Recipes & Cooking Desserts & Baking Cakes Chocolate Cake Black Forest Dump Cake 4.6 (8) 5 Reviews This cobbler-like dessert is as easy as dumping ingredients into a pan. By Sarah Martens Sarah Martens Sarah Martens is the Senior Editor overseeing food at Better Homes & Gardens digital. She has been with the BHG brand for more than 10 years. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on January 15, 2025 Save Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Jason Donnelly. Food Styling: Annie Probst. Prop Styling: Breanna Ghazali Prep Time: 10 mins Total Time: 55 mins Servings: 12 Jump to Nutrition Facts Jump to recipe Black forest cake is a traditional German dessert that's made with chocolate cake and layers of cream and cherry filling. It's a truly delicious dessert that can take up to three hours to make. Here, we've kept the classic but gave it a weeknight-ready upgrade. Rather than a layer cake, try making a dump cake. Why Is it Called Dump Cake? A dump cake is very similar to a cobbler in texture and flavor and is made by "dumping" ingredients like canned pie filling and cake mix into a cake pan. Generally, you start with canned fruit, fresh fruit, or pie filling and then sprinkle on a box of cake mix. Before baking, dot the top with pats of butter. Black Forest Dump Cake Ingredients To make this chocolate dump cake with cherries, you'll need just four ingredients. Pick up your favorite type of chocolate cake mix (our Test Kitchen recommends Devil's Food), cherry pie filling, salted butter, and almond extract—that's all you need to make this easy dessert. This black forest dump cake recipe is ready in under an hour including bake time! How to Serve Black Forest Dump Cake To mimic the creamy frosting of a black forest layer cake, we recommend serving this dump cake recipe warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream. If you want to make it ahead, the finished cake is also delicious served at room temperature. Cherry Dump Cake Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 2 (21-oz.) cans cherry pie filling 1 tsp. almond extract or vanilla extract 1 pkg. 2-layer-size devil's food cake mix 3/4 cup cold salted butter, sliced into 24 pats Vanilla ice cream Directions Carson Downing Add Pie Filling Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour pie filling into a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Stir in extract (if using) and spread evenly in dish. Carson Downing Sprinkle on Cake Mix Evenly sprinkle cake mix over the cherries. Carson Downing Add Butter and Bake Arrange pats of butter evenly over the cake mix. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until cake mix is firm and filling is bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature. If desired, serve with ice cream. How to Store Leftover Dump Cake Store leftover dump cake in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Frequently Asked Questions Is dump cake supposed to be gooey? Yes, dump cake will be a little gooey when baked. Think of dump cake like a cobbler with a gooey or creamy filing that's topped with a crisp cake layer. The end results won't be light or fluffy like a traditional boxed cake. What's the biggest mistake to avoid when making dump cake? Dump cake is a nearly foolproof dessert recipe but there's one big mistake to avoid. You don't need to stir dump cake. Doing so will impact the texture of the finished cake. Simply layer the ingredients into the pan as directed and bake. Rate It Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 384 Calories 15g Fat 62g Carbs 2g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Servings Per Recipe 12 Calories 384.3 % Daily Value * Total Fat 15.1g 19% Saturated Fat 8.2g 41% Cholesterol 30.5mg 10% Sodium 439.5mg 19% Total Carbohydrate 62.3g 23% Dietary Fiber 1.6g 6% Total Sugars 17g Protein 2.5g 5% Vitamin D 0mcg 0% Vitamin C 3.6mg 4% Calcium 71.6mg 6% Iron 1.5mg 8% Potassium 252.8mg 5% Fatty acids, total trans 0.5g Vitamin D 0IU Alanine 0.1g Arginine 0.1g Ash 1.9g Aspartic acid 0.4g Caffeine 2.6mg Carotene, alpha 0mcg Choline, total 4.1mg Copper, Cu 0.2mg Cystine 0g Energy 1606.7kJ Fluoride, F 0.4mcg Folate, total 27.7mcg Glutamic acid 0.5g Glycine 0.1g Histidine 0g Isoleucine 0.1g Leucine 0.2g Lysine 0.1g Methionine 0g Magnesium, Mg 24.9mg Manganese, Mn 0.1mg Niacin 1.2mg Phosphorus, P 141.5mg Pantothenic acid 0.2mg Phenylalanine 0.1g Proline 0.2g Retinol 95.6mcg Selenium, Se 2mcg Serine 0.1g Theobromine 89.2mg Threonine 0.1g Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.6mg Tryptophan 0g Tyrosine 0.1g Valine 0.1g Vitamin A, IU 558.8IU Vitamin A, RAE 107.4mcg Vitamin B-12 0.2mcg Vitamin B-6 0.1mg Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 1.9mcg Water 74.6g Zinc, Zn 0.4mg *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.