This no-fuss 4-ingredient caramel apple dump cake bakes up ooey-gooey in a 9×13 pan with canned caramel apple pie filling and a golden butter cake crust. Top with optional pecans for a satisfying praline crunch! It’s a warm, cake mix shortcut dessert that takes zero effort to make for fall potlucks, game day tailgates, or feeding a crowd with just 10 minutes of prep.
A dump cake really couldn’t get any more foolproof. You simply dump or layer your pie filling, a dry cake mix, and a dusting of cinnamon into a 9×13 baking dish. Then I like to cover the top with sliced butter before popping it into the oven. This is essential to preventing a dry crust!
Why Make My Caramel Apple Dump Cake
- Effortless 10-minute prep: It’s so convenient to simply layer everything in a pan and let the oven do the heavy lifting.
- Warm, ooey-gooey texture: Canned caramel apple pie filling bakes up bubbly and soft under that golden butter cake crust.
- NO dry spots: Slicing cold butter paper-thin covers every bit of dry cake mix, ensuring a perfectly baked, no-fail topping every single time.
- Budget-friendly: My recipe is made with basic pantry staples you can grab on any grocery run.
- Perfect for fall gatherings: An easy dessert for autumn potlucks, Friendsgiving, or game day tailgates.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Caramel Apple Pie Filling – Most local grocery stores carry caramel apple pie filling at least seasonally. If you can’t find it, a can of regular apple pie filling mixed with a teaspoon or two of caramel extract will work too. If you’d rather use fresh apples, make a quick batch of microwave baked apples.
- Yellow Cake Mix – You can use a 15.25oz yellow cake mix, French vanilla cake mix, or a butter golden cake mix.
- Cinnamon – I like to sprinkle a little bit of ground cinnamon on top.
- Salted Butter – Cold salted butter, sliced paper-thin all over the top is key to getting a perfect golden crust with no dry spots every single time. It’ll melt into the cake mix as it bakes, ensuring the soft and gooey, warm and bubbly texture that this dessert is known for.
- Chopped Pecans (Optional 5th Ingredient) – Chopped pecans are a 100% optional topping I like to add for a praline crunch. Some people add chopped walnuts instead.
How to Make Caramel Apple Dump Cake
First, pre-heat your oven to 350° F. Then give your 9×13 baking dish a light coat of nonstick cooking spray.
Layering Caramel Apple Dump Cake in 4 Easy Steps
- Dump the pie filling and evenly spread it in the bottom of your baking dish.
- Spread the dry cake mix evenly all over the top of the apples.
- Sprinkle cinnamon over the dry cake mix. Now you can sprinkle pecans on top, if desired.
- Slice the cold butter as thinly as you can; place each slice on top until the cake mix is completely covered.
How to Bake Caramel Apple Dump Cake
Bake your apple caramel dump cake at 350° F for around 1 hour. It’ll be done when the cake turns a golden-brown color, and the apple pie filling is bubbly all around the edges.
Serve it at your next fall dinner party or Thanksgiving dinner, warm out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel syrup! You can also top it with a dollop of whipped cream, a sprinkling of powdered sugar, apple butter, or maple syrup.
Can I Make Caramel Apple Dump Cake in the Slow Cooker?
Yes, dump cake can be made in the slow cooker following the same instructions for layering, but it will take 3-4 hours to cook on low, or 2 hours on high. Just be sure to spray the inside of your Crock-Pot with nonstick cooking spray. I actually have a CrockPot apple dump cake recipe.
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ’s
Yes, you can make this a gluten-free dump cake by using a gluten-free cake mix, which can be found at most grocery stores.
Yes, I would recommend refrigerating any leftovers because of the canned fruit pie filling. Stored in an airtight container, it should last up to 3-5 days in the fridge.
Yes, you can freeze it. Store it in an airtight container to prevent freezer burn, and it should last up to 3 months.
Optional Add-Ins & Recipe Variations
Dump cake is versatile; there are a few things you can do to take this shortcut dessert up a notch.
- Use a fancier cake mix like butter pecan or a spice cake.
- You can also make it any flavor you want by using a different flavor pie filling, like regular apple, cherry, blackberry, etc. I make peach dump cake all the time!
- Sprinkle toffee bits over the cake mix layer before baking!
More Apple Recipes
Caramel Apple Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 42 ounces caramel apple pie filling*
- 15.25 ounces yellow cake mix
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 16 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 cup chopped pecans optional
Instructions
- First, pre-heat your oven to 350° F. Then give your 9×13 baking dish a light coat of nonstick cooking spray.
- Dump the pie filling and evenly spread it in the bottom of your baking dish.
- Spread the dry cake mix evenly all over the top of the apples.
- Sprinkle cinnamon over the dry cake mix. Now you can sprinkle pecans on top, if desired.
- Slice the cold butter as thinly as you can; place each slice on top until the cake mix is completely covered.
- Bake your caramel apple dump cake at 350° F for around 1 hour. It’ll be done when the cake turns a golden-brown color, and the apple pie filling is bubbly all around the edges.
- Serve with a drizzling of caramel syrup and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Made this with a few tweaks and I got RAVE reviews from the fam. Replaced pumpkin spice for the cinnamon, used funfetti for the cake mix (because that is all the store had in GF), used whole pecans and topped with a maple syrup whipped cream. I was making this on vacation, so I really appreciated the quick and easy assembly!
That is so great, Colleen! I’m glad you liked it. By the way, funfetti cake mix is a great idea!!