The first time I heard of Dump Cake was in the 1970s when I was living in Baltimore. A friend said she was going to bring a ‘Dump Cake’ along to dinner and I was certainly intrigued by the name. Then 40 years later, I decided to buy a cookbook that features over 250 dump cake recipes- yes, it was time for me to take the ‘dump plunge.’
Dump Cakes usually require a 1-2-3 DUMP strategy: first you ‘dump’ a can of fruit or pie filling into a cake pan (but it can be fresh fruit), then you add a packet of cake mix on top, followed by a stick of butter- I can’t think of anything easier! It takes less than ten minutes to assemble and only 20 – 30 minutes to bake.
I find that the texture of a dump cake is crispier and slightly crunchier than traditional cake- almost like a cobbler.
Instead of using canned cherry pie filling, I made mine from ‘scratch’, using drained cherries from a jar, sugar and corn flour (see detailed recipe below).
For my Cherry Cheesecake Dump Cake:
First I ‘dumped’ the cherry pie filling into a cake pan, followed by slices of cream cheese.
Then I added a packet of white (or yellow) cake mix on top:
Finally, I placed 1/2 cup butter slices on top of the mixture, followed by some slivered almonds.
Bake at 180 C (350 F) for 20 – 30 minutes or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Serve plain or with ice cream or whipped cream.
Are you up for the Dump Challenge?
- 4 cups tart cherries from jar, pitted and drained
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup corn flour or corn starch
- 1/2 cup (125 g cream cheese) cut into small pieces
- 1 cake mix (white or yellow cake mix)
- 1/2 cup butter, cut into thin slices
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds (optional)
- Drain the cherries and place in saucepan with the water and sugar. Bring to boil, reduce heat and then stir in the corn flour. Let simmer for about 5 minutes until the mixture thickens.
- Pour mixture into cake pan and add small pieces of cream cheese on top.
- Spread the cake mixture on top, then add the thin slices of butter. Sprinkle the slivered almonds on top.
- Bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Serve with ice cream or whipped cream (optional).
- To serve my cake, I added extra juices from the cherry filling as a garnish.
10 Comments
John@Kitchen Riffs
June 11, 2015 at 12:55 amNever heard of dump cake! Like the idea, though. Particularly cherry cheesecake — yum! Fun stuff — thanks.
Fran
June 11, 2015 at 6:50 amThanks John- Yep- the strategy of ‘123-Dump’ suits me just fine!
Megan
June 11, 2015 at 4:21 amI never thought to put cream cheese in a dump cake! Brilliant! Thanks for this recipe. I love having a delicious and easy recipe in hand for when the cravings hit:)
Fran
June 11, 2015 at 6:52 amHi Megan- so glad to hear from you! The possibilities for making a Dump Cake are certainly endless!
Denise Browning@From Brazil To You
June 11, 2015 at 10:38 pmIt looks absolutely delicious, Fran! I would love to eat mine warm, accompanied by a good scoop of ice cream. Wishing you an awesome day!
Juliana
June 12, 2015 at 8:51 amI have never heard of dump cake…first I thought, maybe my “English” is not this good, I might not be missing something, until I read the post…yes, it cannot be easier than 1-2-3…and it sure looks great…I like the crispy layer…
Thanks for the inspiration Fran…hope you are having a great week 🙂
Daniela
June 13, 2015 at 4:22 amAnother lovely and creative idea , Fran.
Love this cherry cake with a twist and as I just bought some beautiful cherries….guess what 🙂
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
June 14, 2015 at 1:27 pmI know it’s a dump cake but I LOVE this stuff. I’ve been making it for years and this is my indulgent pleasure when there’s nothing in the house to eat. It’s got fruit, therefore it’s healthy, right?
Fran
June 14, 2015 at 4:18 pmThanks Maureen. What a co-incidence- I see that you also recently posted a ‘Dump’ recipe. Maybe these dump recipes will catch on again!
Gourmet Getaways
June 17, 2015 at 10:37 pmDump it over here, with ice cream, please hehe. Looks so rich!
Julie & Alesah
Gourmet Getaways xx