Easy Lemon Dump Cake Recipe

This 4 ingredient Lemon Dump Cake recipe is one that I have been making for over 30 years. A few pantry ingredients are layered into a pan and baked to golden perfection. Why can’t all desserts be this simple?

Table of Contents

• Why You’ll Love this Lemon Dump Cake
• What is a Dump Cake
• What goes into this Recipe
• Variations:
• How to make Lemon Dump Cake
• Expert Tips
• Storage and Freezing
• Recipe FAQs
• Do you love easy cake mix recipes? Try these…
• Easy Lemon Dump Cake

This easy dump cake recipe is one of those desserts that proves fancy doesn’t always mean better. It’s such an easy recipe to make because it uses just a few ingredients I usually have in my pantry anyway and minimal effort.

Why You’ll Love this Lemon Dump Cake

• So Simple – This classic dump cake needs just 4 ingredients and about 10 minutes of your time before it goes in the oven. Why spend hours in the kitchen when you can have a delicious dessert with almost no effort?
• Perfect for Lemon Lovers – The combination of lemon pie filling and lemon zest creates a dessert with just the right balance of sweet and tart lemon flavor. It’s bright and refreshing without being overpowering.
• Versatile – This easy lemon dump cake works for everything from casual family dinners to holiday gatherings. Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, homemade whipped cream or chilled with Cool Whip – either way, the pan will be empty before you know it.

What is a Dump Cake

A dump cake is exactly what it sounds like – a cake where you just dump the simple ingredients into a baking pan without any mixing, beating, or fussing. It’s one of the easiest desserts you can make!

Traditional dump cakes use a layer of fruit or pie filling on the bottom, followed by a layer of cake mix, and finally melted butter poured over the top.

As it bakes, the ingredients work together to create a cobbler-like dessert with a soft, gooey bottom and a golden, slightly crispy top.

What goes into this Recipe

• Lemon Pie Filling– The star of this recipe that provides all that tart lemon flavor. Using canned filling saves tons of time, and nobody will know the difference. It is a great short cut ingredient in lemon desserts.
• Lemon Zest– Adding fresh lemon zest brightens up the canned filling and gives it that homemade touch. Don’t skip this! It also helps add extra flavor to these Raspberry Lemonade Bars.
• Vanilla Cake Mix– I prefer vanilla cake mix for this recipe, but you can substitute white cake mix or even lemon cake mix if you want an extra lemony dessert.
• Butter– Melted butter is what transforms the dry cake mix into a golden, delicious crust. Make sure it’s completely melted and still warm when you pour it over the cake mix. I used unsalted butter.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations:

• Fruit: Swap out the lemon pie filling for cherry, blueberry or raspberry pie filling. This blueberry cobbler always hits the spot.
• Cake Mix: Use a white or yellow cake mix for the top of the cake. For even more lemon flavor try a lemon cake mix.
• Add-Ins: Stir fresh or frozen berries into the lemon pie filling. Fresh blueberries would be amazing.
• Toppings: Sprinkle the top of the melted butter with graham cracker crumbs or nuts to get a delicious crunch.

How to make Lemon Dump Cake

1. Prepare the lemon filling by mixing the lemon pie filling and fresh lemon zest in a medium bowl until well combined. The zest adds a bright, fresh flavor that really enhances the canned filling.
2. Spread the lemon mixture evenly across the bottom of the baking dish. Make sure to spread it into all the corners for consistent flavor throughout the cake.

3. Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the lemon filling in an even layer. Try to cover all the lemon filling and gently pat down the cake mix.
4. Pour the melted butter evenly over the entire top of the cake mix. This is important – try to cover as much of the cake mix as possible so you don’t end up with dry patches.

5. Bake for 50-55 minutes until the top is golden brown and the lemon filling is bubbling around the edges. Every oven is different, so start checking around 45 minutes.
6. Let it cool for at least 10 minutes before serving with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. The lemon filling will be extremely hot right out of the oven!

Expert Tips

• Ignore the instructions on the box. It can be tempting to want to add the ingredients on the back of the box but don’t do it.
• Distribute all of the ingredients evenly. Make sure that the lemon pie filling, cake mix and butter are all evenly distributed to ensure a good combination with each bite.
• Don’t skimp on the butter. Make sure you use the full cup of melted butter and try to cover every bit of the cake mix. Any dry spots will remain powdery rather than forming that perfect golden crust.
• Let it cool properly. While it’s tempting to dive in right away, giving your lemon dump cake at least 10 minutes to cool allows the filling to set slightly and makes it much easier to serve.

Storage and Freezing

Store: Cover leftover lemon dump cake with plastic wrap or transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Freeze: This lemon dump cake recipe freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. You can freeze the entire cake or individual slices. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil before freezing. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm slightly before serving if desired.

Recipe FAQs

Do you love easy cake mix recipes? Try these…

Did you try this recipe?

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