My incredibly tasty apple dump cake is a super easy dessert, despite the not-so-great name. Apple pie filling, cake mix, and butter are layered in a 9 x 13 pan and baked until golden. This is a perfect go-to dessert for last-minute entertaining.
If you love everything apple, try my fabulous apple cider pancakes (complete with cinnamon apples and caramel apple cider syrup).
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Talk about an easy dessert to put together on short notice. That's the wonderful thing about any dump cake, and this apple version turns out beautifully. My apple pie dump cake is a very popular family dessert, no matter the time of year.
Tender sliced apples are topped with a boxed yellow cake mix and melted butter, then baked until golden. Serve it up nice and hot, or allow your dump cake to cool for about 15 minutes before serving.
❔ What Is
Any 'dump cake' is a cake that is made using ingredients that are literally dumped in a baking dish (or crockpot, or instant pot) together. There is no mixing required, and no extra dishes or mixing bowls are used.
Typically, fruit or canned fruit is used as the base of the cobbler-type dish. The base is topped with a boxed cake mix and a wet ingredient like melted butter or lemon-lime soda.
So my apple dump cake is an apple pie filling and cake mix dump cake. The flavor and textures are surprisingly good, and your friends won't guess that it's a cake mix recipe!
🥘 Ingredients
- 40 oz Apple Pie Filling (2 20 to 21 oz cans, for fresh apples see notes below)
- 1 box Yellow Cake Mix (white cake mix or spice cake mix also work)
- ¾ cup salted Butter (melted - or use 18 oz Sprite/7 Up/Sierra Mist lemon lime soda)
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
🍎 Using Fresh Apples Instead of Canned Apples
The baking time is long enough that even a semi-firm apple variety would work quite well.
- I would suggest peeling your apples before using them, and you would need to add some sugar and spices.
- Use a ½ cup of sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and a ¼ teaspoon allspice with your peeled, cored, and sliced fresh apples. You will need roughly 6 cups of cut apples, or enough to cover the bottom layer of a 9 x 13 baking pan.
- Combine these ingredients in a medium-size mixing bowl and substitute them in the directions for the canned apple pie filling.
🔪 How To Make An Apple Dump Cake
Prep & preheat. Start by preheating your oven to 350ºF (175ºC/Gas Mark 4) and coating a 9 x 13 baking pan or 3-quart casserole dish with butter, or a non-stick cooking spray.
Start layering. Distribute the canned apple pie filling over the bottom of your baking dish.
Add the cake mix. Next, pour the boxed yellow cake mix over the bottom layer of apple pie filling. Gently shake the pan, or tamp it down on the counter to evenly distribute the cake mix.
Wet the cake mix. Distribute the melted butter evenly over the top of the boxed cake mix, use a spoon if needed, or drizzle the melted butter into the pan.
Cook until bubbling. Bake in your preheated oven at 350ºF (175ºC/Gas Mark 4) for 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden brown on the top and bubbling around the edges of the baking dish or pan.
Serve or allow to cool. It is up to you whether you enjoy this dessert straight out of the oven, or after allowing it to cool for about 15 minutes.
🥗🥘🍲 Best Served With
I opt to eat it while it's nice and hot and serve it with either whipped cream or some vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
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💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- If desired, additional spices and/or a teaspoon of vanilla extract can be added to the apple pie filling layer. A dusting of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, or allspice, are all wonderful spices to stir in quickly. *I love nutmeg, and highly suggest a nice bit of freshly grated nutmeg to this delicious apple dump cake!
- A yellow cake mix is my preferred combination in this recipe, however, white cake mix and spice cake mix are also great flavor options!
- A 20-ounce bottle of lemon-lime soda, such as 7 Up, Sprite, or Sierra Mist, is also a popular switch for the butter. My family likes this version as well but prefers the buttery taste over the soda cake mix cobbler.
🍰 More 9 x 13 Pan Desserts
- Pineapple Bars
- Old Fashioned Irish Oatmeal Cake with Caramel Pecan Frosting
- Super Moist Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Mandarin Orange Cake
- Raisin Cake
- Apple Cobbler
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📖 Recipe Card
Apple Dump Cake Recipe (Cake Mix Cobbler)
Ingredients
- 40 oz apple pie filling (2 20 to 21 oz cans)
- 1 box yellow cake mix (white cake mix or spice cake mix also work)
- ¾ cup butter (melted - or use 18 oz Sprite/7 Up/Sierra Mist lemon lime soda)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (175℃/Gas Mark 4) and grease your 9 x 13 baking pan with butter or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the 40 oz apple pie filling, distributing it as an even bottom layer.
