Food and Recipes Desserts Cakes Old-School Dump Cake Recipes That Will Become Your Favorite Desserts By Patricia S York Patricia S York Patricia was the assistant food editor at Southern Living and worked with the Southern Living food team from 2006-2022. She contributed to articles about food, gardening, and pets. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on February 22, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Jennifer Davick; Food Styling: Vanessa Rocchio; Prop Styling: Missie Crawford No need to haul out the electric mixers or special equipment for these easy dump cake recipes. A dump cake has the crumbly texture of a cobbler mixed with the buttery goodness of a cake. You just need a baking dish, a can opener, and a couple spoons to make these recipes. The instructions, at their basic level, contain three ingredients: a can of fruit or pie filling, a box of cake mix, and butter. You may see an added extract or flavoring in a recipe, but you get the idea. A dump cake can be a fun, can't-miss project for a novice baker, or a quick dessert to satisfy your family's sweet tooth. You may notice that a few of these recipes are slightly more involved than just "dumping" the ingredients into the baking pan, but we promise they're still as simple and the outcome is the same: a fruity and cakey dessert that will disappear from the pan within minutes of cooling. 01 of 07 Pineapple Cherry Dump Cake Micah A. Leal Recipe: Pineapple Cherry Dump Cake Dump cakes derive their name from the method in which they are made—you simply dump the ingredients into a baking dish and bake. The recipe combines a can of cherry pie filling with a can of pineapple tidbits, topped with a boxed cake mix and butter. You can't beat the fruity, buttery goodness from this combination. 02 of 07 Cranberry Upside-Down Cake Oxmoor House Recipe: Cranberry Upside-Down Cake While this upside-down cake may require just a few more steps than a traditional dump cake recipe, we promise the gooey, tart, sweet result is completely worth it. 03 of 07 Peach Dump Cake Micah A. Leal Recipe: Peach Dump Cake A can of peaches contains more than just pieces of fruit—the sweet syrup is infused with rich peach flavor and is just the right liquid ingredient to cook into a yellow cake mix. We added warm notes of cinnamon and nutmeg to a box of yellow cake mix before pouring it over the sliced peaches. The result? This luscious cake, a delicious cross between a buttery cake and a crumbly cobbler. 04 of 07 Apple Pie Cake Photography: Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Recipe: Apple Pie Cake When you don't feel like fussing over pie crusts, try this one-dish cake recipe that's just a sugary sweet as Grandma's beloved apple pie recipe. 05 of 07 Cherry Dump Cake Emily Laurae/Southern Living Recipe: Cherry Dump Cake Bypass the usual canned cherry pie filling and choose canned whole, pitted cherries to make this process quick and easy. The dark cherries also give this cake a deep color, making it look like a summer berry cobbler, but the cherry flavor is unmistakable. 06 of 07 Pumpkin Dump Cake Micah A. Leal Recipe: Pumpkin Dump Cake This dump cake veers off the traditional path by using a can of pumpkin puree instead of a pie filling. Velvety in texture and both savory and sweet in flavor, pure pumpkin puree requires a few more ingredients to make it set into a delicious filling before being topped with boxed cake mix and butter. The outcome is a dump cake that's flavorful with the familiar tastes of both a yellow cake and a spiced pumpkin pie. Serve the cake with whipped cream and freshly grated nutmeg for enhanced creaminess and spice. 07 of 07 Peach Cobbler Emily Laurae/Southern Living Recipe: Peach Cobbler Although it has cobbler in its title, this recipe still calls for boxed cake mix in the crumble, and it couldn't be any simpler to make. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit