Use cherry pie filling and a box of yellow cake mix to make cherry dump cake! It tastes just like homemade cherry cobbler but is way easier! No mixing or additional bowls needed for this dump cake with cherries.

What is Dump Cake?

A dump cake is known for ease because you dump ingredients into the cake pan. Most dump cakes are made in 9×13 inch pans. Most dump cakes use canned/frozen/fresh fruit or canned pumpkin. 

Dump cakes are known for sprinkling a box of dry cake mix over the ingredients in the pan and then adding melted butter on top of the cake mix.

It’s magical what happens inside the oven. Even I was like “Is this going to work??” 

The result is a cobbler like dessert with fruit pieces and cake mixed together! It’s not the type of cake you cut into neat squares, just scoop it onto your plate and eat!

Ingredients

• cherry pie filling
• yellow cake mix
• unsalted butter
• almond extract or vanilla extract

How to Make Cherry Dump Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Spray a 9×13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Add the cherry pie filling to the bottom of the pan. 
2. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the cherries.
3. Mix the almond extract with the melted butter. Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the dry cake. 
4. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until golden yellow.

How Do You Know When a Dump Cake is Done Baking?

Unlike traditional cakes, the toothpick method won’t work for a cherry dump cake recipe. The top of the dump cake should look golden in color and look and feel like a “crust”. But once you break the the crust, the cake will be moist because of the fruit. 

Rule of thumb: look for the top of the cake to be golden in color.

Can Dump Cake Be Made Ahead of Time? 

Most people prefer a warm dump cake, since it does resemble a cobbler. So with that in mind, yes, you can make a dump cake with cherry pie filling ahead of time, but I would recommend not making it more than 1 day in advance. You can re-heat the entire pan in the oven. 

 How to Store Dump Cake

Store  in the fridge covered with a lid. Best eaten within 3-4 days.

Tips

• It’s okay if the melted butter doesn’t cover all of the cake mix!
• This recipe turned out great using a box of gluten free yellow cake mix. 
• Use a box of chocolate cake mix for a black forest dump cake.
• If you bake this in a smaller pan, the baking time will need to be increased. 

More Easy Desserts

• Box brownies made better
• Easy white cake (from box mix!)
• Banana muffins
• Peanut butter pie

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Cherry Dump Cake

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Additional Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Use cherry pie filling and a box of yellow cake mix to make cherry dump cake! It tastes just like homemade cherry cobbler but is way easier! No mixing or additional bowls needed for this dump cake with cherries.

Print

Ingredients

• two 21 oz cans cherry pie filling
• one box yellow cake mix, 15.25 oz
• 1 & 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted (3/4 cup)
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (or vanilla extract)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F.
2. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Add the cherry pie filling to the bottom of the pan. 
3. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the cherries.
4. Mix the almond extract with the melted butter. Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the dry cake. 
5. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until golden yellow.
6. Allow the cake to sit for 20 minutes before serving. This allows the juices to rest. Serve warm or cold with ice cream if desired.

Notes

This recipe turned out great using a box of gluten free yellow cake mix. Use a box of chocolate cake mix for a black forest dump cake.