Black Forest Dump Cake (cherry chocolate)
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.
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
For the cherry layer:
- 2 cans cherry pie filling 21 ounces each
For the cake layer:
- 3 cups chocolate cake mix about ¾ of an 18-ounce box
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter cold, see Notes below for a melted butter variation
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 2 cans cherry pie filling and dump them in the dish, spreading to cover the bottom. For homemade filling, see below.
- Scatter 3 cups 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.
Notes
Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer that is placed inside the oven to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
What type of cake can you use? Any type of chocolate cake you like. A favorite of mine is devil’s food cake mix because it has a rich chocolate flavor. But any chocolate mix will do.
Serving it: warm and a la mode (that means with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top) might makes this the easiest chocolate dessert that you won't forget easily. But warm and plain is still amazing. Or serve it with whipped cream for a black forest dump cake, which for me, is a perfect combination of flavors.
Melted butter topping: there is another way to make the topping for this dump cake, and I think it's even easier. Simply melt the butter and mix it with the cake mix in a bowl. It will be somewhat crumbly and slightly wet with some dry spots. It's how we make the cherry dump cake recipe. I find that this method makes for a crunchier topping.
