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If you can open a can and slice a stick of butter, you can make peach dump cake. This cozy dessert tastes like a cross between a peach cobbler and a buttery vanilla cake, but with way less work. No mixer, no bowls, and absolutely no fuss just “dump, sprinkle, bake, and devour.”
This easy peach dump cake recipe uses pantry staples: canned peaches, yellow cake mix, and butter. A few smart upgrades like brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla help it taste like you spent all afternoon baking, even though it goes into the oven in about 10 minutes.
What Is a Peach Dump Cake?
Dump cake is the laid-back cousin of traditional cake and cobbler. Instead of mixing batter in a bowl, you literally dump ingredients into a baking dish in layers:
- Canned fruit (plus its syrup or juice)
- Dry cake mix
- Butter on top
As it bakes, the fruit bubbles up, the butter melts down into the dry mix, and everything fuses into a golden, cobbler-like dessert with soft fruit on the bottom and a crisp, buttery cake topping. Peach dump cake has all the flavors of peach cobbler with half the effort and dishes.
Dump Cake vs. Cobbler
They’re close relatives, but not quite twins:
- Cobbler usually has a homemade biscuit, batter, or pie crust topping.
- Dump cake relies on boxed cake mix and melted butter to form a craggy, crisp topping.
The method is intentionally simple: you don’t stir the layers together. That “no-stir” rule is what gives you pockets of crispy cake, gooey peach filling, and caramelized edges basically the best parts of dessert in every spoonful.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Core Ingredients
- Canned peaches – Use two 15-ounce cans of sliced peaches in light syrup or 100% juice, undrained. The liquid is what hydrates the cake mix and creates a saucy filling.
- Yellow cake mix – One standard 15.25-ounce box. Yellow cake mix gives a classic vanilla, buttery flavor that pairs perfectly with peaches.
- Butter – About 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) of cold unsalted butter, sliced thinly. The butter melts over the cake mix and helps it brown and crisp.
Flavor Boosters (Highly Recommended)
- Brown sugar (about 1/4 cup) – Adds molasses depth and helps the peach juices caramelize.
- Ground cinnamon (1 teaspoon) – Gives a warm, cozy, peach-cobbler vibe.
- Vanilla extract (1 teaspoon) – One quick splash turns a basic dump cake into a bakery-level dessert.
Optional Add-Ins
- Chopped nuts (1/2 cup pecans or sliced almonds) – For crunch and a toasty, nutty flavor.
- Nutmeg – A pinch for extra warmth if you love baking spices.
- A pinch of salt – Especially helpful if you’re using unsalted butter and want to balance the sweetness.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Peach Dump Cake
1. Prep the Pan and Peaches
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with butter or nonstick spray. This helps prevent sticking and encourages those delicious caramelized edges.
- Dump in the peaches:
- Pour both cans of peaches fruit and liquid into the prepared pan.
- If you prefer a slightly less juicy dessert, you can drain one can and leave the other can undrained.
- Season the fruit:
- Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the peaches.
- Add vanilla extract and gently stir the fruit layer right in the pan.
2. Add the Cake Mix Layer
- Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the peaches. The goal is an even, thin blanket of mix with no big mounds.
- Do not stir. Resist the urge. Stirring turns the topping into a more traditional cake and robs you of that signature dump-cake texture.
3. Top with Butter
- Slice the cold butter into thin pats or small cubes.
- Lay the butter slices evenly across the surface of the dry cake mix. Try to cover as much as you can; the butter is what moistens and browns the topping.
- If a few tiny dry spots remain, don’t stress the peach juices will help hydrate those areas as the cake bakes.
4. Bake to Golden Perfection
- Bake the peach dump cake for 40–45 minutes, or until:
- The top is golden brown and crisp in places.
- The peach filling is bubbling around the edges.
- If the top is browning too quickly but the center is still very jiggly, loosely tent the pan with foil for the last 5–10 minutes.
5. Rest and Serve
- Cool the dump cake for at least 10–15 minutes. The filling will thicken slightly as it stands.
- Serve warm, scooped into bowls.
Serving Ideas
- Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for that classic hot-and-cold contrast.
- Add a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
- For brunch, serve small portions with Greek yogurt and chopped nuts for a dessert-that-pretends-to-be-breakfast moment.
Tips for the Best Peach Dump Cake
Use Enough Butter
If the topping looks dusty or floury after baking, it usually means there wasn’t enough butter or it wasn’t spread evenly. Make sure the surface is well covered with butter slices. You can even drizzle an extra 2–3 tablespoons of melted butter over any obviously dry patches before baking.
Don’t Add Extra Liquid
It’s tempting to add water or more peach juice, but the canned peaches already provide plenty of moisture. Extra liquid can make the dessert soupy rather than saucy and jammy.
Follow the “No-Stir” Rule
The magic of an easy peach dump cake comes from layering, not mixing. Stirring turns it into a cake casserole; leaving it layered gives you those deliciously uneven, cobbler-like pockets of fruit and cake.
Let It Cool a Bit
Right from the oven, the filling is lava-hot and a bit thin. A short rest lets the starches and sugars thicken up, so you get a spoonable, velvety filling instead of hot peach soup.
