Apple Dump Cake – Easy 3 Ingredient Recipe
Apple Dump Cake takes all the flavors of fall to a new level for the perfect autumn dessert with literally 3 minutes or work! Dump cakes are the best!
These simple desserts are perfect when you want a fast, no-hassle recipe that is ready to eat in under an hour. This Apple Pie Dump Cake Recipe is the perfect dessert for fall entertaining!
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What is a Dump Cake?
Quite simply, a dump cake is a dessert recipe that incorporated usually a canned fruit or pie filling topped with cake mix and butter. The butter melts into the cake mix for a sweet, crispy cake topping that just melts in your mouth! Dump cakes taste very similar to cobblers but with a fraction of the work.
Ingredients
You only need 3 simple ingredients for this easy apple dump cake.
- boxed cake mix – I use yellow but you can choose butter, white, spice, or butter pecan too
- apple pie filling – this is our shortcut secret to making this easy recipe fast!
- butter – salted or unsalted, margarine will work too, this recipe is very forgiving and flexible
Step by step
This recipe couldn’t be more simple, that’s the beauty of a dump cake!
- Start by pouring the can of apple pie filling into a 9-inch square baking dish.
- The apple filling is then topped with dry cake mix.
- Finally, add melted butter (margarine is fine too!) evenly over the top of the dry cake mix. Use a spoon to spread it over the cake mix if needed.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
The result is a sweet, comforting dessert the entire family will love!
Tips for best results
- Try to break any large cake mix clumps up so they absorb the butter.
- You can change up this Apple Dump Cake recipe by using butter pecan cake mix or spice cake mix.
- Add pecans or walnuts to the topping
- Add caramel or peanut butter chips to the apple pie filling
Serving suggestions
Dump cake tastes best served warm. Serve topped with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, you can drizzle it with caramel sauce as well.
FAQs
Yes you can definitely use fresh fruit for dump cakes, but it will come out with a different final texture (still tasty though!) If you want to make it with fresh apples instead of the apple pie filling, use 3 medium chopped apples tossed with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Depending on how long you want to store the leftovers you can keep them at room temperature for a day or so but the dump cake will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator. Either way, keep in an airtight container or wrap with plastic wrap.
Yes! Allow the dump cake to cool complete then wrap tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. It will keep up to three months in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or oven.
Yes, you can experiment and make dump cake with store-bought blueberry, peach, strawberry, or cherry pie filling. You can also use your own homemade fruit fillings.
I tend to opt for yellow cake mix or butter cake mix for my dump cakes but you can really get creative with the flavors.
You might also like to try my other dump cake recipes like Pumpkin Dump Cake and Peanut Butter Apple Crisp, or more apple recipes like Apple Muffins or our viral Cinnamon Apple Bread which has been pinned over 1 million times!!
If you’ve tried this recipe please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
Apple Dump Cake
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 9 1x
Description
Dump cakes are an easy, all-American dessert recipe that can be prepped in just ten minutes. This 3 ingredient Apple Dump Cake will soon be a fall staple at your house!
Ingredients
- 21 oz can apple pie filling
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 6 tbsp butter or margarine, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add apples to a 9 by 9 casserole dish.
- Sprinkle dry cake mix over apples.
- Pour butter evenly over the top of cake mixture.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Notes
Try to break any large cake mix clumps up so they absorb the butter.
You can change up this Apple Dump Cake recipe by using butter pecan cake mix or spice cake mix. You can also add pecans or walnuts to the topping as well.
Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream or topped with whipped cream and caramel sauce!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 175
- Sugar: 11.2 g
- Sodium: 32.7 mg
- Fat: 11.3 g
- Trans Fat:
- Carbohydrates: 19.6 g
- Protein: 0.4 g
- Cholesterol: 20.4 mg
I made this exactly according to the recipe but it just wasn’t right.
There were several pockets of dry cake mix and the top with the nuts was hard.
perfect for fall!
Love easy cake recipes. Less time in the kitchen and more time with family during the holidays is always a plus.
I agree Erlene-dump cakes are so great because of how easy they are-even my 6 year old can help make one!