Few ingredients and minimal work make this dump cake an easy dessert for many occasions. You can make it more or less from scratch, with only store-bought components or a quick homemade filling. The combination of flavors is wonderful, and it's ready in an hour. It's also known as black forest dump cake.
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It's such an easy dessert, very customizable, and a total crowd-pleaser! A bite of this cherry chocolate dump cake recipe and you'll understand what I mean.
The word cake is loosely used in the title. It's not what you envision, which is usually layers when you think of one.
This is cobbler-like in appearance, but uses canned pie filling and boxed cake mix. The ingredients are dumped and layered in a baking dish. The butter melts, and the fruit juices bubble up during baking, moistening the dry cake mix. This bakes the floury mix in a cobbler-like way, unlike the regular layer cakes we're used to.
I make my own filling when canned ones are not available, so just know that it's an option.
I was introduced to dump cakes many years ago at a summer barbecue, but didn't make them for years. It took a while for me to fathom the idea of using boxed cakes (the ones found at the grocery stores) since baking from scratch is what I like the most. But I'm so glad I tried it!
This recipe is a richer and more sophisticated cousin to the fresh cherry dump cake.
Testing Notes
Cake mix distribution: Sprinkle the boxed mix evenly over the fruit so it absorbs juices in all areas. Clumps of dry cake mix are usually from uneven coverage.
Butter coverage is key, and melted butter gives the most even distribution. Pour it slowly and evenly over the surface. A few small dry spots are fine. Large dry patches are not. If needed, drizzle a little extra butter halfway through baking. This is important; you don't want to bite into dry cake mix!
Make sure the topping is fully baked. It may be golden brown and the juices bubbling, but lift some of the dough here and there to check that it's not still wet inside.
What type of chocolate cake can you use? Any type you like. A favorite of mine is devil's food cake mix because it's a rich chocolate cake with an intense flavor. But any chocolate cake will do. You can also mix chocolate chips with a yellow cake mix and make it a chocolate chip cherry dump cake. Maybe you'll end up finding a new family favorite dessert.
Keep leftovers in the refrigerator. You can freeze them for a month, sometimes more. Let it thaw at room temperature and warm it slightly in the oven before eating.
Make-ahead. You can make it up to several days before and have it covered in the fridge. Or freeze it for several weeks. Let it thaw at room temperature and warm it slightly in the oven before eating.
Ingredients
Quantities are listed on the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
- Cake mix: There are different types of boxed chocolate cake mixes. Use your favorite one.
- Unsalted butter.
- Store-bought cherry pie filling. You can add some extra fresh cherries on top if you want to add freshness.
Steps to make a chocolate cherry dump cake
Cherry filling and cake mix layer
Dump the store-bought pie fillings into the chosen baking dish. Sprinkle the cake mix on top. Even it out, but don't stir or mix it with the cherries.
Butter layer
Cut it into thin slices to cover the cake mix. Or most of it, there will be spaces left without it. First, level the cake dry mix (but don't mix it with the filling!) so the butter is easier to add.
Alternative: melted butter layer
Instead of the cold butter slices, you can simply drizzle the melted butter over the cake mix, or stir both ingredients together in a separate bowl, as we do in the peach dump cake recipe. The result will be less floury and crunchier. Both are amazing.
Baking
The topping will be dry and the butter will have melted. You should see the filling bubbling up the sides. Make sure the cake is baked and not wet; you can lift it carefully here and there and check.
Pitting cherries
If making the fruit layer from scratch (or you bake often with fresh cherries), you need a cherry pitter, a little gadget that'll make your life easier.
It's the only part of this recipe (if not using canned filling) that takes a little patience and an apron. Ensure your clothes are covered, as pitting cherries means drops of cherry juice flying around.
Serving: the best way is warm and à la mode (with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top), which makes this the easiest chocolate dessert you won't easily forget. But warm and plain is still amazing. You can also serve it with whipped cream for a black forest dump cake, which is a perfect combination of flavors if you ask me. If it's cold from the refrigerator, reheat it in the microwave or a medium oven first.
Family-style desserts: Use a nice baking dish, as you'll be serving it at the table. Here are my favorite baking dishes for dump cakes.
Variations: Use pure almond extract in the filling, or mix in some maraschino cherries for a different touch. A brownie mix can also work and render something extra fudgy.
Small-batch dump cake: Use 1 can of cherry pie filling or make half of the filling recipe here, and use half a package of chocolate cake mix. Bake it in a smaller pan or baking dish.
