some of their true flavoring, but they are SO good in drinks and desserts – like today’s Cherry Sheet Cake!
With cherries all through out and a delicious almond buttercream frosting, this cake is so moist and so tasty!
Cherry and almonds are just a perfect pairing. We have tried a lot of fruity cakes recently, but this one has to be my favorite. If you love cherries, then you gotta try this dessert. It’s AMAZING!
How to make cherry sheet cake
PREP. Preheat oven to 350.
BLEND. Begin by adding your cherries to a blender or food processor and blending.
COMBINE. Mix cake mix, eggs, oil and water in a large bowl until well blended. Add JELL-O mix and pureed cherries. Mix well.
BAKE. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cake cool.
FROST + ENJOY! While cake is cooling make frosting by creaming together the butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar, almond extract, and milk – blend well. Frost cake and enjoy!
Variations
This recipe uses cherry Jell-O gelatin powder for flavoring. This means you can easily substitute the cherry flavor for strawberry or raspberry and the maraschino cherries for cut strawberries or raspberries.
Also, this cherry flavored cake would pair really well with chocolate. You can top the current recipe with chocolate chips or chocolate shavings. You can even replace the cream cheese almond frosting with a chocolate frosting. No matter what you choose for flavoring I’m sure it will be delicious.
RECIPE Tips
If the frosting is too runny, add a bit more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, add a bit of milk. STORE any leftover frosting in the freezer in an airtight container for 3 months.
Homemade Cake: Sometimes I like to make a recipe the quickest, easiest, but still delicious, way possible. Enter the boxed cake mix. If you would like to use your favorite white cake mix from scratch, you can definitely do that. Once you have the batter mixed, follow the rest of the recipe to add the cherries and flavored Jell-O and, of course, the frosting.
Size of pan to use for this cake: For this recipe I used a 9×13 cake pan. But you can easily use other pan sizes. The directions for cook time should be on the cake mix box, but here are some basic guidelines in case you need them. Keep in mind different ovens cook a little differently so begin checking a few minutes before the suggested time. Use a toothpick to insert in the center of the cake. When it comes out clean, pull the cake out of the oven.
- 11×13 pan: bake at 350°F for 20-25 min
- Two 8” rounds: bake at 350°F for 30-35 min
- Two 9:rounds: bake at 350°F for 25-30 min
- Cupcakes: Bake at 350°F for 15-20 min
Storing Info
This cake can sit out on the counter for about a couple hours before covering the pan with plastic wrap and STORING it in the fridge.
FREEZE the cake for up to 4 months:
- Frosted: Flash freeze first by placing the whole cake or as individual slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place in the freezer for a few hours or until the outside has frozen.
- Unfrosted: Properly wrap the plain or frosted cake with plastic wrap. Then you can either wrap the cake again with aluminum foil or place the cake in an airtight freezer safe container.
For Other Fruity Desserts, check out:
More Collections: Cakes That Feed A Crowd
Cherry Sheet Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 package white cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 oz cherry Jell-O
- 10-12 oz maraschino cherries drained
Almond Buttercream Frosting
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Begin by adding your cherries to a blender or food processor and blending.
- Mix cake mix, eggs, oil and water in a large bowl until well blended. Add JELL-O mix and pureed cherries. Mix well.
- Pour into a greased 9×13 pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Let cake cool.
- While cake is cooling make frosting by creaming together the butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar, almond extract, and milk – blend well. Frost cake. ENJOY!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Have you tried using this recipe for cupcakes? I’m going to attempt it now and was wondering if any adjustments need to be made to the recipe.
Not yet, but they’d by great as cupcakes! I’d keep the same temperature, but follow what the cake mix box says for cooking time on cupcakes. Let me know how they turn out! Thanks for stopping by!
Yummy!
I only had about half a jar of cherries at home, so I added an extra packet of Jello (0.5oz)… which made the taste a little too strong. Still SO good, though!
So glad you tried it!! Thanks so much for letting me know!
For the glazed cherry bars, how big is a “large sheet cake” pan? Thanks for your help.
They look so good!
I used a 9×13, but you could use a 11×13, too. Hope that helps!!
I wanna make this for my daughter’s bday but I’m confused. The recipe calls for water but doesn’t say were to add it. Also the frosting calls for milk but doesn’t say were to add it either.
The water goes in at the beginning. It’s added to the cake mix, eggs, and oil, step 3. The milk is added in step 7, with the other frosting ingredients. Sorry to respond late…hope it’s not past your daughters bday!
Should some of the juice be drained from the cherries before processing, or should the whole amount be used? The directions don’t specify.
I have a granddaughter who is a big fan of maraschino cherries so this will be the perfect birthday cake for her.
Thank you for a great website.
Judi Curtis
I drained the cherries. I should have added that!! Thanks for asking..I’ll have to add it in. We love cherries, too! Hope she likes it!
Made the Glazed Cherry Bars for my family for Sunday Morning breakfast before church. Wow! We all loved them. Can I use other fruit fillings with this recipe?
Enjoy your recipes and craft ideas so much.
Thanks so much.
MaryEllen
It also says 1/2 cup of water and does that go in the cake mix or jello? Thanks
It goes in with the cake mix:) You’re welcome!! Enjoy!
SO glad everyone love it!! We haven’t tried it with other fruit, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t? Maybe find a jello flavor that would match your fruit. Let me know if you try it another way!
This looks so yummy! Thanks for sharing at I’m Lovin’ It Link Party.
It is delicious!! Hope you give it a try:) And, thanks for linking up!!
Thanks for linking up!! It is so good:) I hope you give it a try! Let me know what you think.
Can I use a homemade cake recipe instead of a box mix? Would I have to adjust the quantities of the cherries etc?
Thanks so much,
Rhian
Of course:) You shouldn’t have to change the cherries amount. I’d love to know how it turns out! I’d love to know what changes you make too:)
Thanks, I’ll let you know when I do 😀
Do you add the juice from the cherries too or drain off?
Thanks!
I was just wondering the same thing!
I was wondering the same thing and then I saw the picture above and it looks like she adds in the juice with the cherries.
Thanks Tammy, I see it in the blender now. Thanks for pointing that out!
Drain the juice from the can:) It would be too watery with the juice. Even draining it, it’s still plenty of liquid. Hope you give it a try!! It’s pretty tasty!!:)
Yes, they are drained:) Enjoy!!!
Yum, yum, yum. Have to take dessert to a backyard get together. Gonna make this!
It is definitely delish! Did you try it? If so, how’d you like it?