This cherry pineapple dump cake is the epitome of easy. With only 5 ingredients and minimal effort, you can achieve a perfectly fruity dessert with a warm, buttery cobbler-like crust. Dump cake is living proof that delicious doesn’t have to be complicated.
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Did You Say Dump Cake??
I was first introduced to dump cake when I was about 12-13 years old and my stepmom asked me if I wanted to help her make one.
I was dumbstruck.
Having never heard of such a thing before, my brain was cooking up some pretty absurd ideas about dump cake. Was she seriously suggesting that we make a cake from…ya know…poo?
I mean, I’d heard-tell of evil stepmothers and all, but I never expected anything quite so blatant as this. What was this lady trying to feed me?? And what sort of sadist wants her victim to assist in the making of a poo cake?! And where was this coming from? I thought we were getting along so well!
Needless to say, I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I realized that the ‘dump’ in this dessert recipe refers to the act of ‘dumping’ the ingredients into a baking dish and not the other thing. Phew!
In my defense, with an unfortunate name like dump cake, I think it’s at least a little bit understandable that I was leery. But even still, I fully and publicly apologize to my dear mom for grouping her into the evil stepmother category, even momentarily. She never once displayed psycho-like tendencies, so I should have known better from the start. I’m so, so sorry!
Additionally, I believe thanks are in order for introducing me to this super easy and delicious dessert. Thank you, ma!
Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake Is As Easy As It Gets
Honestly, it doesn’t get much easier than cherry pineapple dump cake. Except for cutting the butter, you quite literally just dump everything into your baking dish. No prepping, no mixing, no whipping, no fancy tools required.
Because this recipe is so easy to execute, it fits into even the busiest of schedules. Heck, dump cake is simple enough for kids to tackle with very little assistance from you making it a great confidence-builder recipe.
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You Can Even Make Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake In The Crockpot
Want an even easier version of dump cake? Try cooking it in the crockpot.
Follow the same method, but instead of adding the ingredients to a baking dish, you’ll put them into your crockpot.
Bake on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
It takes longer to cook in the crockpot, but sometimes it’s nice to have a dump-it and forget-about-it version when you want to make something ahead of time to be ready for later in the day. Plus, I just love a recipe with versatility!
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Ingredients For Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake
Aside from being the easiest dessert in my arsenal, cherry pineapple dump cake is also great because it requires very few ingredients. Five simple ingredients are all that’s required to throw down a consistently tasty dessert.
Even better still, these ingredients are pantry friendly so you can always keep them on hand for when you need to whip up something last-minute.
All you need for cherry pineapple dump cake is as follows:
- Crushed pineapples
- Cherry pie filling
- Yellow cake mix
- Butter
- Pecans
The pecans aren’t required, but I like the crunch they add to the topping. So if you don’t have them on hand, you can still make a perfectly delicious dump cake.
Method
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Crack open the cherry pie filling and dump it into a 13” x 9” baking dish. Spread evenly on the bottom.
Next, add the crushed pineapple and spread it out evenly.
Add the dry cake mix. No need to prepare the cake mix as directed on the box. Just add the dry mix. Trust me, the juice from the canned fruit and the melted butter will do all the work with the cake mix. Spread to evenly distribute over the canned fruit.
Cut the stick butter into thin pads and lay evenly over the cake mix.
Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the butter.
Bake in the middle rack, uncovered for 45 – 60 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. I like when the cake takes on a nice buttery, crusty texture so I bake mine on the longer side of the spectrum.
Let cool slightly before serving.
Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired.
Other Variations of Dump Cake
Cherry pineapple dump cake is the first dump cake I ever had, and it’s the version I still make the most to this day. It’s just a classic in my book. With that said, there’s room for creativity with dump cake.
Other great options for dump cake include:
- Chocolate-covered cherry – Two cans of cherry pie filling and chocolate cake mix
- Strawberry shortcake – Two cans of strawberries with white cake mix
- Blueberry-lemon – Two cans of blueberries with lemon cake mix
- Spiced apple – Two cans of apple pie filling with spice cake mix
- Pina colada – One can of crushed pineapple and one can of mandarin oranges with coconut cake mix
The possibilities are endless! When making substitutions, just stick to the same basic ratios for the fillings and the cake mix, and you should be in good shape.
You can even switch out the pecans for walnuts, pistachios, almonds, chocolate chips or toasted coconut, just to name a few.
Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 1 20 oz can Crushed pineapple
- 1 21 oz can Cherry pie filling
- 1 box Yellow cake mix
- 1 cup Unsalted butter
- 1 cup Pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Open the cherry pie filling and dump it into a 13” x 9” baking dish. Spread evenly on the bottom.
- Next, add the crushed pineapple and spread it out evenly.
- Add the dry cake mix. Spread to evenly distribute over the canned fruit.
- Cut the stick butter into thin pads and lay evenly over the cake mix.
- Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the butter.
- Bake in the middle rack, uncovered for 45 - 60 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling.
- Let cool slightly before serving.
- Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired.
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Love dump cakes – they’re so easy and tasty! Can’t wait to give this one a try.
That’s my favorite thing about dump cakes – fast and easy! I hope you enjoy this version!