5-Ingredient Apple Dump Cake

Recipe Ingredients

The simplicity of these ingredients is what makes this dump cake recipe so easy and convenient.

Apples: Wouldn’t be an apple cake without apples. Apples provide the main flavor, texture, and moisture for the dessert. They contribute a sweet and slightly tart taste, as well as a tender, slightly chunky texture. We recommend baking apples such as Braeburn, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp or McIntosh.

Sugar: Adds sweetness to the apple mixture and helps to draw out their natural juices.

Ground Cinnamon: Provides warmth and spice that complements the apples. Cinnamon enhances the flavor profile and adds a comforting aroma.

Yellow Cake Mix: Gives the dessert structure and adds convenience to the recipe.

Butter: The melted butter helps to bind the dry cake mix together and creates a golden, buttery crust.

How to Make 5-Ingredient Apple Dump Cake

It’s incredibly easy to make our 5-Ingredient Apple Dump Cake. These simple steps will give you an idea of how this recipe comes together but refer to the recipe for all the specifics.

1. Spray the Pan

Spray the bottoms and sides of your 13x9 pan, so nothing sticks and is left behind.

2. Chop the Apples

We suggest peeling your apples before chopping them, the peels can turn brown and be tough to eat when baked. But you can also skip the peeling and chop the apples into bite-size pieces.  Mix the apples with sugar and cinnamon. Spread evenly in the bottom of the pan.

3. Top with Cake Mix

Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the apples (and the bare spots between and around the apples in the pan), so there is one even layer without large clumps of cake mix.

4. Drizzle with Melted Butter

Drizzle butter over the cake mix, moistening as much as the cake mix as you can without any mixing.

5. Bake and Serve

Bake the dump cake until it’s golden brown. Cool it until it’s warm (about 30 minutes). Serve topped with ice cream or whipped cream.

How to Store 5-Ingredient Apple Dump Cake

Leftover Apple Dump Cake can be left in the baking pan, so you don’t disturb the topping by spooning it into another container. 

Refrigerator

Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 3 days. To serve, spoon servings into microwavable bowls. Cover and microwave on medium-high (70%) 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until warm.

Freezer

Freezing isn’t recommended, as the apples will dry out. This cake is so quick to put together, keep the ingredients on hand so you can get one in the oven at a moment’s notice.

How to Choose the Right Apples

Our helpful article on choosing the best apples gives some guidance. Your selected apples can range from tart to sweet, but they should hold up to baking, without becoming mealy or mushy. Try Braeburn, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Honey Crisp, or McIntosh. If there is one of these varieties that are on sale, go for those! Or, if you’ve recently visited a farmer’s market or apple orchard, nothing beats the flavor of freshly picked apples.

This recipe was created specifically for fresh apples. The bake time is suited to cooking fresh apples until they are perfectly tender. You wouldn’t want to use dried apples for this recipe, as there isn’t enough moisture in the dessert to reconstitute the fruit, so it becomes tender to eat. Using canned apples also isn’t recommended as they will be overly soft when baked with the texture of the “cake” portion being dry, since canned apples aren’t as moist as fresh apples.

Are you ready to try more dump cake recipes?

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