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This Black Forest Dump Cake Is One of the Easiest Desserts You'll Ever Make

This Black Forest Dump Cake Is One of the Easiest Desserts You'll Ever Make
Prep Time:
10 mins
Total Time:
55 mins
Servings:
12

Black forest cake is a traditional German dessert that's made with chocolate cake and layers of cream and cherry filling. It's a truly delicious dessert that can take up to three hours to make. Here, we've kept the classic but gave it a weeknight-ready upgrade. Rather than a layer cake, try making a dump cake.

Why Is it Called Dump Cake?

A dump cake is very similar to a cobbler in texture and flavor and is made by "dumping" ingredients like canned pie filling and cake mix into a cake pan. Generally, you start with canned fruit, fresh fruit, or pie filling and then sprinkle on a box of cake mix. Before baking, dot the top with pats of butter.

Black Forest Dump Cake Ingredients

To make this chocolate dump cake with cherries, you'll need just four ingredients. Pick up your favorite type of chocolate cake mix (our Test Kitchen recommends Devil's Food), cherry pie filling, salted butter, and almond extract—that's all you need to make this easy dessert. This black forest dump cake recipe is ready in under an hour including bake time!

How to Serve Black Forest Dump Cake

To mimic the creamy frosting of a black forest layer cake, we recommend serving this dump cake recipe warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream. If you want to make it ahead, the finished cake is also delicious served at room temperature.

Ingredients

  • 2 (21-ounce) cans cherry pie filling

  • 1 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla extract (optional)

  • 1 package 2-layer-size devil's food cake mix

  • 3/4 cup cold salted butter, sliced into 24 pats

  • Vanilla ice cream

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour pie filling into a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Stir in extract (if using) and spread evenly in dish.

  2. Evenly sprinkle cake mix over the cherries.

  3. Arrange pats of butter evenly over the cake mix. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until cake mix is firm and filling is bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature. If desired, serve with ice cream.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is dump cake supposed to be gooey?

    Yes, dump cake will be a little gooey when baked. Think of dump cake like a cobbler with a gooey or creamy filing that's topped with a crisp cake layer. The end results won't be light or fluffy like a traditional boxed cake.

  • What's the biggest mistake to avoid when making dump cake?

    Dump cake is a nearly foolproof dessert recipe but there's one big mistake to avoid. You don't need to stir dump cake. Doing so will impact the texture of the finished cake. Simply layer the ingredients into the pan as directed and bake.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

384 Calories
15g Fat
62g Carbs
2g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 12
Calories 384.3
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 15.1g 19%
Saturated Fat 8.2g 41%
Cholesterol 30.5mg 10%
Sodium 439.5mg 19%
Total Carbohydrate 62.3g 23%
Dietary Fiber 1.6g 6%
Total Sugars 17g
Protein 2.5g 5%
Vitamin D 0mcg 0%
Vitamin C 3.6mg 4%
Calcium 71.6mg 6%
Iron 1.5mg 8%
Potassium 252.8mg 5%
Fatty acids, total trans 0.5g
Vitamin D 0IU
Alanine 0.1g
Arginine 0.1g
Ash 1.9g
Aspartic acid 0.4g
Caffeine 2.6mg
Carotene, alpha 0mcg
Choline, total 4.1mg
Copper, Cu 0.2mg
Cystine 0g
Energy 1606.7kJ
Fluoride, F 0.4mcg
Folate, total 27.7mcg
Glutamic acid 0.5g
Glycine 0.1g
Histidine 0g
Isoleucine 0.1g
Leucine 0.2g
Lysine 0.1g
Methionine 0g
Magnesium, Mg 24.9mg
Manganese, Mn 0.1mg
Niacin 1.2mg
Phosphorus, P 141.5mg
Pantothenic acid 0.2mg
Phenylalanine 0.1g
Proline 0.2g
Retinol 95.6mcg
Selenium, Se 2mcg
Serine 0.1g
Theobromine 89.2mg
Threonine 0.1g
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.6mg
Tryptophan 0g
Tyrosine 0.1g
Valine 0.1g
Vitamin A, IU 558.8IU
Vitamin A, RAE 107.4mcg
Vitamin B-12 0.2mcg
Vitamin B-6 0.1mg
Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 1.9mcg
Water 74.6g
Zinc, Zn 0.4mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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