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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 CupcakesCherry Almond Cupcakes, and Glazed Cherry Bars.

Cherry sheet cake recipe close up

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!

Maraschino cherries in blender

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!

Cherry sheet cake batter in bowl

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
Cherry sheet cake with cherry on top

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.
Cherry sheet cake on white plate

For Other Fruity Desserts, check out:

More Collections: Cakes That Feed A Crowd

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4.97 from 29 votes

Cherry Sheet Cake Recipe

By: Lil’ Luna
Moist Cherry Sheet Cake is topped with a homemade almond buttercream frosting. It is easy and SO delicious!!
Servings: 16
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes

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
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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

Calories: 404kcal, Carbohydrates: 60g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 46mg, Sodium: 331mg, Potassium: 47mg, Sugar: 42g, Vitamin A: 235IU, Calcium: 95mg, Iron: 0.9mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
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Share it with us on Instagram using the hashtag #lilluna, so we can see what you’re creating in the kitchen!

About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

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Recipe Rating




99 Comments

  1. Olivia says:

    5 stars
    We love cherry flavored anything. This cake does not disappoint. If you like cherries you’ll love this cake!

  2. Patricia Webster says:

    I have a church picnic/potluck in a few days and decided to make this cake. I am going to decorate it for the July 4th celebrations which were just last week. Now, onto finding a Mexican layered dip for the same event. I think I will browse your recipes to see if I can find a good one to take along with the cake. Thanks for your recipes and input.

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      You’re welcome! I hope the cake is a hit and that you were able to find another recipe that might work for your dip. A few of my favorites are our 7 Layer Bean Dip, Cream Cheese Bean Dip and our Chicken Enchilada Dip, but we have even more Mexican dips on our site too. 🙂

  3. Ellie says:

    Made this cake today. To me it was overly sweet. Next time I’ll leave out the cherries and add one tablespoon of the syrup to the frosting.

    1. LilLunaTeam says:

      Let me know how it goes the second time around. I would love to hear!

  4. Patti says:

    I was so hurt, don’t know why but my cake sunk in the middle!

    1. LilLunaTeam says:

      I’m so sorry! Sometimes ovens are calibrated a little differently and the resulting temperature is slightly different and that can cause a cake to sink in the middle. I’m not sure if this is what happened in your case but I hope this recipe works out for you next time. Thanks so much for trying it!

  5. Sharon says:

    Can I use 1/2 cup of orange juice instead of water? I think I’m going to make this cake recipe for Christmas this year.

  6. Pamela says:

    5 stars
    Every year for mY husband’s birthday I make him a cherry cake. Every year they were just so-so. Tried this reCipe and EVERYONE just raved about how good it was. It was so flavorFul and moist. I made a two layer cake. I doubled the icing recipe, we love icing. It did dip a little in the center but i just filled it with icing to make it level. Lol

    1. Kristyn Merkley says:

      Perfect!! I am so glad you tried this & it was a hit! Thank you!

    2. Elizabeth says:

      Do you have a picture of your 2 layer cake?

  7. Susi says:

    I love cherry anything, and im making this cake but all i have is black cherry jello, will this work?

    1. Kristyn Merkley says:

      Yes, for sure 🙂 I’ve tried it with so many flavors! Enjoy!

  8. Christina Coats says:

    5 stars
    Hello! I made this for Fathers day tomorrow. How should i store it? Fridge or counter?

    1. Kristyn Merkley says:

      I like to keep this one in the fridge, because of the cool whip 🙂

  9. Emma says:

    Can you use black cherry jello iN this or does it have to be regular cherry

    1. Kristyn Merkley says:

      You sure could 🙂

  10. Isabel says:

    Looks good.Making it this weekend.My grandkids will love this recipe.we are sure going to Enjoy it.

    1. Kristyn Merkley says:

      I hope you did!!!