The Easiest Dump Cake Recipe to Make With Kids (Bentley Approved!)
When I wrote Bentley Makes a Dump Cake, I wanted kids to feel that magical moment of making something delicious (and a little messy) with someone they love. Dump cake is the perfect first recipe because it’s nearly impossible to mess up. You literally dump it in the pan!
What you’ll need
- 1 can cherry pie filling
- 1 can crushed pineapple (with the juice)
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 stick butter, sliced into thin pats
- A 9 x 13 baking dish
Let’s bake!
- Grown-ups preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Kids dump the crushed pineapple into the dish and spread it around.
- Dump the cherry pie filling on top. Swirly is good!
- Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the fruit. No stirring!
- Lay the butter pats across the top.
- Bake about 45 to 50 minutes, until golden and bubbly.
- Let it cool a bit, then add a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you’re feeling fancy.
Sneaky learning in the kitchen
Counting butter pats is math. Reading the steps out loud is literacy. Waiting for the timer is, well, patience practice (the hardest skill of all). Ask your little baker to tell you the steps in order afterward. That’s sequencing, the same skill we practice in the book!
Find the ingredients in the book
Here’s a fun twist: cherry pie filling, pineapple, cake mix, butter, whisks and spatulas are all hidden throughout Bentley Makes a Dump Cake, and the book even has cherry scratch-and-sniff fun. Our Bentley’s Baking Buddy activity pack includes an Ingredient Hunt page to track everything you find.
Share your creation!
Did your crew invent their own dump cake flavor? Submit it through our Bentley Bakes activity for a chance to be recognized. We can’t wait to see your sweet, sticky, smiley creations!
