Cherry Dump Cake

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An easy 4-ingredient cherry dump cake — cherry pie filling under a buttery, golden cake-mix top with a hint of almond. No bowl, no mixer, no eggs.

Prep Time5

Cook Time45

Total Time50

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cherry dump cake

Servings: servings

Calories: 365kcal

Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Spread the cherry pie filling evenly across the bottom of the dish, then stir in the almond extract until distributed through the filling.
Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the cherries to cover them completely. Do not stir — the layers are what make a dump cake work.
Pour the melted butter as evenly as you can over the dry cake mix, covering as much of it as possible. Dot any dry, floury spots with extra butter — unsaturated mix stays powdery.
Bake for 45–50 minutes, until the top is golden and the cherry filling bubbles around the edges.
Let cool about 10 minutes so the center sets, then serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Saturate the cake mix with butter. Powdery, floury spots on top are the #1 dump-cake mistake — make sure the melted butter reaches as much of the dry mix as possible, and dot extra on any dry patches before baking.
Almond extract is the secret. It’s what makes a great cherry dump cake taste like more than 4 ingredients. Use the full ½ tsp, or ¼ tsp for a subtler hint.
Yellow vs. white cake mix: yellow is a touch richer; white lets the cherry color show through. Both work.
Butter options: melted and poured gives the most even, powder-free top, but you can also slice cold butter
thin and layer it edge to edge.
Slow cooker: layer the same way in a greased crock and cook on LOW 2½–3 hours or HIGH 1½–2 hours, until the edges bubble and the center is set.