Caramel Apple Dump Cake is a quick and easy shortcut dessert, simply made with apple pie filling, spices, caramel candy, a box of cake mix, and butter in a pan and it’s ready to bake! Top this sweet treat with ice cream or whipped cream and it is the perfect Fall dessert!
Table of Contents
- Caramel Apple Dump Cake With Caramel Bits
- Why We Love This Caramel Apple Dump Cake Recipe
- Ingredients
- Substitutions and Additions
- Recommended Tools
- How to Make Caramel Apple Pie Dump Cake
- Tips From Our Recipe Developer
- Storage Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Dump Cake Recipes
- More Apple Recipes
- Caramel Apple Dump Cake Recipe
Caramel Apple Dump Cake With Caramel Bits
This easy Caramel Apple Dump Cake is a fool-proof recipe that fits the traditional “dump cake” definition because you literally dump all the ingredients into a single dish and bake them until golden brown and bubbling – no mixing, sifting, beating, or fancy equipment needed!
An apple caramel dump cake recipe is as easy as pouring pie filling into the bottom of a baking dish, sprinkling it with allspice and cinnamon, covering it with caramels, dry cake mix, and butter, and baking it into the best crowd-sized cozy dessert.
With the perfect ratio of moist, buttery cake to tender apple bits in every bite, this rectangular apple and caramel cake will make you rethink your round apple pie.
Why We Love This Caramel Apple Dump Cake Recipe
- Quick and easy dessert recipe to make in one dish.
- Uses six simple ingredients, including a boxed cake mix.
- Simply dump everything in your pan and bake; no mixing bowl needed.
- Best way to transform a basic box of cake mix into a delicious fuss-free dessert.
- Great to serve for Thanksgiving and Christmas when you’re feeding a crowd.
- Full of warming spices, sweet flavor, and soft texture with a few crunchy spots.
- Perfect easy recipe for a summer picnic, potluck, or a backyard barbecue but also fun for a fall dessert.
More Easy Fall Desserts
Ingredients
- Canned apple pie filling
- Allspice
- Cinnamon
- Werther’s Original Chewy Caramels
- Super moist butter yellow cake mix: I used Betty Crocker brand but feel free to use your favorite.
- Salted butter
- Vanilla ice cream for serving
Substitutions and Additions
- Mix-Up The Cake Mix: Feel free to change the cake flavor in your caramel apple cinnamon dump cake. For this particular caramel and apple cake, I would recommend using a yellow cake mix, white cake mix, vanilla cake mix, or a spice cake mix. If you use a spice cake mix with spices already added to it, I suggest reducing or eliminating the cinnamon in the recipe so the flavor isn’t too overpowering.
- Pick Your Pie Filling: You can use any kind of pie filling in a dump cake! Some possible fruit flavors include peach, cherry, apple, pineapple, strawberry, or any of your other favorites.
- Tasty Toppings: Top your dump cakes with a drizzle of caramel sauce, a scoop of vanilla ice cream (butter pecan or maple walnut would also taste delicious), whipped cream, or chopped pecans or walnuts for extra crunch.
Recommended Tools
- 9×13 baking dish or casserole dish
- Cooking spray
- Measuring tools
- Spatula
How to Make Caramel Apple Pie Dump Cake
- Dump Cake Ingredients: Dump cans of apple pie filling into the baking dish, sprinkle the spices on top of the apples, and stir and smooth with a spatula. Cover the apple mixture with caramels, top with dry cake mix, and add slices of butter on top of the cake.
- Bake: Bake uncovered at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through cooking.
Pro Tip: The cake is done when the sides of the cake are bubbling and it is golden brown on top. - Serve: Top your cake off with my homemade whipped cream recipe! (it takes less than 10 minutes to make and it is delicious!) Serve warm and enjoy!
Tips From Our Recipe Developer
- Fight the urge to mix! I know this seems silly, but it’s harder than you might think. This cake will turn out the best by just dumping all of your ingredients together. You really do not need to (nor should you) mix it up!
- Whether you’re cooking this in a pan in the oven or in the crock pot, it’s super important that you remember to spray the pan or use a liner in your crockpot. Trust me when I say, you do not want to deal with pie filling being stuck like glue to your favorite pan or crock pot bowl!
- You can serve this dump cake warm, at room temperature, or even cold. I personally like it warm.
Storage Tips
- To Store: Leftover apple dump cake should be covered tightly with plastic wrap or placed in an airtight container and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Just as the name suggests, a dump cake is a recipe where you literally just dump the ingredients into a baking dish and bake.
Yes, you absolutely can make this cake in a slow cooker. Be sure to use a liner in the crock pot and then follow the same simple instructions. Cook your dump cake covered on high for about 2 hours.
No, resist the urge to stir the ingredients! That is why it is called a dump cake – just add all of the dump cake ingredients into the pan and bake!
You can absolutely make your own filling using fresh apples. I used canned apples for this recipe for ease and convenience, but you could easily make a batch of fresh filling as I do in my Apple Dump Cake recipe.
You can treat your leftover apple dump cake much as you would an apple pie. While it can be left on the counter, covered, for up to two days, I prefer to store it in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh in the fridge for 5 days.
You can freeze the baked dump cake, but you may find that there is a slight texture change once frozen, although the flavors will taste the same. Allow the dump cake to cool, and then store it in the freezer in a freezer-safe container for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge before serving.
More Dump Cake Recipes
Blueberry Dump Cake | Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake | Pumpkin Dump Cake | Peach Dump Cake | Apple Dump Cake | Cherry Dump Cake | Air Fryer Apple Dump Cake
More Apple Recipes
Apple Pie Bites | Caramel Apple Nachos | Caramel Apple Chips | Overnight Stuffed Apple Pie French Toast | Hasselback Apples
Caramel Apple Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 2 20-ounce cans apple pie filling
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ½ 10.8 ounce bag Werther’s Original Chewy Caramels cut in half (or similar sized caramels)
- 1 box super moist butter yellow cake mix
- ¾ cup salted butter 1 ½ sticks, cut into 15 squares
- Vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Dump both cans of apple pie filling into the baking dish. Sprinkle allspice and cinnamon over apples. Stir to mix. Smooth with a spatula.
- Cut ½ of the bag of caramels in half. Sprinkle them over the top of the apples.
- Top with DRY cake mix. Smooth with a spatula.
- Evenly add cold butter pieces to the top of the cake
- Place in the oven and let bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Rotate pan half way through cooking.
- The cake is done when the sides of the cake are bubbling and it is golden brown on top.
I made this recipe for the first time to take to a party. It went over very well. I also added 1 cup of chopped pecans. Will make it again!
Hi, what size cake mix do you use
Just a standard size box of cake mix
For the crockpot method, do you follow the same directions? Sounds delicious. Thank you!
Yummy