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This cherry dump cake is an easy dessert recipe, perfect for last minute gatherings or when you just need a simple holiday dessert. You only need a handful of ingredients, and in just a few minutes, you will have a delicious cake baking in the oven!
Cherry Dump Cake Recipe
This cake is perfect as a “dump” cake. It doesn’t require mixing or stirring. In fact, you can just add everything in layers to the baking dish, and it’s done! And you are going to love the flavors of the cherries along with crust that comes from the cake mix and butter combo.
I love making this dump cake ahead of time for a holiday dessert or when I get invited to a potluck. It’s so easy to put together, and everyone loves it! It tastes similar to an old fashioned cherry cobbler, but without all of the work!
Recipe Ingredients
- cherry pie filling– original pie filling is perfect for the base of this cake!
- yellow dry cake mix– you can also use vanilla, or any flavor really, but yellow cake mix makes a delicious crust.
- unsalted butter-melted (1 stick)
- almond extract-almond extract is going to add a little extra flavor to the cherries. It’s optional, but I highly recommend it to enhance the taste!
- Optional: Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for serving
How to Make a Cherry Dump Cake
STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
STEP 2: While oven is preheating, lightly spray a 9×13 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
STEP 3: Pour the cherry pie filling into the dish, and then stir in the teaspoon of almond extract. Once almond extract is mixed in, evenly spread the cherry pie filling across the bottom of the baking dish.
STEP 4: Evenly sprinkle the dry yellow cake mix over the top of the cherries. Spread it across the top of all of the cherries, until they are completely covered.
STEP 5: In a microwave safe dish, melt the butter. Then drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cake mix. Try to cover as much as possible because this is what makes a crisp, buttery crust on the dump cake.
STEP 6: Place the dish in the oven on the center rack, and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the edges are bubbling.
STEP 7: Once the cake has cooled, cut into individual portions and serve. Feel free to top with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Tips and Variations when making a Dump Cake
- Try different pie fillings: While cherry pie filling is a classic, switch up your dump cake by using blueberry pie filling, strawberry pie filling, or for an apple dump cake, use apple pie filling. You get the idea!
- Add Nuts for Crunch: Sprinkle chopped nuts on top of the crust before baking. Chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans are favorites on our dump cakes.
- Switch up the cake mix flavors: Yellow cake mix is a classic flavor but switch flavors by swapping it for a chocolate cake mix, or red velvet cake mix.
- Make a traditional cherry pineapple dump cake: add 1-2 cups crushed pineapple, over the cherries (for extra sweetness)
Proper Storage For Cherry Dump Cake Leftovers
Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap or foil. Transfer the leftovers to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you want to reheat the cake, you can microwave for 15-30 seconds.
FAQs
A cherry dump cake is a simple dessert, that uses layers of cherry pie filling, topped with dry cake mix, and then topped with melted butter, before baking. It comes out of the oven with bubbling cherries and a buttery crispy topping.
While cherry is a classic, you can use other fruit fillings like apple, blueberry, peach, strawberries, or a mix of berries for a different flavored dump cake. Peach dump cake and strawberry dump cake are summertime classics!
The beauty of this dump cake is that you can either make and bake it ahead of time, or just assemble it, and then bake it right before serving so it will be warm. The topping is crispiest when it is fresh out of the oven.
Technically you can. But that’s a lot of extra steps because you will need to cook them with sugar and cornstarch so they have the same consistency as the canned cherries. And usually, the cost of the canned cherries is less than the ingredients of making the filling from scratch.
Yes! Simply follow the same instructions, but layer the ingredients in a slow cooker instead of a baking dish. Cook on low for 2-3 hours, or until the cake is set and the top is golden.
More Desserts
Cherry Dump Cake
Equipment
- 1 9×13 Casserole Dish
Ingredients
- 2 cans cherry pie filling, 21 ounces each
- 1 box yellow cake mix, 15.25 ounces
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- While oven is preheating, lightly spray a 9×13 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the cherry pie filling into the dish, and then stir in the teaspoon of almond extract.
- Once almond extract is mixed in, evenly spread the cherry pie filling across the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly sprinkle the dry yellow cake mix over the top of the cherries. Use a spoon to spread it across the top of all of the cherries, until they are completely covered.
- In a microwave safe dish, melt the butter. Then drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cake mix. Try to cover as much as possible because this is what makes a crisp, buttery crust on the dump cake.
- Place the dish in the oven on the center rack, and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the edges are bubbling.
- Once the cake has cooled, cut into individual portions and serve. Feel free to top with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
I love me some Cherry dump cake. Great recipe (and I do recommend it being warm and with some ice cream) 👍👍👍