Have you ever heard of a dump cake? Despite its silly name, this quick and effortless dessert has become an internet darling—and for good reason. It’s delicious, fast and super easy to make. (Its lesser-used name is “lazy cake.”)
What is dump cake?
It’s super simple: You dump fruit or pie filling into a cake pan, dump boxed cake mix on top and bake. No stirring or mixing required!
The result is a buttery dessert similar to a cobbler—except cobblers call for biscuit or pie crust topping, while dump cake has a light cakey topping.
Thanks to the easy-breezy method, dump cakes are ideal for baking with children, novice bakers or fulfilling a last-minute cake craving. Plus, the basic formula is endlessly adaptable, as proven in these viral TikTok dump cake recipes.
The most popular recipe is a pineapple cherry cake, but it’s super flexible and easy to vary: We share additional dump cake ideas below.
Dump Cake Ingredients
- Crushed pineapple, undrained
- Cherry or blueberry pie filling
- Yellow cake mix
- Butter, melted
Directions
Step 1: Set up
Gather your ingredients. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 13×9-inch baking dish.
Step 2: Add the fruit and layer of pie filling
Sprinkle the crushed pineapple across the bottom of the pan.
Spread a layer of pie filling over the fruit. Aim for a fairly even distribution, so the cake will bake evenly.
Step 3: Top with cake mix and butter
Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the fruit. (This might feel weird and look all wrong. You might worry that it’s not going to bake. It will!)
Pour the melted butter over the top.
Step 4: Give it a shake
OK, technically, this step is like stirring, but it’s even easier and doesn’t dirty a spoon. Just give the pan a quick shake so the butter trickles down deeper into the cake mix.
Editor’s Tip: Sprinkle chopped or sliced nuts over the cake batter for added flavor and texture. Shredded or flaked coconut would be tasty, too.
Step 5: Bake
Bake about 50 to 60 minutes, until the top of the cake is golden brown. Serve hot or cold, plain or dressed up with ice cream or whipped cream.
Dump Cake Variations
The only thing easier than making dump cake? Inventing a new flavor! Here are a few ways to adapt this basic recipe.
- Peach dump cake: A slight variation on the method above, peach cobbler dump cake starts with canned peaches, dials up the flavor with a dash of brown sugar and cinnamon, and finishes with an almond topping. The result is a good example of a slightly more involved approach to dump cake that’s still easy peasy.
- Apple dump cake: Craving apple pie but not feeling up to making pie crust? Satisfy the craving with this apple dump cake made with canned apple pie filling and a cinnamon-sugar sprinkle. Or, make things a bit more elaborate and try a cherry dump cake or caramel apple dump cake.
- Blueberry dump cake: Love berries? Try a blueberry dump cake. Using blueberry pie filling, almond extract and yellow cake mix, this easy dump cake tastes summer fresh any time of year.
If you’re looking for even more variations, try these: chocolate dump cake, cinnamon roll dump cake, banana pudding dump cake and pineapple dump cake.
