There are conventional cakes and then there are non-conventional cakes. These are those that don't require all of the usual ingredients and/or methods to bake. There are types like the icebox cake, mug cake and, for today's recipe, we have the dump cake, the laziest yet most rewarding one of the bunch.

A dump cake is made by literally stacking or "dumping" each ingredient, one on top of each other. Now that sounds kinda like preparing an icebox cake except that this cake is actually baked like normal as opposed to being chilled, get it? Also, the ingredients that go into a dump cake also differ from that one and are more specific.

Simply put, only three ingredients are required for the dump cake and they are pie filling, ready cake mix, and melted butter; dumped into a baking pan in that order. To make things more simple, the cake mix doesn't have to be prepared according to the recipe instructions on the back; it can simply be sprinkled over the pie filling.

In terms of flavor, things mostly come down to a combination of the first two ingredients and will vary depending on one's preference. And there are some pretty cool combinations to choose for a dump cake. This recipe will be made with a blue velvet cake mix, making this a brightly colored chocolate cake. As for the fruit pie filling, my recommendation would be blueberry for obvious reasons but other fruits like raspberry, strawberry or cherry are cool too.

The recipe

Cake Ingredients:

  • 1 box blue velvet cake mix
  • 2 cans (21 oz each) fruit pie filling of choice (preferably blueberry)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Buttercream Ingredients:

  • 2 cups confectionary sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1-2 tbsp milk
  • 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

The directions

Cake Directions:

  1. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking pan and set aside. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the butter into a pan and melt over low heat.
  2. Pour both pie fillings into the pan and spread evenly using a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the cake mix over the filling and spread evenly with another spatula or clean the one already used. Finish the layering by pouring the melted butter over the cake mix.
  3. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.
  4. Remove from the oven to cool for 10 minutes.

Frosting Directions:

  1. Using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, beat the confectionary sugar and butter together in a bowl for 32 minutes or until it becomes light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract until fully combined. Beat in the milk one tablespoon at a time to adjust the consistency.
  2. When the cake is finished cooling, spread the buttercream across the surface evenly and garnish with the blueberries.
  3. Serve or seal and refrigerate until ready for use.

Serves: 12

Variations

  • Red velvet - Substitute blue velvet cake mix for the red velvet cake mix.
  • Cream cheese - Substitute cream cheese for the butter used in the buttercream recipe.
  • Coconut - Substitute shredded coconut for the pie filling in the cake recipe. Substitute coconut extract for the vanilla extract in the buttercream recipe. Optionally, you can garnish the cake with shredded coconut.
  • Chocolate chip - Garnish the cake with half a cup of chocolate chips.
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