Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake is quite possibly the easiest dessert you will make this summer! Cherry pie filling is topped with devil’s food cake mix and butter for a sweet treat that’s one part cake, one part cobbler, and two parts irresistible.
Everyone will ask for the recipe and no one will believe how darn simple it is to make.
What Is a Dump Cake?
All Things Mamma readers just can’t get enough of my dump cake recipes! Aside from how tasty they are, the best thing about dump cakes is that you don’t need to dirty any bowls or get out your electric mixer—the ingredients are dumped directly into the baking dish. With this Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake, you’ll pour the cherry pie filling at the bottom of the dish, then top it with the dry cake mix and butter.
Is it magic? It might just be! Somehow, it turns out amazing even without adding eggs or milk or anything else.
(Do you love chocolate cakes? Then you need to try my famous Copycat Portillo’s Chocolate Cake too!)
Easy Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake Recipe
There aren’t very many fruits that pair better with chocolate than cherries, so if you have a weakness for this duo, this is going to become your go-to dump cake recipe. I love making Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake for a summer barbecue because it’s so good topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but what’s great about a dump cake is that it’s easy enough to make on a weeknight so you can surprise your family with an unexpected dessert after dinner. (Unexpected desserts are always the best desserts, right?!)
Really, the hardest part about making Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake is waiting for it to finish baking. It needs about 45 minutes in the oven, so be sure to plan accordingly!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake:
- Cherry pie filling – The whole point of a dump cake is that it’s a super easy dessert, so we use canned cherry pie filling here—two cans, to be exact. Just open ‘em up and dump ’em out.
- Devil’s food cake mix – Fun fact: devil’s food cake got its name because it used to be made with shredded beets, giving it a deep red color. (Of course, the richness of the chocolate probably played a role too!)
- Butter – You’ll need to melt a stick and a half of butter.
- Whipped topping or vanilla ice cream – Technically, this is optional, but I say go big or go home.
How to Make Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake
1. Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350ºF, then spray a 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Dump
Empty the cans of pie filling into the baking dish, then use a spatula to distribute the filling evenly. Top this with the dry cake mix.
3. Add Butter
Pour the melted butter over the top of the cake mix. Tilt the dish to make sure as much of the cake mix is saturated with the butter as possible.
4. Bake
Pop the baking dish in the oven and bake for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until it’s bubbly around the edges.
5. Serve
Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then serve your Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake with the whipped topping or a scoop of ice cream.
FAQ
How do dump cakes work?
Dump cakes are really best thought of as a cobbler-like dessert rather than a cake. They don’t bake up like a fluffy cake, but the liquid from the butter and pie filling adds enough moisture for the cake mix to take on crisp-y, cobbler-y texture when all is said and done.
How do you know when Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake is done?
As mentioned above, this is not a cake-y cake, so you’ll know when your Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake is done not by inserting a toothpick in the center, but by looking for the pie filling to be bubbling up around the edges.
Do you stir a dump cake?
Heavens no! Stirring is not needed. Just dump the ingredients in. It will work out, I promise.
Reader Favorite Dump Cakes
If you’re looking for more easy dump cake recipes, give these a try!
- Blueberry Dump Cake
- Peach Dump Cake
- Apple Dump Cake
- Strawberry Dump Cake
- Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake
- Pumpkin Dump Cake
Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cans 21 oz each cherry pie filling
- 1 devil's food cake mix
- 3/4 cup butter melted
- Whipped topping or vanilla ice cream if desired
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Spread pie filling in baking dish.
- Top with dry cake mix evenly.
- Pour melted butter over top, tilting pan to cover as much of top with butter as possible.
- Bake 40 to 45 minutes or bubbly around edges.
- Cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with whipped topping or ice cream.
Do you think you could use a brownie mix instead of a cake mix?? Maybe use more butter??
Would just like to mention that your instructions read to bake for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly around edges (totally agree) BUT where your prep & cook time are listed it says cook time is 11 minutes. Was just a little confused 🙂 no rudeness implied