What do you get when you mix butter, canned fruit cocktail, and a yellow cake mix? The best darn fruit cocktail dump cake dessert recipe EVER! This easy-to-make dessert has a fruit cobbler-like feel and is perfect for summer outings or potlucks. You’ll be surprised at how good it tastes – don’t just take my word for it, try the recipe yourself.
If you love easy-to-make recipes that use common ingredients that you might have in your pantry, this recipe is exactly what you need in your life this spring. We used fruit cocktail in 100% juice and the results were fantastic! I love how this baked up with a buttery, firm crust, and a sweet, juicy layer–this was soo good! Enjoy this dump cake warm, out of the oven with some fresh whipped topping, or vanilla ice cream for the BEST kind of warmer treat!
Before starting this recipe, you’ll want to verify that you have the following ingredients:
- Fruit cocktail with cherries – I used two, 15-ounce Market Pantry Fruit Cocktail cans in 100% fruit juice-you will be draining the excess juice from the cans.
- 13.25-ounce Butter Recipe Yellow Cake Mix – This is the top layer of the dump cake. Sadly, unless you use Aldi brand, most cake mixes are now 2 ounces less!
- Butter – You will need 12 tablespoons or 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter frozen for at least one hour for best results.
Equipment and Supplies Needed
We used the following equipment and supplies to make this recipe. Items that are optional or can be substituted will be noted.
- 9 x 13 pan or a 2.5 quart oval pan – to bake your dump cake in.
- Knife & cutting board – for slicing your butter pats.
- Wooden spoon – to mix your ingredients.
- Can opener – to open fruit cocktail
- Oven – Adjusted to the center rack position to bake your dump cake in.
How to Get the Perfect Dump Cake
Ever make a dump cake that came out powdery and less than appealing? The reason being is because while this is called a dump cake, you really do need to do a little more than just dump it for best results.
After you add the cake mix over the fruit base layer, you will want to take your wooden spoon and gently pat the fruit juices into the cake mix. This will help it absorb the initial liquid so it prevents a floury top layer.
Another way to get the perfect dump cake is to evenly distribute the butter. Some people/recipes call for melted butter over the top of a dump cake, but this tends to be problematic because many areas will be left without butter and will be “powdery”.
A great tip for the butter step is to freeze your butter for at least 1 hour before carefully slicing it into thin pats. Additionally, you can also grate your butter while frozen. This will allow you to evenly sprinkle the butter over the entire dump cake. By spreading the butter over the cake mixture, your cake will bake up evenly to a golden-brown, bubbly texture and will not be powdery.
Storage
If you want to store your fruit dump cake simply follow the below instructions for best taste! While this recipe is best eaten the same day, warm out of the oven, you can enjoy it warmed.
Place any leftover fruit cocktail dump cake in an airtight container with a lid. This will keep out any unwanted odors from ruining the flavor of the cake. Store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 day max for best taste and consistency. In my opinion, this is best tasting when it it crunchy on top and has a cobbler-like texture, and taste.
If you want to prepare this in the morning before work for baking in the evening follow ALL the recipe instructions except for the baking step. Cover the cake tightly and store for up to 12 hours before baking. Bake at the normal temperature and time.
More Dump Cake Recipes
Recipe
Follow the recipe below to make Fruit Cocktail Dump Cake! This recipe makes 8 SERVINGS, but you can adjust the recipe card for other serving sizes.
The Best Fruit Cocktail Dump Cake
Equipment
- 2.5 quart baking dish
- Wooden Spoon
- can opener
- oven adjusted to the center rack position
- cutting board & knife
Ingredients
- 13.25 Butter Yellow Recipe cake mix
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into thin pads
- 30 ounces Fruit cocktail drained
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 2.5 quart casserole dish with nonstick spray.
- Add two cans of drained fruit cocktail into the casserole dish.
- Sprinkle cake mix evenly over the top of the fruit cocktail.
- Evenly distrubute butter pads to the top of the cake mix.
- Place dump cake into the oven uncovered and bake for 45-55 minutes. The cake will become a deep golden brown once done and will look crispy on top with a fluffy inner.
- Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving warm. Serve with whipped cream and a cherry on top.
Hi, you can use a 9 x 13 if you have one. I can’t explain 2 1/2 quarts because it is the size.
How big is a 2 and 1/2 quart casserole dish