Grandma’s Famous Sheet Cake

This is my grandma’s famous sheet cake! A layer of deliciously moist white cake is topped with a luscious cream layer and spread with a bright fruit topping (easily customizable to many different fruits!).

My grandma made this cake at every family reunion I can remember growing up. It’s so easy, feeds a crowd, and is ALWAYS the most requested dessert. One bite, and you’ll see why it’s such a beloved favorite.

Why You’ll Love This Cake

While this cake carries a lot of memories for me, outside of the nostalgia, there are so many reasons why this cake is exceptional:

• It is simple and straightforward to make. I know the ingredient list and recipe looks long, but that’s simply because it’s a 3-layer cake. So, yes, there are a few bowls to wash, but making the cake and assembling it is not hard at all!
• This cake is perfect for holiday meals, potlucks, or any time you need to feed a crowd.
• It is always the first dessert gone. I have brought this cake to a lot of parties and get-togethers and functions over the years, and people everywhere go crazy for the light, luscious, fresh flavors.
• The fruit topping is endlessly adaptable to fruit that is in season or what you have on hand. It works great with fresh or frozen fruit.

My grandma always made this cake with huckleberries from her freezer – or with huckleberries we had just spent three days picking in the mountains! I do the same when I make it now if we have precious huckleberries remaining, but other fruits work very well, too.

Here are some important tips to keep in mind when making the white cake batter:

• Room temperature ingredients. Bringing the egg whites, milk, and sour cream to room temperature is important for a super fluffy, moist cake.
• Don’t short the time on creaming the butter and sugar. In the first step of the cake recipe, be sure to mix the butter, oil and sugar for a full three minutes until the mixture is extremely light in color. You can see how it looks in the photo below.
• Egg whites only. Separate the eggs to use just the egg whites in this recipe.
• Butter and oil. The combination of butter plus oil (and a tiny bit of sour cream) is what produces a light, fluffy, moist crumb. I use vegetable oil.

Important Ingredients Notes

• Fresh or frozen fruit: Use ripe, sweet berries with just a hint of tartness for the best flavor. Berries like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, huckleberries, strawberries (hulled and chopped) or a triple berry blend will work well in this recipe. If using fresh fruit, increase the water by a few tablespoons.
• Granulated sugar: You can dial the granulated sugar in the fruit topping up or down depending on the sweetness of the fruit you are using.
• Cornstarch: This ingredient is necessary to thicken the fruit topping. Make sure to cook the topping until large bubbles pop at the surface so it thickens properly.
• Lemon juice: A bit of fresh lemon juice in the fruit topping helps the flavor of the fruit brighten and pop.
• Cream cheese: Use full fat cream cheese (lowfat cream cheese may not thicken properly) and soften to room temperature before using.
• Powdered sugar: I prefer using powdered sugar in the cream layer. The amount called for in the recipe sweetens the cream just lightly. Since the cake and fruit topping also both add sweetness, the cream layer doesn’t need to be overly sweet.
• Heavy cream: To simplify making the cream layer, add the heavy cream directly to the cream cheese mixture without whipping the cream to soft peaks first. This method works if the cream is “heavy” whipping cream with a milkfat percentage of 36 to 40% (regular whipping cream may not work as well this way and may need to be whipped first before folding in the cream cheese mixture). 

Assembling the Cake

Putting this cake together is so easy (and so satisfying!).

1. Bake the cake and let cool completely in the pan.
2. Spread the cream layer over the top of the cooled cake. Refrigerate for a bit to let the cream layer set up (this makes it easier to spread the fruit topping over the top).
3. Top with the thickened fruit topping.
4. Serve immediately or refrigerate for a couple of hours!

Make-Ahead Notes

I am so excited to finally share my grandma’s famous sheet cake with you! If she were here, I think she would love the semi-homemade changes I’ve made to brighten up the flavors and use every day ingredients.

I can picture my plain spoken, sweet grandma sitting in her favorite chair in the corner of her kitchen with a light towel over her forehead and eyes (she had several strokes in her 30’s that plagued her with bad headaches the rest of her life) and saying to me, “You’re a good girl, Mellie. Now serve me up a slice of that cake.”

