Cherry Rye Sheet Cake | Wiśniowe Ciasto Żytnie
Country of Origin: Poland 🇵🇱 | Pronounciation: Wiśniowe Ciasto Żytnie (vee-SHNYOH-veh CHYAS-toh ZHIT-nyeh)
Inspired by my great aunt’s cherry sheet cake.
The Story Behind This Recipe
My great aunt used to make a simple sheet cake for almost every family visit. It’s one of those Eastern European staples—reliable, adaptable, and always with whatever fruit was in season. She baked one the summer I graduated from university and flew to Poland before starting a year teaching English in Prague. We had it with coffee and tea in the afternoons, a quiet ritual that stayed with me.
Years later, I kept trying to recreate that same fluffy, buttery texture from memory. After several rounds of testing, I finally landed on something close—but then I kept going. I added ground walnuts, a bit of rye flour, and a touch of cardamom. The result wasn’t quite the same as hers, but it was so good in its own way: more tender, aromatic, and just different enough to feel special.
It’s the kind of cake that welcomes company. Serve it to neighbours, make it ahead for guests, or slice it up for slow mornings. It works in any season—and the memory always lingers.
Cherry Rye Sheet Cake (Wiśniowe Ciasto Żytnie)
Yeild: 9 servings | Prep Time: | Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients
280 g (1¼ cups) butter, softened
380 g (1¾ cups) sugar
4 eggs
230 ml (1 cup minus 1 tbsp) milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
300 g (2⅓ cups) all-purpose flour
58 g (½ cup) rye flour
65 g (½ cup + 1 tbsp) walnuts, finely ground
1¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground cardamom
¾ tsp sea salt
235 g (1½ cups) dark sweet cherries, pitted and halved
10 g (1 tbsp) powdered sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease and flour a 9x9 inch baking pan.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together softened butter and cane sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla extract.
Combine all-purpose flour, rye flour, ground walnut, baking powder, cardamom, and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, mixing well after each addition.
Fold in pitted dark sweet cherries. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for ~40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar and slice into squares before serving.
Notes: You can replace the fruit with plums or any other fruit of choice! Or, eve swap the ground walnut for almonds.
“I hope this sheet cake becomes a staple in your home where you mix and match different ground nuts and fruits to make it your own.”
