Dump Cake
- Carbohydrate 0.939316746406949 g
- Cholesterol 10.1677083462889 mg
- Fat 9.41123329788758 g
- Fiber 0.642589208290808 g
- Protein 2.31382966933789 g
- Saturated Fat 2.74754898243137 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (14g)
- Sodium 27.4289968553757 mg
- Sugar 0.296727538116141 g
- Trans Fat 0.793082759435816 g
- Calories 92 calories
Step-by-step
- In a 9x13 inch pan mix cherries and pineapple. Sprinkle dry cake mix over pineapple, and cherry mixture stir until just combined. Then sprinkle walnuts over top. Drizzle top with melted butter or margarine.
- Bake in a 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven for 35 or 40 minutes or until golden brown.
Most home cooks fail with this style of dessert by dumping dry cake mix directly onto wet fruit without proper integration, resulting in powdery pockets of raw flour and a patchy crust. Without a careful initial mix in the 9x13 inch pan, the starch molecules cannot hydrate uniformly during baking, leaving dry mounds scattered across the surface. Achieving an even crumb requires gently incorporating the dry yellow cake mix directly into the juices of the crushed pineapple and cherry pie filling until just combined before adding the remaining toppings.
Spread the mixed fruit and flour base evenly across the pan to ensure consistent thermal transfer. Scatter the chopped walnuts over the surface to provide structural contrast against the soft fruit layers. Drizzle the melted butter uniformly over the entire surface, ensuring no dry patches of mix remain exposed, because completely dry areas will burn before the interior finishes cooking. Bake the dish in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, watching closely for the edges to bubble vigorously and the top to achieve a deep golden brown hue.
Substitutions alter the final moisture balance significantly. Replacing the cherry pie filling with a less viscous fruit preserves like apple or peach changes the liquid ratio, potentially requiring an extra tablespoon of melted butter to prevent dry spots in the cake mix crust.
