Desserts are not always the first thought on your mind when you’re plotting out four weeks of yontif lunches and dinners.
Yes, they’re important. But seriously, after soup and fish and salad and meat and vegetables and numerous slices of challah, eating a dessert, no matter how delicious, isn’t exactly a high priority.
However, you still have to have a dessert to serve. Sometimes, when you have a small someone in the household wants to help, the best and easiest way to take care of two things at once is a dump cake. Before anyone gets on a soap box about using cake mixes, just know that they do have their place — especially when the under 10-set wants to be part of the kitchen set.
About dump cake: You literally dump your ingredients, in layers, into a bowl or pan and bake it. Cake mix, fruit or flavor, a fat and sometimes chocolate or nuts and whatever suits your taste buds’ fancy go in. The bonus is that family members of all ages (and cooking expertise) can participate in the prep for the holidays. The other nice thing about the dump cake is that when you are starting off with a cake mix with an OU certification, the mix is pareve. And we’re always looking for a good pareve dessert.
Before you get started, here are a few tips:
• Some recipes suggest melting the butter or margarine, but I prefer to cube the fat and sprinkle it over the top of the cake.
• I prefer to use frozen or fresh fruits (peaches, strawberry, blueberries etc.) It provides a fresher flavor.
• Nuts are a terrific addition to most dump cakes. Chopped pecans, slivered almonds or chopped walnuts are all good.
Chocolate cherry dump cake
pareve or dairy
Ingredients
1 can (21-ounce) cherry pie filling
1 can (16.5-ounce) pitted dark sweet cherries
1 package (18.5-ounce) chocolate cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup butter or margarine, cut into pieces
Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Dump the cherry pie filling into the pan. Spread it evenly over the bottom of the pan. Spoon the cherries, including juice, over the top of the filling.
Sprinkle the cake mix on top of the fruit.
Shake the pan a bit to make sure the cake is evenly distributed over the fruit.
Sprinkle the chopped pecans and chocolate chips over the top.
Dot the butter pieces evenly on top.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Serves 10 to 12
Tropical Dump Cake
pareve
Ingredients
21-ounce can fruit cocktail, drained
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2 sticks margarine, melted
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 box yellow cake mix
Directions
Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
In a bowl, combine the fruit cocktail and pineapple. Spoon the mixture into the
prepared pan and spread it evenly.
In a separate bowl, combine cake mix and its required ingredients.
Pour batter over the top of the fruit.
Pour melted margarine evenly over the top of the batter. Sprinkle the coconut and pecans over the top of the melted margarine.
Bake 1 hour or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
Serves 10 to 12
Peachy strawberry dump cake
pareve or dairy
Ingredients
2 cups frozen sliced strawberries, thawed, with juices
2 cups frozen sliced peaches, thawed, with juices
1 box strawberry cake mix
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
For the glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons whipping cream or rice milk
Directions
Make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
Pour fruit and juices into prepared pan.
Pour cake mix over the fruit.
Pour the melted butter over cake mix.
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until it becomes golden and bubbly. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before drizzling the glaze over the top
Make the glaze:
In a bowl, combine powdered sugar and cream and mix until smooth.
Drizzle glaze over top of the cake.
Serves 10 to 12
Salt caramel chocolate dump cake
dairy
Ingredients
1 small (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding
1 1/2 cups cold milk
1 box Betty Crocker™ SuperMoist™ devil’s food cake mix
1 1/2 cups chopped caramels
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Whipped cream, for serving (optional)
Directions
Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the chocolate pudding and milk. Mix for 1 minute.
Add the cake mix, and mix until combined. Spread batter evenly over the
bottom of prepared pan; it will be very thick.
Sprinkle chopped caramels over the top, and then sprinkle sea salt
(not too much) on top of the caramel.
Bake 30 to 40 minutes, just until the edges pull away from sides and
a toothpick inserted in the cake portion comes out clean.
Remove cake from oven and let cool on a cooling rack.
Pour chocolate chips into a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate is fully melted.
Using a spoon, drizzle chocolate over cooled cake.
Serves 10 to 12
Modified from bettycrocker.com
Marshmallow apple pie spice dump cake
pareve or dairy
Ingredients
1 box spice cake mix
10-ounce bag of mini-marshmallows
1 can of apple pie filling
1 stick of melted butter or margarine
Directions
Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9-by-13-inch
baking pan
Spread the can of apple pie filling evenly across bottom of pan.
Sprinkle cake mix evenly over pie filling. Shake the pan slightly so cake mix spreads evenly over the filling.
Pour melted butter evenly over the cake mix. Some clumping will happen — this is OK, don’t worry about it.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Remove immediately, and sprinkle mini-marshmallows over the top of the cake.
Turn the oven to broil setting, and place the cake in the oven for no more than 30 to 45 seconds, watching closely to ensure that it does not burn.
Remove from the oven immediately. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Serves 8 to 10
Modified from epicurious.com
