Easy 5-Ingredient Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake Recipe – Unsophisticook (2024)

FAQs

What is the biggest mistake to avoid when making a dump cake? ›

However, anyone well-versed in the ways of the dump cake will tell you that there is one rule you should never break when making a dump cake. Since it's not a step that you'll ever see in most other cake recipes, it can be easily missed. The mistake to avoid is simple: Don't mix it.

You can infuse your mix with extra flavors when you use other liquids. For example, you could use orange or pineapple juice instead of water (in a 1:1 ratio) for a tropical twist.

If you're looking for a substitute for maraschino cherries in a pineapple upside-down cake, fresh cherries or other preserved cherries can work well. Even raspberries, blackberries, or small halved strawberries could work.

Some bakers figured out how to use juicy fresh or frozen fruit in place of canned, for example. No matter the flavor combo, a dump cake recipe is always quick and easy. We can serve them warm or cooled, and can top them with whipped cream or ice cream.

Bake until the tops are brown and bubbly, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serve with whipped cream.

Again, do NOT mix.

It might look silly and feel counter-productive, but it's the trick to ensuring a crusty, crumbly, buttery top, and a gooey interior. Alternatively, some recipes will call for melting the stick of butter and drizzling it evenly over the entire portion of dry cake mix instead of using cold butter.

Baking tip #2: adding milk to your box cake mix in place of water adds a dense texture to your dessert leaving it moist and flavorful like a homemade cake. Or, if you prefer, you can add buttermilk, giving your cake a tangy flavor to balance out the sweetness.

Making your cakes with water instead of milk results in stronger, purer chocolate flavor. Water: the foundation of life, the substance that comprises 70% of our planet, and the thing that makes chocolate cakes even more chocolatey.

Milk contains things that water doesn't, like sugar and fat, which can also help with the taste and texture of the cake. Now, if it's a cake mix that calls for water, it will still turn out well if you just use water, but generally, you could substitute milk for the water and make it even better.

SAM'S TIP: Make sure to blot your pineapple slices well with paper towels before placing them in your pie plate. This will absorb any excess liquid. If you skip this step it could make your cake soggy.

Why is it pineapple upside down cake? ›

Invented to encourage housewives to use more canned pineapple, the cake is actually baked upside down, then turned over so the caramelized sugar and the pineapple and cherry decorations are on top for service. They are placed on the bottom of the pan before the batter is poured on top.

Garnish the pineapple upside-down cake

Turn the cake before it cools, and you get cracks like mine. But even if it does split, don't worry. It would taste just as good. After you've carefully flipped the cake and taken it out of the pan, you can crown it with maraschino cherries.

Yes! Is dump cake supposed to be runny? Compared to other kinds of cakes, dump cake does bake up a little less caky and little more gooey thanks to all of the delicious fruit. It has a similar consistency to a fruit cobbler or crisp and is served by the scoop rather than the slice!

For some reason, nearly every dump cake recipe insists that the ingredients are not to be stirred. (In fact, most recipes add extra emphasis to this instruction by writing it in all-caps: DO NOT STIR!!!) The result of this laissez-faire approach is a half-baked cake.

If you've baked your dump cake and there's still cake mix powder on the top, it's likely because the butter wasn't evenly distributed on top of the cake. When assembling your dump cake recipe, be sure to spread the cake mix in a thin even layer and space the pats of butter evenly across the top.