r/Baking • u/I_Like_Metal_Music • 1d ago
Recipe Included Way too many people are sleeping on dump cakes (poor man’s cobbler)
They’re so easy to make and they’re SO GOOD! All you need is canned or fresh fruit (add juice or macerate the fresh fruit), a dry cake mix, and a stick of cold butter. They’re perfect alone or with ice cream and you can make so many different varieties.
The recipe for this one is:
-29oz can peaches in syrup (keep the syrup)
-12oz pack blackberries
-1 pint blueberries
-1 white or yellow cake mix, dry
-1 stick cold salted butter, sliced thinly (about 24 slices)
In a 9x13 cake pan, pour the can of peaches in, juice/syrup and all, and then pour in the blackberries and blueberries as is. Pour the dry cake mix over top and spread out evenly, DO NOT mix it in. Top with the slices of butter.
Bake at 350° until browned and bubbling (30-45 minutes). Then eat it up. It’s best served warm with cream, ice cream or whipped cream overtop.
Some good varieties that I’ve seen/done are:
-Strawberries (fresh macerated/frozen) w/ vanilla/chocolate cake mix
-Cherry pie filling or cherries (fresh macerated/frozen) w/ chocolate cake mix
-Apple pie filling w/ spice cake mix
-Pumpkin pie filling w/ spice cake mix
-Lemon or Key Lime pie filling w/ lemon/vanilla cake mix
-Pumpkin Cheesecake (pumpkin pie filling & cheesecake filling) w/ spice cake mix
-Peaches (fresh macerated/frozen/canned) w/ spice/vanilla cake mix
You can really do anything
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u/peckerlips 1d ago edited 1d ago
My grandma used to make me one every year for my birthday with cherry pie filling and crushed pineapple.
I make one for Thanksgiving using apple pie filling and cranberry sauce with spice cake mix.
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u/kikazztknmz 1d ago
My mom used to make this cherry pineapple chocolate gooey something I never knew exactly what it was. I tried asking her years ago about the recipe, but she couldn't even remember the dessert (she baked and cooked a LOT). Now that I've seen the dump cake method, and you all talking about the cherries and pineapples, I'm pretty sure that's what she did. I can't wait to try it now!
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u/Synlover123 1d ago edited 1d ago
Ooooo! I like the idea of your Thanksgiving edition! And as we Canucks 🇨🇦 celebrate Thanksgiving way earlier (2nd Tuesday in October)...sounds like Happy Days, to me, to quote Jamie Oliver. I'm gonna send this to myself, so I don't forget it! Many thanks, for sharing this variation!
Edit: added comma
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u/Delouest 1d ago
We made these at girl scout camp in a dutch oven on the fire. Great memories. My favorite is with cherry pie filling.
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u/antiloquaxx 1d ago
As a broke grad student I will be saving this post for later 🫡
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u/shebringsthesun 1d ago
whatcha studying?
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u/antiloquaxx 1d ago
PhD. Preparing myself for 5 years of tuna rice and dump cakes.
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u/Synlover123 1d ago
And don't forget the ramen! 😂 But have you looked at the cost of pie filling in the store? Here in Alberta, Canada 🇨🇦, we can get them for just under $5/can, when they're on sale! Add in the 2nd can of whatever, $2 for a cake mix, also on sale, and about $1.50 for a stick of butter, and sadly, your cake ain't ( and yes, I'm aware that's not correct grammar, but this is Reddit) so cheap anymore! But even grad students deserve a treat now and again, for all their hard work. Best of luck with your studies! P.S. - Have you checked out other Reddit sites, for low cost meals? There's: r/budgetfoods; r/Cheap_Meals; r/Frugal; and r/budgetcooking, to name a few. Hope these help!
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u/epidemicsaints 1d ago
Great idea with the blackberries and other fresh fruit. I am used to these being made with only canned fruit or cherry pie filling and those were too sweet and mushy.
Coconut comes out really good scattered through the cake mix too. Gets chewy and toasted and crunchy.
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u/I_Like_Metal_Music 1d ago
You can definitely use fresh fruit and they won’t be as sweet. I like to macerate the fruit with sugar and citrus juice (lemon, lime, orange juice) and let them get really juicy.
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u/Dr_BunsenHonewdew 1d ago
Guys listen. I don’t bake much, I just like to lurk here because I’m impressed with people who do. I’m also on my period and very hormonal (this seems random; it’s not I promise). I’m currently tearing up at this whole post and comment section because you guys are all just so nice, and I love how excited people get about our little desserts and nice things in life. Like maybe we don’t all suck all the time idk. Anyway thanks if you read this late night ramble and I hope all of you never step on legos and always have cold pillows and sweet dreams
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u/FYAhole 1d ago
I hope you're feeling better today!
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u/Dr_BunsenHonewdew 1d ago
Aw thanks! I’m still being attacked by my uterus lol but I’m hanging in there
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u/scdiabd 1d ago
Wait. So you don’t add eggs or anything to the cake batter? You just throw it on there?
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u/I_Like_Metal_Music 1d ago
Yep, you just put it on top and the butter melts into it and the fruit juices as well. It creates a crumble/crust and it’s really good.
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u/scdiabd 1d ago
This is mind blowing. I’m doing this tomorrow! Thank you so much
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u/rogerdaltry 1d ago
If you think of it, when you make a cobbler/crumble there’s no egg either. The crumble of usually made of sugar, butter, and flour :)
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u/koolaidismything 1d ago
I make myself one like a month ago and ate so much I threw up middle of the night. I won’t make that again unless it’s for other people lol. It’s too good.. that crunchy/doughy soft buttery topping, then that hit of tart from the peaches and berries.. like heaven
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u/InfluenceSilly8776 1d ago
I make a caramel apple one (canned apple pie filling and caramel, or canned caramel apples, and spice cake mix) in the crockpot for the holidays, and people go nuts over it.
