Craving a taste of fall but short on time? This easy Apple Cranberry Dump Cake is your new best friend. Featuring just 4 pantry staples - canned apples, tart cranberries, a boxed cake mix, and butter - this dessert practically makes itself. In under an hour, you'll have a warm, bubbling dish of sweet and tangy fruit with a buttery, cakey crumble topping. This is also known as a very simple cranberry apple cobbler with just 4 ingredients. If you have leftover homemade cranberry sauce, this is the perfect recipe to use it up in!
I love making simple fruit and cake mix desserts! If you are looking for more fruit dessert with only three ingredients, try this cherry and pineapple dump cake. Are you feeling like just apple? This easy apple crumble is a similar recipe using just pie apples. Looking for breakfast cobblers? Take a look at this post featuring 10 fruit cobblers!
Why I love making this easy dessert
- Simple Ingredients: Forget complicated recipes and fussy techniques. This cobbler requires just yellow cake mix, canned pie apples, whole cranberries and butter, making it a simple dish for beginners and baking experts alike.
- Comfort Food: Warm, spiced apples and cranberries bubbling under a golden, buttery crust – this dump cake embodies the essence of fall comfort food. It's the perfect way to warm up your kitchen on chilly evenings.
- Easy Elegance: This recipe takes the "apple pie" concept and adds a fun flavor boost. Minimal prep work create a dessert that looks impressive yet requires minimal effort – perfect for busy schedules or spontaneous cravings.
- Budget-Friendly: This recipe is a win for your wallet! Utilizing readily available and affordable ingredients keeps the cost low, making it a delicious and budget-conscious dessert option. I love making this when I have some of my homemade
- Crowd-Pleasing: This apple dump cake is guaranteed to be a hit with everyone at the table. Its simplicity, warm flavors, and ease of preparation make it a perfect dessert for potlucks, family gatherings, or a quiet night in.
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Yellow cake mix. Use your favorite box mix brand. Just make sure there is roughly 15.25 oz of cake mix in the box.
- 1 ½ sticks of butter, salted or unsalted, it doesn't matter; either one will taste good. When I do use salted butter, I find I can taste the salt and love the sweet and salty flavor combination in the crust.
- 1 can of apple pie filling and 1 can of whole berry cranberry sauce. If you have your own homemade cranberry sauce, go ahead and use it!
Instructions
I use a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Step 1
Spray your baking dish with nonstick baking spray.
Dump the cans of apple pie slices and whole cranberries into the bottom of the dish.
I challenge you not to try try this fruit! Of course, you need to taste test : ).
Step 2
Add the cake mix on top of the apples. You want an even thin layer. Just the dry cake mix. Do NOT use the other ingredients listed on the box. Do not stir!
I use a large spoon and gently smooth the cake mix over the apple layer.
Step 3
Slice one and a half sticks of butter into thin slices. The more slices you have, the more surface area you cover with butter and the better your topping is!
Bake in the oven for approximately 35 minutes until the topping is golden brown. There are usually spots where the fruit filling bubbles up. This is when your kitchen smells amazing!
Step 4
Look at the end result below! Yum!
Helpful hint
If you have a few dry spots, you can either add a few small pieces of butter onto the dry areas or give the dry cake mix areas a quick spray with no-stick spray and put it back in the oven for about 5 minutes. This will make everything evenly golden and will prevent any dry spots.
Here's the finished dessert! It tastes so good! If you like apple pie, this is the easiest way to get all the taste and flavor of apple pie without fuss. Of course, a little scoop of ice cream adds to the deliciousness!
How to store and reheat
If the baking dish is wrapped or the cake is transferred to a sealed container, it will store well in the refrigerator for five days.
This easy cobbler recipe can be frozen, but that may affect the texture. Since it is such a quick and easy recipe to make, I would only freeze it if you have leftovers (not because you are trying to make it ahead). Thaw to room temperature and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees before serving.
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FAQ's
Spray the dry spots with baking or cooking spray. If you have some additional butter handy, add a few small pieces of butter to the dry spots. Bake for an additional 5 minutes.
Yes, however, I find artificial sweeteners never taste as good as natural sweeteners when baking a dessert. Personally, I would just enjoy a smaller piece.
To make this recipe, you DO NOT add them. You use the dry cake mix straight from the box. Honest. It feels funny the first time you do it, but it turns out great.
Other easy fruit cobbler desserts
Apple Cranberry Dump Cake
Equipment
- 9 x 13 baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 can apple pie filling 20 oz can
- 1 can whole cranberry sauce 14 oz can
- ¾ cup butter (one and a half sticks)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 ℉.
- Spray your 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Pour the apple pie filling first then cranberries into the prepared baking dish.
- Slice butter into thin slices. The more of the cake you can cover with the thinly siced butter pieces, the better. There is less of a chance of dry cake mix patches.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Watch to see if it's browning and if the apple and cranberry filling is bubbling.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
How to store and reheat
This stores well in the refrigerator for four days if the baking dish is wrapped or the dump cake is transferred to a sealed container.This easy apple & cranberry cobbler recipe can be frozen, but that may affect the texture. Since it is such a quick and easy recipe to make, I would only freeze it if you have leftovers (not because you are trying to make it ahead). Thaw to room temperature and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees before serving. If you love cherry desserts, try this easy cherry bars recipe!
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