The Easy Dump Cake Recipe You’ll Make All Summer Long

If you need a simple dessert recipe that tastes like you put a ton of effort into it, look no further than a dump cake. Thanks to store-bought shortcuts, dump cakes come together flawlessly and don’t require much work—and that’s exactly the kind of treat we’re looking to serve at a spur-of-the-moment barbecue or backyard hang. 

Cherry Cheesecake Dump Cake amplifies everything we love about making dump cakes: a seamless one-bowl method and a winning combination of flavors and textures (think: buttery yellow cake crumbs, tart cream cheese, and juicy cherry pie filling). Keep reading to find out why Allrecipes community members love it and how to make it yourself. 

Why We Love It

All you need is a short list of baking shortcuts and supermarket staples to make this dump cake: boxed vanilla cake mix, a can of cherry pie filling (these typically come in 21-ounce cans, so that’s what I used), one large egg, a half cup of white sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, 9 ounces of softened cream cheese, and 10 tablespoons of melted butter. 

This recipe is so simple it’s almost effortless, but that’s not the only reason we love it. This recipe also plays well with other dishes since it cooks at 350 degrees F—I made this cake for a recent barbecue, for example, and was able to slip the cake dish in the oven below my husband’s baked beans. 

How to Make Cherry Cheesecake Dump Cake

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Pour the pie filling into a 9×13-inch baking dish. (You can also size up if you don’t have one on hand—the ingredients will simply expand to meet the dish’s dimensions. 

Next, beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl using an electric mixer until well combined and smooth. Spoon the mixture in a layer over the pie filling. Evenly spread the boxed cake mix over the cream cheese mixture, taking care not to mix the layers. Pour the melted butter evenly over the cake mix. 

Bake until it’s golden brown and bubbly, between 40 to 50 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it stand 10 minutes before serving. Dab on some vanilla ice cream or whipped topping if you’re feeling fancy. 

Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks

With such an effortless recipe, there’s plenty of room to adapt your dump cake to your preferences. For example, if you’d rather give it a homemade spin and use from-scratch cake mix or fruit pie filling, then go for it. Can’t find or don’t care for cherry pie filling? Substitute in another fruit—strawberry and blueberry are easy-to-source options that help this recipe maintain its summery spirit. 

The primary tweak Allrecipes community members use with this recipe is switching up the butter. Allrecipes user Wil, for example, prefers using a stick and a half (that’s 12 tablespoons) of butter pats to lessen the amount of cake powder on top. 

Recipe developer Nicole McLaughlin does note that both melted and sliced butter will still yield a powdery top. “The slices of butter can be made thinner to where they cover most of the surface before baking, so I think you have better control like that,” McLaughlin says.  

Get the Recipe: Cherry Cheesecake Dump Cake