This is a pantry staple dessert, similar to a cobbler but even easier. You layer the filling, sprinkle the dry cake mix over the top, drizzle the butter and let the oven do the rest. It's wonderfully low-stress, ready in 45 minutes, and perfect for weeknights, potlucks, and days when you want something sweet and old-fashioned without the effort.
Very easy dessert
New year, new dump cake, of course!
If you've made them before, you'll know they're more like cobblers than traditional cakes. The name comes from the fact that they use boxed cake mix.
This recipe is incredibly simple and rewarding, with very little work on your part. A variation of our popular fresh pear cobbler, but with shortcuts.
It takes 5 minutes of prep work: open the cans of pears, sprinkle the cake mix and drizzle the melted butter. The oven does the magic, as the dry mixture soaks up the butter and turns golden and slightly crisp at the edges with fruit juices bubbling around.
I always describe dump cakes as sweet casseroles that you can have on the table in 45 minutes. They're rustic and casual, and especially good served warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
Just like this vintage pear crisp, it's a great way to plan a dessert for a large crowd, as the baked dessert can be stored for about 4 days in the refrigerator and is easily reheated.
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.
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.
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.
How to assemble a dump cake
This version uses the melted butter over the cake mix, the old-fashioned way.
For variation and a crisper topping, I sometimes stir the melted butter into the cake mix first and then sprinkle it (see this berry dump cake recipe). You'll have an extra bowl to wash, and the topping won't be cakey and soft. Your call.
- The filling ingredients are dumped into the baking dish. I add the lemon juice and ground cinnamon to spruce up the flavor, but it's optional.
- Cake mix: scatter it carefully to cover the whole pear layer, but don't press or stir it.
- Drizzle the melted butter over the dry ingredients. It will have a few dry patches, and that is fine. Don't stir!
- Bake until golden brown and bubbly around the edges.
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Easy Pear Cake Mix Cobbler (5 ingredients)
Ingredients
For the fruit layer:
- 34 ounces pear slices in syrup, 4 cans of 8.5 ounces each
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional
For the cobbler topping:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 15.25 ounce box of yellow cake mix, white cake also works
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Have ready an 8x11-inch ceramic or glass dish. Or a 9-inch round or square dish. If you use a larger one, the dessert will not be as tall.
Pear filling:
- Dump 34 ounces pear slices in syrup into the dish, spreading to cover the whole pan. If you have halves, coarsely slice them first or in the same dish, with a knife and fork so they don't slip.
- Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon and drizzle 1 tablespoon lemon juice over. Stir lightly to mix.
Cake mix topping:
- Sprinkle a 15.25 ounce box of yellow cake mix on top of the fruit, even it out carefully, and then pour 1 cup unsalted butter, melted, on top of the cake mix, covering it as much as you can. A spot here and there is fine, but not large patches.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden and dry and the filling bubbles around the edges, checking close to the end of the baking time by carefully lifting the topping to ensure it's fully baked inside. Bake it more if necessary.
- Serve warm with whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of the syrup on top.
- Store leftovers covered or in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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