This is truly one of my favorite cakes of all time. I can’t wait for you to make it and put your own spin on the fruit flavors! If you come to my house for Easter, I’ll be serving it with some of those hoarded huckleberries we use for only the most special of occasions. 💜

Grandma’s Famous Sheet Cake

Yield: 20 to 20 servings

Prep Time: 1 hour hr

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Chilling Time: 2 hours hrs

Total Time: 3 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

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Ingredients

Fruit Topping:

• 2 ½ cups (365 g, more or less) fresh or frozen fruit, like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, huckleberries, triple berry blend, etc
• ¾ cup (177 g) cold water (use 2 to 3 extra tablespoons water if using fresh fruit)
• ⅓ cup (71 g) granulated sugar
• 2 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Cake:

• ½ cup (113 g) salted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 ⅓ cup (283 g) granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup (65 g) vegetable oil (or other neutral flavored oil)
• 4 large (120 g) egg whites, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon clear or regular vanilla extract
• 1 ¾ cups (249 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (242 g) 2% or whole milk, room temperature
• ¼ cup (56 g) full fat sour cream, room temperature

Cream Layer:

• 6 ounces (170 g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• ½ cup (57 g) powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups (480 g) chilled heavy whipping cream (see note)

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Instructions 

• For the fruit topping, in a medium saucepan, combine the fruit, cold water, sugar cornstarch, and lemon juice. Stir to combine until the cornstarch is dissolved.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture begins to simmer. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until large bubbles pop at the surface and the mixture has thickened (it will thicken a bit more as it cools).
• Scrape the mixture into a container with a lid. Cover, and let cool completely. The fruit topping can be made several days in advance and refrigerated.
• For the cake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Lightly grease a half sheet pan (about 17X12-inches) with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a mixing bowl with a handheld mixer, add the butter, sugar and oil. Mix on low speed until combined. Increase mixer to medium speed and mix for three full minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the mixture is very light in color. Don't short this step – it's important for a moist, tender cake.
• Add the room temperature egg white and vanilla and mix until evenly combined.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
• Measure the milk into a liquid measuring cup and add the sour cream. Whisk to combine.
• Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the cake batter. Mix on low speed until just combined (a few dry streaks of flour are ok). Add 1/2 of the milk mixture and mix until combined. Add 1/3 of the flour. Mix. Add remaining milk mixture. Mix. Add final addition of flour and mix until just combined and no dry streaks remain.
• Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until the center of the cake springs back lightly to the touch. Don't over bake.
• Remove from the oven and let the cake cool completely in the pan.
• For the cream layer, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle or whisk attachment or in a mixing bowl with a handheld electric mixer, mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth and creamy.
• Add the vanilla and lemon juice and mix until combined.
• Add 1 cup heavy cream. Mix until combined. Add remaining heavy cream and mix on low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium and continue mixing until the mixture has thickened to soft peaks. It should be thick, creamy, but still very spreadable (don't over mix).
• To assemble, spread the cream topping evenly over the cooled cake. Refrigerate the cake for about an hour for the cream layer to firm up a bit (you can skip this step, but it may make the fruit topping harder to spread without swirling the cream layer).
• Dollop the fruit topping in large spoonfuls across the cream layer. Spread evenly across the cake.
• Serve immediately or chill the cake for up to 2 hours before serving (any longer and the fruit topping may discolor the cream layer a bit – still tastes great).

Notes

Cake Mix Substitution: A white cake mix can be substituted for the homemade cake mix (the cake layer is a bit thinner using a cake mix). 

Room Temperature Ingredients: Bringing the egg whites, milk, and sour cream to room temperature is important for a super fluffy, moist cake. If I haven’t planned ahead, I pop the eggs in a bowl of warm water and let them sit for 5 to 7 minutes and microwave the milk and sour cream for 15 to 20 seconds until no longer chilled.

Fruit: Many different types of fruit can be used for the topping. I grew up eating this with huckleberries, but any sweet-tart fruit will work well. You can adjust the amount of sugar and lemon juice in the fruit topping depending on the sweetness or tartness of the fruit you are using. I usually use frozen fruit, but fresh fruit can be used, as well. As noted in the ingredients list, increase the water by a few tablespoons if using fresh fruit.

Cream: To simplify making the cream layer, the heavy cream can be added directly to the cream cheese mixture without whipping the cream to soft peaks first. This method works if the cream is “heavy” whipping cream with a milkfat percentage of 36 to 40% (regular whipping cream may not work as well this way and may need to be whipped first before folding in the cream cheese mixture). 

Author: Mel Gunnell

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Method: Bake

Serving: 1 piece of cake (1/20th of the recipe), Calories: 317kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 34mg, Sodium: 231mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 23g

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Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (inspired by a cake my grandma made at every family reunion growing up!)