Dump Cakes

Article by Layla Khoury-Hanold

Dump cakes may have an unusual name, but these cake-like cobblers live up to their namesake with how easy they are to prep: simply layer canned or fresh fruit (or pie filling), boxed cake mix and butter in a pan and bake until golden brown. Dump cake recipes lend themselves to a variety of filling and cake mix combinations, so you can dream up fruity or chocolatey treats to satisfy every sweet tooth. Ree Drummond loves to make dump cakes for a crowd-pleasing treat, and since a little goes a long way, it’s a dessert that feeds a crowd too. With Ree’s easy dump cakes recipe, you’ll learn to make classic cherry-pineapple and peach dump cakes and how to layer the ingredients for foolproof results.

How to Make Dump Cakes Like a Pro

Use disposable pans. Baking the cakes in disposable baking pans makes for easy clean-up.

Dump canned fruit or pie filling in a pan to create the first layer. For the cherry-pineapple dump cake, Ree mixes cherry pie filling and crushed pineapple directly in a cake pan and uses a spatula to spread it out into an even layer. In a second pan, Ree dumps in a can of sliced peaches in syrup—it looks like a lot of liquid, but the cake will absorb most of it.

Sprinkle boxed cake mix over the fruit to completely cover. Ree sprinkles the cake mix on top of the fruit and spreads it into an even layer with a spatula, ensuring that no fruit is showing. She uses a white cake mix for the cherry-pineapple dump cake and a yellow cake mix for the peach dump cake, but you can use whatever type of cake mix you have in the pantry and it’ll still turn out delicious.

Add the butter topping and make sure it’s evenly distributed. Ree cuts 1½ sticks of cold butter into slices for each dump cake and lays the slices all over the top of each cake in an even layer.

Bake the dump cakes until bubbly and golden. Bake dump cakes at 350 degrees F for about 45 mins to 1 hour, until they’re bubbly and golden. Ree suggests serving these dump cakes with whipped cream.

What Are Dump Cakes?

Dump cakes are an American dessert made by “dumping in” and layering canned or fresh fruit or pie filling, boxed cake mix and butter in a cake pan and baking it until golden. Dump cakes are like cobbler but have a cake-like texture and are less labor-intensive. In addition to dump cakes, you can make all kinds of other dump desserts.

How Long Do You Cook a Dump Cake?

Cook a dump cake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour in a 350 degree F oven, until they’re bubbly and golden on top. The length of time required may vary depending on the type of filling and cake mix used.

Dump Cake Flavors and Variations

Classic dump cake flavors include apple, cherry-pineapple, peach cobbler, pineapple-blueberry, pumpkin and chocolate-cherry. Holiday dump cake recipes include Eggnog Dump Cake, Peppermint S’mores Dump Cake and Gingerbread Crumb Dump Cake. You can create different dump cake combinations by mixing and matching different fillings, such as canned fruit like pineapple or peaches, canned pie fillings like cherry, blueberry, pumpkin, apple or sweet potato, or chocolate pudding, with various boxed cake mixes, such as yellow, white, chocolate, spice or Funfetti cake mix.