Apple cream cheese dump cake is full of tender apples, warming spices, and is topped with a buttery cake topping. It is one of the easiest desserts to make, taking just 15 minutes to prepare and a quick bake in the oven.
After making apple pie dump cake, I knew the only thing that would make it better was adding a luscious cheesecake layer. Homemade dutch caramel apple pie is one my favorites, but the dump cake version is so much easier, by using the boxed cake mix and canned filling.
If you like the hack of using boxed mixes, you’ll love these cake mix recipes. My cake mix donuts are super fun and so simple. These carrot cake cookies from cake mix are super moist and full of flavor. Plus, you can see how I jazzed up a lemon cake mix when making my Duncan Hines lemon bundt cake.
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🍎 Ingredients:
- canned apple pie filling – see the substitutions if you would rather make your own filling. Use either the traditional apple pie filling or the caramel apple pie filling.
- cream cheese – soften at room temperature.
- egg – bring it to room temperature before mixing. The egg (and sugar) gives the cream cheese some fluffiness and sweetnes – much better consistency than the recipes that simply slap chunks of cream cheese in the middle.
- granulated sugar
- yellow cake mix – see the variations section for other cake flavors.
- salted butter – keep it cold for easy cutting before sprinkling it over the layer of dry cake mix. You can also melt and drizzle it.
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Optional Garnish:
This apple spice dump cake goes great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Substitutions and Variations
- Fresh apples: during apple season you may want to make your own filling using apples, sugar, cinnamon (or apple pie spice), and water. You can also use my fried apples recipe as a base in place of canned filling. Have extra apples? Try my Apple Bread Pudding!
- Brown sugar caramel sauce – my homemade caramel sauce goes perfectly with the apple spice flavor.
- Other fruit filling – use this easy dessert recipe and swap out the apple pie filling to make others such as blueberry dump cake, strawberry cheesecake dump cake, cherry dump cake, and peach dump cake.
- Cake mix flavors: some like to use white cake mix or spice cake mix, either is fine. Homemade cake mix is another option. We just like box cake mix for an easy recipe.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Step 1: Add the apple filling to the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
Step 2: Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and egg in a medium mixing bowl until fluffy and smooth.
Step 3: Drop dollops of the cream cheese mixture over the filling.
Step 4: Sprinkle the boxed cake mix evenly over top.
Pro Tip: It’s much easier to work with cold butter versus softened or room temperature.
Step 5: Grate the butter or place very thin pats on top of the cake mix so it’s completely covered.
Step 6: Bake the apple pie filling dump cake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Add more butter if needed during the last few minutes of baking if there are dry spots.
SERVE: Allow the cake to rest for 15 minutes. Serve with a scoop of ice cream.
Recipe Tips for Apple Cheesecake Dump Cake
- Letting the cake rest gives it enough time for the filling to thicken and the cheesecake layer to set so it isn’t runny when you scoop it out.
- This delicious dessert is great when served warm or cold.
- If desired, add ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the filling or a pinch of nutmeg for a more spiced flavor.
- During the last few minutes of baking, if you see dry spots, you can also drizzled melted butter over them.
- Be sure to cover the entire cake with the butter. Using a grater seems to work the best for coverage without using more butter.
Fun Fact
Half of all fruit trees in production are apple trees! -Parlee Farms
Recipe FAQs
While these apple desserts are somewhat similar, they are all different in their own way.
Apple Dump Cake is made by layering apples (canned or fresh) with dry cake mix and melted butter, resulting in a cake-like texture on top with a gooey fruit layer underneath. It’s easy to prepare and often served warm with ice cream or whipped cream. Apple cobbler is topped with a batter, biscuit dough, or pastry. The topping varies in texture, from biscuit-like to cake-like or resembling a pie crust, and is typically served warm, complemented by ice cream or whipped cream. The apple crisp consists of sliced apples mixed with sugar and spices, topped with a crispy mixture of flour, oats, sugar, butter, and sometimes nuts.
Keep leftover apple cake in an airtight container or cover the cake pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 week. To freeze, wrap tightly in plastic wrap for 1 month. Thaw in the fridge, then reheat to serve.
We do not recommend making this dessert in the crock pot because of the cream cheese. However, you can omit the cheesecake layer and cook on low for 2-2.5 hours in the slow cooker.
More Super Easy Dump Cake Recipes
If you tried this Apple Cream Cheese Dump Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Apple Cream Cheese Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 2 15.75-ounce cans of apple pie filling
- 8 ounces of cream cheese softened
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 package of yellow cake mix
- ½ cup salted butter cold
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread the apple pie filling into the bottom of a 9”x13” baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to combine cream cheese, egg, and granulated sugar until smooth and fluffy.
- Drop spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture over the apple filling.
- Sprinkle the cake mix evenly over first two layers.
- Grate butter on a box grater or slice very thin pats of butter and spread over the entire top of the dry cake mix. Cover as much of the cake mix as possible. Hint: cold butter is much easier to work with than softer butter.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until the topping is browned and the apple filling is bubbling around the edges. If needed during the last few minutes of baking, add additional butter to any areas where there is dry cake mix and bake a bit longer.
- Allow dump cake to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
We let the cake rest so the filling and cheesecake sets up so it isn’t runny when serving. This simple dessert is delicious warm or cold. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream or caramel sauce. If desired, add ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the apple pie filling. To get the best coverage using the least amount of butter, grate it with a box grater. You may still end up with dry spots, that’s okay. You can also drizzle melted butter in those areas in the last minutes of baking.
Nutrition
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