Make It For a Crowd
A 9×13 pan is perfect for potlucks, barbecues, or family dinners. You can bake it earlier in the day and reheat it, or serve it at room temperature with ice cream. It travels well and doesn’t need fancy plating a big spoon and some bowls are all you need.
Variations & Substitutions
Using Fresh or Frozen Peaches
- Fresh peaches: Peel and slice 5–6 ripe peaches (about 6–7 cups). Toss them with 1/3–1/2 cup sugar and a splash of water or peach juice to mimic the sweetness and liquid of canned peaches.
- Frozen peaches: Thaw completely and drain off excess liquid so the cake doesn’t become watery. Add a bit of sugar and a few tablespoons of water or juice if the mixture seems dry.
Remember, the cake mix needs some liquid underneath it to hydrate and bake properly, so don’t skip the syrup or simple-syrup-style liquid.
Swap the Cake Mix
- White cake mix – Slightly lighter vanilla flavor, still delicious.
- Spice cake mix – Perfect for fall; the extra spices make it taste like peach pie and gingerbread had a dessert baby.
- Gluten-free yellow cake mix – Works well if you follow the same method and bake until golden and set.
Add Crunch and Texture
- Sprinkle chopped pecans, walnuts, or sliced almonds over the cake mix before adding butter for a nutty crunch.
- Add oats (about 1/2 cup) to the top for a crumble-style feel.
- Stir some coconut flakes into the peach layer if you love the tropical peach-coconut pairing.
Make It a Peaches-and-Cream Dump Cake
For a more decadent dessert:
- Dot the peach layer with small spoonfuls of cream cheese, or
- Drizzle heavy cream over the cake mix just before adding the butter.
The result is a richer, creamier filling that tastes like a shortcut peach cheesecake cobbler.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
How to Store Peach Dump Cake
- Refrigerator: Cool completely, then cover the pan or transfer leftovers to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Portion into freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
How to Reheat
- Oven: Cover loosely with foil and warm at 300°F for 15–20 minutes, just until heated through.
- Microwave: Heat individual servings for 30–60 seconds, depending on your microwave.
Real-Life Peach Dump Cake Experiences & Ideas
One of the best things about a peach dump cake recipe is how easily it fits into real life. This is the dessert you make when you’ve just cleaned the kitchen and absolutely refuse to dirty another bowl… but still want something warm and sweet after dinner.
Imagine it’s summer, the grill is still warm from cooking burgers, and everyone is lingering around the table. While someone is finishing the dishes, you quickly open two cans of peaches, dump them into a pan, sprinkle on cake mix, lay down the butter slices, and pop the pan into the oven. By the time people start casually wondering if there’s anything for dessert, the house smells like a peach orchard and vanilla cake factory had a party.
Hosts love this dessert because it’s low-stress but still feels homemade. You don’t have to measure out 10 dry ingredients or worry about overmixing anything. If traffic made you late to your own party (it happens), you can still pull this off at the last minute and serve it warm with ice cream. People will think you planned it that way.
It’s also a surprisingly flexible dessert for different lifestyles and occasions:
- Family movie night: Bake the cake in the afternoon, then slightly underbake it by a couple of minutes. Reheat individual scoops in the microwave at showtime, top with ice cream, and pass out bowls as the opening credits roll.
- Potluck hero: Need something that can travel in a simple pan and survive a car ride? This is it. Cover the pan with foil, bring a tub of ice cream on ice, and you’re instantly the most popular person at the dessert table.
- Holiday “backup” dessert: When there’s already pie, cookies, and maybe a cake, peach dump cake gives guests another option that feels cozy but not fussy. It’s especially welcome if someone “forgot” to defrost the pie crusts.
If you have kids or teens around, this is a great entry-level baking project. They get the satisfaction of “making dessert” without juggling complicated steps. One child can open and pour the peaches, another can sprinkle the cake mix, and someone else can place the butter slices. It’s like building a dessert lasagna with fruit, cake mix, and butter instead of noodles and sauce.
Home cooks also love how forgiving this recipe is. If you accidentally use peaches in heavy syrup, it just turns out a little sweeter. If your butter coverage isn’t perfect, the peach juices will usually bail you out. If you only have white cake mix instead of yellow, it still works. Peach dump cake doesn’t demand perfection it rewards effort with warm, buttery, spoonable comfort.
Over time, many people end up with their own “house version” of peach dump cake. Maybe you always add chopped pecans because your family loves crunch. Maybe you sprinkle extra cinnamon on top because your kitchen motto is “measure spices with your heart.” Maybe you use one can of peaches and one can of pineapple or berries when you’re feeling creative. Once you’ve made the base recipe a few times, you’ll start improvising, and that’s when it becomes more than a recipe it becomes your signature, low-effort, high-love dessert.
However you customize it, peach dump cake is the kind of dessert that feels a little nostalgic the first time you taste it, even if you’ve never had it before. It’s warm, familiar, and comforting like something you’d expect to find at a backyard barbecue, a church potluck, or your grandma’s table. And the best part? You can get all of that with less than 10 minutes of hands-on time and exactly one pan to wash.
