Easy Pineapple Cherry Dump Cake

What do you get when you mix crushed pineapple, cherry pie filling, butter, and a yellow cake mix? The best darn Pineapple Cherry Dump Cake dessert recipe EVER! This easy-to-make dessert has a 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.

Jump to Recipe

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 summer. We used canned crushed pineapple in light juice, and canned cherry pie filling and the results were fantastic! Enjoy this dump cake warm, out of the oven with some fresh whipped topping, or vanilla ice cream for the BEST kind of summer treat!

Before starting this recipe, you’ll want to verify that you have the following ingredients:

• Canned Crushed Pineapple – 20-ounce size in light juice work best.
• Canned Cherry Pie filling – 20 ounces.
• 18.25-ounce Yellow Cake Mix – This is the top layer of the dump cake.
• 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 – to bake your dump cake in.
• Nonstick spray – to spray the inside of your baking pan.
• Knife & cutting board – for slicing your butter pats.
• Wooden spoon – to mix your ingredients.
• Can opener – to open any cans that might not have a tab.
• 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 pineapple and cherry base layer, you will want to take your wooden spoon and gently pat the juices into the cake mix. This will help it absorb the initial liquid so it prevents a dry top layer.

Another way to get the perfect dump cake is to evenly distribute the butter pads. Some 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” even after baking for one hour.

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 or dry.

Storage

If you want to store your pineapple cherry 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.

1. Place any leftover pineapple cherry 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 Cherry & Pineapple Baked Recipes

• Cherry Crescent Bomb Mini Pies
• Cherry Hand Pies
• Cherry Angel Food Cake
• Pineapple Crisp
• Pineapple Angel Food Cake

Recipe

Follow the recipe below to make Pineapple Cherry Dump Cake! This recipe makes 8 SERVINGS, but you can adjust the recipe card for other serving sizes.