- Pour the boxed 1 box yellow cake mix over the apple pie filling. Gently shake or tamp the pan on the counter to spread the cake mix evenly.
- Next, add the melted ¾ cup butter. Pour the butter over as much of the cake mix surface as possible.
- Bake at 350℉ (175℃/Gas Mark 4) for 45-50 minutes or until golden browned on the top and bubbling around the sides of the pan. Allow the apple dump cake to cool slightly before serving, if desired, for about 15 minutes.
Linda says
When making the dumpcake, do you make the cake mix as box says or do you just pour dry cake mix over the apples?
Angela Latimer says
Just use the dry cake mix. Thanks for asking!
Sandy says
Soooooo delicious! I had to make some tweaks because I didn't have all of your exact ingredients. I only had 1 can of apple pie filling so I added 1 can of pear halves. I used the juice to make a cinnamon/cornstarch slurry, and I also chopped up an apple for more flavor and texture. I did have to bake it for 5 more minutes, though.
Sheila says
My MIL used to make this with Cherry but I couldn't remember the recipe. Delicious thanks for sharing. Very easy to make and well received
Barbara says
First try great. Did have dry spots. Will cover completely with butter. Will try 7up next
Sue H. says
Love your suggestions !! Thank you !
J Nelson says
I have found that the golden butter cake mix works better for dump cakes. Yellow cake mix a little too sweet.
Marion Bell says
So delious
Dorothy says
why can't you just mix the cake mix with the melted butter?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
You certainly can mix them, it does change the simple 'dump' and bake theme a small bit. It will also change the texture of the dump cake, but you can see how it looks here with my strawberry dump cake.
Anonymous says
I definitely hedged my bets on this one combined I canned apple pie filling AND 5 fresh apples added all spices recommended, a squeeze of lemon cooked 55 minutes. We do not like things really sweet this was absolutely awesome would recommend to anybody!!!
Joy says
Well I made this cake loved it. I added a twist. I put cool whip topping on it added apple slices & drizzled it with Ghirardelli caramel. It was delicious.
I tried to add a picture of it but the comments wouldn’t let me. Love this cake. I will definitely try it again next time I’m thinking spiced apples in it.
Donna says
Just made this! Whole lotta yum! I forgot to put the cinnamon on the apples so I put it on top of the cake mix with the butter. Delicious! Definitely making this again and again!!
Anonymous says
Can you make this in a slow cooker?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, most definitely! Assemble as directed and cook for 2 hours on the high setting. Thanks for asking!
Bre says
Can you add frosting?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hello Bre, I haven't frosted a single dump cake yet (and I love frosting!). The cakes come out resembling a cobbler, so at most I would add a layer of Cool Whip (or my stabilized whipped cream) before serving. If you do try either frosting or a whipped cream layer, please share your results. Thanks!
Renee Burgess says
Melt your icing in a small saucepan, let cool, drizzle it over the cake.
Sally James says
love this bake it with love !
Anonymous says
Great recipe and tips, thanks for sharing!
Karen says
When I make apple dump cake some of the cake is powdery. Should I mix the cake mix and butter before I put it in the dish?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hi there! The best way to avoid this is to sprinkle the butter as evenly as possible over the cake mix. If needed, use a pastry brush to grab some of the pooled butter and dab at any areas that aren't moistened. Hope that helps! Enjoy!
Julia says
Love this recipe ❤️
As for melting the butter. I use Kerry Gold butter and cut it in thin layers, lay it all over the top until is covered. No dry cake clumps. 😋
d.robinson says
love it so easy. lost recipe glad I found it,never used 7 up in last one do you know witch one is liked better.?.thank you.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I don't always have a lemon-lime soda in the house, so tend to use melted butter the most frequently. However, when I have used soda I thought that the cake layer was just a bit lighter. Both are delicious though!
Michele says
Can this recipe be made gluten/dairy free? I was thinking the gluten free cake mix with the soda and the apples.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes! Definitely! I was just adding notes into a new recipe I'm posting today to include the swap for gluten-free cake mix. Follow all of the instructions as written here, just change the cake mix type. *I've noticed that when using gluten-free cake mix, it works best to increase my liquids. Use 1 cup melted butter or a 21-ounce soda for best results.
Thanks for asking!
Joyce loop says
Could you use other types of pie filling instead of the apple?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Of course! It's a wonderful recipe to use various fruits as well as other cake mix flavors. There are a lot of combinations that would be wonderful 🙂
Joyce McKinney says
Thank you! I actually made this yesterday using a French Vanilla cake mix and 7-Up because that's what I had on hand. I can't believe it was so easy!! And yummy?? Indeed!! I think this will be my dessert contribution for pot luck dinners in the future! Thank you!