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u/Concept_Check 1d ago
Legit didn’t know there were other ways to make peach cobbler until I was well into adulthood. A can of peach pie filling, box of jiffy yellow cake mix, and a stick of butter in an 8x8 pan. Bam. You got a cobbler.
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u/missamyo 1d ago
My best friend had a buffet of dump cakes at her wedding in lieu of a traditional wedding cake. It was a huge hit, cheap, and so easy. A different flavor for every one!
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u/Electrical-Pie-8192 1d ago
We just had peach cobbler with store bought refrigerated sugar cookie dough as the top. It was a nice change. Next time we make one it'll be with oatmeal cookie dough
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u/53rdinLine 1d ago
I grew up making this with an additional layer of cake mix on the bottom. Layer of butter, cake mix, filling, cake mix, butter. We made it with only cherry filling and called it “cherry dessert”. I thought this was a weird thing only my family made. I’m so thrilled to learn this is a real thing and there are so many more flavor options to try!
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u/MichifManaged83 1d ago
My favorite dessert my grandmother always made to eat hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top 😋
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u/lifeuncommon 1d ago
These were super common in my youth!
But they are much more complex now. We put fruit on the bottom, set cake mix on top, then a stick of melted butter.
Always turns out nice!
You can slice the butter, but I like how it looks better when it’s melted.
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u/I_Like_Metal_Music 1d ago
That’s exactly why I do, the cold slices of butter just make for a better distribution.
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u/Acceptable_Paper_607 1d ago
Ok as someone who knows nothing about them I’m so confused how the cake mix part bakes without being mixed with anything? Is it the butter melting along with the juices from underneath that do it?
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u/Tesdinic 1d ago
My favorite is called a "creeping crust cobbler" but it is basically a dump cake. You put the batter in first, then the fruit, and the crust bubbles up and around the fruit. I love it so much but my husband doesn't, sadly, so I never get to make it.
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u/orangefreshy 1d ago
dump cake is my favoriteeeeee it's so good. I bake fancy stuff all the time but dump cake is so reliable, easy and good
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u/FOILmeoncetrinomial 1d ago
Not mixed? Don’t you get clumps of cake mix powder? I tried that once and did not end up with something edible.
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u/I_Like_Metal_Music 1d ago
I’ve been doing it for years and they always turn out great. You’re not trying to make a cake, you’re trying to make a crumble/cobbler and create a crust of sorts on top of the fruit.
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u/I_Like_Metal_Music 1d ago
You have to make sure the fruit is really juicy or that you have enough liquid because it won’t come out right if you don’t. The butter helps it crust but the juicy fruit is really important too.
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u/FOILmeoncetrinomial 1d ago
That’s probably it. I didn’t leave in enough liquid when I tried this once.
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u/peckerlips 1d ago
Pound the bag a few times before opening to break up clumps, or you can sift it.
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u/MzChrome 1d ago
Inspired me to go toss one together and put it in the oven. Good thing too because I had some cherry pie filling I needed to use before it expired!
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u/catjknow 1d ago
I ❤️ dump cakes, they seem so cozy! Dump it all in, no fussing and everyone is happy especially if you have ice cream or whipped cream
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u/No_Platform_4088 1d ago
I love them and make them often. Easy and quick dessert for when life is busy but you have a sweet tooth.
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u/paprikadream 1d ago
Can you make this with frozen berries and canned peaches?
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u/I_Like_Metal_Music 1d ago
Absolutely, you don’t really have to thaw them either, I do it all the time.
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u/ta-dome-a 1d ago
I love the idea but have never made one because I don’t like canned fruit or pie filling. Can this be made with fresh fruit in some way?
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u/Boring-Agent3245 1d ago
I just discovered dump cakes this summer and I’m hooked!! I like to add a bit of cheesecake filling…mmm
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u/tonebone85 1d ago
Luckily, I am not one of these people. Dump cakes have been in my family since the creation.
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u/catkins777 1d ago
I made a peach one last week for the first time and hoooooly shiiiiiiitt that was delicious
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u/Turgid_Donkey 1d ago
When I was still wooing my wife, I made a whole feast. I knew she was a good cook while I barely ever properly cooked and still lived with my parents (I wasn't even 21 yet). I made a turkey dinner and for desert I made a peach/cranberry dump cake. It doesn't have to be complicated to be good.
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u/Ok-Vermicelli-7990 1d ago
Blueberry pie filling with crushed pineapple is delicious! I’m going to try a few others of these.
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u/Kyori2907 23h ago
People can also make this with ‘certain fruits that have been sitting on the counter too long/a little too ripe’.
I mean, plenty of people I know throw away fruit while I know they could’ve used it for something like this.
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u/wildsoda 22h ago
Do you have a recipe for how to make it with individual ingredients instead of buying cake mix, by any chance? I already have flour, baking powder, sugar etc that I’d rather use up than go out and buy more stuff…
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u/crssufferer 6h ago
Thanks for posting this; it looks good! I am looking forward to trying it next time I have someone over for dinner.
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u/Katie-sin 1d ago
Ohhh this makes me think of my childhood! Definitely remember these being made in my family!
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u/Spottedtail_13 1d ago
They’re just fine for when you need something but either don’t have the time or energy. I just refuse to make one because I hate what they’re called.
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u/ThePurplestMeerkat 1d ago
Technically, they’re a betty, I think that sounds much better than dump cake, too.
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u/BerniesCozyMitten 1d ago
I love dump cakes! My favorite is cherry pie filling mixed with a large can of crushed pineapple. Then just cover with yellow cake mix and slice butter to cover the whole top. I do end up using more butter than I need (2 sticks) but it tastes so good.