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Black Forest Dump Cake (cherry chocolate)
Ingredients
For the cherry layer:
- 42 ounces cherry pie filling, 2 cans
For the cake layer:
- 15.25 ounces chocolate cake mix, 1 regular box
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter, cold, see Notes below for a melted butter variation
OR make the filling from scratch:
- 2 pounds pitted cherries, fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- dash of ground cinnamon, optional
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract or pure almond extract, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Have ready an 8x11-inch oven dish (ceramic or glass).
- Open 42 ounces cherry pie filling and dump them in the dish, spreading to cover the bottom. For homemade filling, see below.
- Scatter 15.25 ounces chocolate cake mix with a spoon, making sure it covers all the cherries. Smooth slightly but don't mix and don't press too much. We want to flatten it a little so the butter slices are easier to arrange.
- Thinly slice ⅔ cup unsalted butter and arrange them on the cake mix. You should cover most of it so that when it melts in the oven, all (or most) of the cake mix is moistened. Alternatively, melt the butter and pour it over the chocolate cake mix in a large bowl. Mix with a spoon until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle it over the cherry filling.
- Bake on the middle rack for 45 minutes. Check by lifting the chocolate top here and there. If there are very dry spots, mix it a bit with the juices in the bottom. Otherwise, they might never moisten.
- Bake for 15 minutes more (1 hour in total) until the top is dry and the filling bubbles around the edges.
- Serve warm, plain or with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Store leftovers in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap. You can also freeze them, well covered or in an airtight container. Defrost at room temperature.
From scratch cherry pie filling:
- Cut 2 pounds pitted cherries in half and place them in a medium saucepan with ¼ cup sugar. Add ½ teaspoon orange zest and stir to combine.
- Dissolve 2 tablespoons cornstarch in ⅓ cup orange juice until smooth.
- Place the saucepan on medium heat and drizzle the cornstarch slurry over the cherries. Stir to mix and cook for a few minutes until the fruit releases its juices. Stir occasionally, making sure the mixture doesn't stick. It will start to boil and thicken. At this point, stir constantly for 1 minute.
- Remove from the heat, add a dash of ground cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract or pure almond extract if using, transfer to a shallow bowl and let cool completely, stirring occasionally.
charlotte evans says
I just tried this recipe. Not all of my cake mix cooked. it's just sitting on top all dry.
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Charlotte, my guess is that the butter slices were thick and didn't cover much of the filling. What you can do is slice some extra thin ones, place them on top of the dry patches and bake it for a little more. Maybe 10-15 minutes, checking until it's moistened and dry.
Billie Jo says
I used fresh cherries and made pie filling then mixed butter and cake mix in separate bowl first. Was more like a cobbler that way. Too sweet for my taste. Need a lil more flavor. Very sweet.
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Billie, yes, it’s also called cobbler with cake mix, and they’re sweeter than regular ones as the mix has more sugar than what we usually use in biscuit topping for cobblers.
Kimberly paz says
I can't wait to try this. It seems so easy and quick to put together . This will be perfect after working all day to finish off our meal in the evening.
Carlyn Ray says
I make this cake all the time. It's .my husband's favorite cake. I put sliced almonds on top to add another flavor dimension to the cake.
Paula Montenegro says
So glad to know it turned out so well Carlyn! Adding almonds sounds like a plan for next time I make it; they pair so well with cherries. Have a great week.
Verena says
Great recipe!! I won't use Box cake mix, but it worked brilliantly with my usual choc cake recipe
Paula Montenegro says
Happy to hear that Verena! I will keep that in mind from now on. Enjoy the weekend.
Lynn says
I agree. I never would used a cake mix. Just as easy to use a chocolate cake mix from scratch! Just a suggestion, to recommend using a chocolate cake from scratch.
angiesrecipes says
This is such a FUN recipe and it looks incredibly rich and yummy with cherries.
Paula Montenegro says
I agree. Have a great beginning of year Angie!
Sharon Joswick says
Hi there! I need the chocolate cherry dump cake, and it is yummy and rich. I used Frozen black cherries, but only added 1/8 cup of sugar to the cherries, and by the way the amount of cornstarch mixed in orange juice turned out to be perfect not too runny with the cherries. I made the blueberry dump cake with yellow cake mix and that was delish too, it says 2 to 4 cups of brown sugar, way too much sugar, one cup of brown sugar would be sufficient. Happy cooking! Enjoy!
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Sharon! The blueberry dump cake calls for 2-4 tablespoons of sugar NOT cups! That's is you make the filling from scratch. The same with this chocolate cherry recipe. If you use the canned filling you don't have to add anything else.