This strawberry cake mix dessert is the kind of recipe you keep in your back pocket for when you need something quick but still crave a homemade touch. It uses pantry staples and optional fresh strawberries. It's like a buttery cobbler with a cheesecake swirl. And it's awesome!
Quick cobbler
I never thought I'd say this (you know, not from scratch), but dump cakes are becoming a thing around here and a growing category on this blog, and with good reason: they're an easy dessert recipe option that uses simple ingredients. And disappears quickly.
This strawberry cream cheese cobbler is not a cake, but a spoonable dessert. It's also called a dump cobbler or cobbler with cake mix, and it might be the perfect dessert when short on time. It's quick to assemble, and you can have it on the table in 45 minutes.
The cake mix soaks up the juices from the filling and turns golden and slightly crisp at the edges while staying cakey underneath. And the butter, well, it melts and seeps into the dry ingredients, tying it all together.
If you've made dump cakes before, first of all, you should.
And second, try them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream. That said, they're surprisingly good plain the next day, at a cool room temperature, when the flavors have settled; I especially like the chocolate cherry dump cake and peach cake mix cobbler this way.
It's a great way to plan a dessert for a gathering, especially for a large crowd. The baked dump cake will keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator, well covered in plastic wrap. Let it come to room temperature before serving, or slightly warm it in a medium oven.
Testing Notes
- Cheesecake filling: Use full-fat cream cheese for the best pockets of tang and creaminess. I don't use an egg as it makes the cheesecake mixture too dry by the time it's baked. If in a hurry, cube the cold cheese and scatter it over the strawberries.
- Cake mix distribution: Sprinkle the mix evenly over the fruit so it absorbs juices in all areas. Clumps of dry cake mix are usually from uneven coverage.
- Place cold butter pieces evenly over the surface, so the top bakes up golden without dry patches.
- Ratio: I find that a lower topping ratio to filling is ideal because it's crisper and tastes amazing without being over-buttery or sweet. But, as with most desserts, find your ideal combination of filling, topping, and sweetness.
- 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.
Ingredient Notes
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.
- Dry cake mix: the type you find in the supermarket or grocery store, whatever brand you want. I'm using French vanilla cake for this dessert, but a yellow or white cake mix works too. You can also use strawberry cake mix for extra berry flavor. If feeling adventurous, use a chocolate cake mix for a unique flavor combination.
- Store-bought cans of strawberry pie filling: In my opinion, they tend to have fewer strawberries than what I like, so I add fresh berries.
- Fresh strawberries: They're optional, but add freshness, juice and enhance the sweet strawberry flavors.
How to assemble a dump cake
This version uses the cold butter over the cake mix, as opposed to melted butter used in this pineapple and strawberry dump cake (both are the old-fashioned way), or the crisper version (my personal twist) I use for the pineapple blueberry cobbler.
You can use any of the three options.
- The strawberry filling ingredients are dumped into the baking dish. I scatter fresh strawberries before the cream cheese mixture, which is fine if it doesn't cover the whole surface.
- Cake mix: scatter it and cover the whole fruit layer, and lightly even it out with your hand, but don't press it.
- Place the cold butter pieces over the dry ingredients. If they're thinly sliced, they will cover the whole cake mix.
- Bake until golden brown and bubbly around the edges.
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Strawberry Cream Cheese Dump Cake (quick and easy)
Ingredients
- 42 ounces strawberry pie filling, 2 cans with 21 ounces each
- ½ cup chopped fresh strawberries, optional, see Notes below
- 8 ounces regular cream cheese, softened
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream, optional
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 15.25 ounces French vanilla cake mix, 1 box, or other vanilla mix you like
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.
- Dump 42 ounces strawberry pie filling (2 cans) into the prepared baking dish and spread it evenly. Scatter ½ cup chopped fresh strawberries over the filling.
- In a small bowl, mix 8 ounces regular cream cheese, at room temperature, with 3 tablespoons sugar until completely smooth. Add 1 tablespoon heavy cream and stir to integrate well. Stir in ½ teaspoon lemon zest.
- Spoon or drizzle the cheesecake mixture over the fruit.
- Sprinkle 15.25 ounces French vanilla cake mix evenly over the cream cheese layer.
- Dot with 1 cup cold unsalted butter, thinly sliced, covering most of it or as much as you can.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling around the edges.
- Let cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack and serve warm plain, with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.
Sharon G says
Easy and scrumptious. My grandkids love it. And I’m teaching them to make it.
Paula Montenegro says
Love that Sharon! I learned to bake with my grandmother and it created a beautiful bond between us.