Cherry Dump Cake

2023-04-26
Cherry Dump Cake
Prep Time:
10 mins
Total Time:
55 mins
Servings:
12

Our classic cherry dump cake recipe starts with two cans of purchased pie filling and one box of vanilla cake mix. You'll need just one more ingredient to assemble this easy dessert recipe. The beauty of a dump cake recipe is that no one will guess just how easy it was to make. The results are similar to a fruit crumble but with a tender, buttery topper.

For this dump cake recipe, you'll want to use canned cherry pie filling rather than just canned cherries. Cherry pie filling is often made with tart or sour cherries, sugar, corn syrup, and a thickener. It's all ready to add to your baking dish and you won't need any other ingredients to make the dump cake filling—unless you'd like to add flavor with an extract. We used almond extract when our Test Kitchen developed the recipe but you could swap in vanilla extract, cake batter extract, or even coconut extract.

When baked, the cake mix topper on this dump cake recipe doesn't rise or get fluffy like a traditional boxed cake. Instead, it becomes crisp and buttery. Our tasters compared it to shortbread. It's the perfect texture and flavor complement to the sweet, juicy cherries. Don't stress if there are a few spots of cake mix powder on the baked cake, the liquid from the cherries will absorb it. To help prevent this, be sure to evenly space the sliced butter on the top of the cake.

Ingredients

  • 2 (21 ounce) cans cherry pie filling

  • 1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract (optional)

  • 1 package (2-layer-size) yellow cake mix

  • 3/4 cup butter, sliced into 24 pats

  • Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour the cherry pie filling into a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Stir in the extract (if using) and spread evenly in the dish.

  2. Evenly sprinkle the cake mix over the cherries. Arrange pats of cold butter evenly over the cake mix.

  3. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the dump cake is golden brown and bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature. If desired, serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

    Test Kitchen Tip: Cherry dump cake is best served the day its made but you can refrigerate leftovers for 3-4 days. Wrap the cherry dump cake with plastic wrap and store in an airtight container.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the difference between dump cake and cobbler?

    A cobbler is made using a biscuit-type dough rather than cake mix. The fruit filling is spread in a pan, just as you would for a dump cake. Then, the biscuit topper is spooned on and baked until light and fluffy. A dump cake has a denser, crisper texture than a fruit cobbler.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

379 Calories
13g Fat
64g Carbs
2g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 12
Calories 379.1
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 13.1g 17%
Saturated Fat 8g 40%
Cholesterol 30.5mg 10%
Sodium 427mg 19%
Total Carbohydrate 63.6g 23%
Dietary Fiber 1.1g 4%
Total Sugars 18.9g
Protein 2.1g 4%
Vitamin D 0mcg 0%
Vitamin C 3.6mg 4%
Calcium 106.5mg 8%
Iron 1.1mg 6%
Potassium 128.1mg 3%
Fatty acids, total trans 0.6g
Vitamin D 0IU
Alanine 0.1g
Arginine 0.1g
Ash 2.1g
Aspartic acid 0.3g
Caffeine 0mg
Carotene, alpha 0mcg
Choline, total 4.8mg
Copper, Cu 0.1mg
Cystine 0g
Energy 1585.3kJ
Fluoride, F 0.4mcg
Folate, total 34.1mcg
Glutamic acid 0.6g
Glycine 0.1g
Histidine 0.1g
Isoleucine 0.1g
Leucine 0.2g
Lysine 0.1g
Methionine 0g
Magnesium, Mg 11.6mg
Manganese, Mn 0.1mg
Niacin 1.2mg
Phosphorus, P 153.7mg
Pantothenic acid 0.2mg
Phenylalanine 0.1g
Proline 0.2g
Retinol 95.2mcg
Selenium, Se 1.8mcg
Serine 0.1g
Theobromine 0mg
Threonine 0.1g
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.7mg
Tryptophan 0g
Tyrosine 0.1g
Valine 0.1g
Vitamin A, IU 558.4IU
Vitamin A, RAE 107mcg
Vitamin B-12 0.1mcg
Vitamin B-6 0.1mg
Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 2.3mcg
Water 76.1g
Zinc, Zn 0.2mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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