This dump cake is so easy, you could easily have it in the oven by the time you finish reading this post!
What a way to celebrate some great summer fruit. When the blueberries are roasted, they are even sweeter and more delicious than when they are fresh!
This Blueberry Dump Cake is crumbly and moist. It’s soft but has some great crispy bits. The blueberries at the bottom almost become candied.
It’s unbelievable served hot with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. This is an excellent way to use up any fruit that’s starting to wilt or to clear the pantry of cans taking up too much shelf space!
Ingredients
1 ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
2 ⅓ cup All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
5 cups (2 ½ pints) Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
2 sticks (1 cup) Salted Butter (I used salted, but you could use unsalted and add ¼ – ½ tsp salt in with the dry ingredients)
OPTIONAL: 8 oz Whipped Cream Cheese
OPTIONAL: ¼ cup Lemon Juice
OPTIONAL: 2 tsp Lemon Zest
OPTIONAL: ½ cup Chopped Pecans
Materials
9×13 Cake Pan
Instructions
Step One
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 13×9 baking dish.
Optional: Butter or spray your pan. I never did this, since this yields a cobbler-like cake rather than one you’d frost. But feel free!
Step Two
Add about 2 ½ pints of blueberries and some sugar to the pan. The amount of fruit you add is really up to you!
If your favorite part of a cobbler-style cake is the fruit, then add more! I usually added enough so there were about 2 layers of berries at the bottom of the pan. Pour in the sugar and stir so each berry gets a bit of sugar coating it.
Roast these in the oven at 350 F until they are softened and release their juices and the sugar dissolves.
Step Three
Mix your dry ingredients. In a bowl, mix together your sugar, flour, and baking soda.
Step Four
Evenly spread dry ingredient mix all over the blueberry layer. It needs to be fully covered – no blueberries peeking through!
Step Five
Slice your butter into thin slices. Spread the slices evenly all over the dry ingredient mix.
Step Six
Bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Enjoy with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!
On Blueberries
I used fresh berries, but you could easily substitute frozen blueberries in place – they may just need another minute or two to roast.
I used 5 cups of berries when I made this recipe, but, depending on how much fruit you like or need to use up, anywhere between 3-8 would work fine! Just adjust the time you roast them in the oven.
Make it a 4 Ingredient Recipe! Use canned blueberries! I prefer just berries in a light syrup, but you could use blueberry pie filling. I would be very careful here though, just because of how sweet your cake can get!
Make it a 3 Ingredient Recipe! For ease, you can use boxed cake mix if you desire – However, I will say you can taste the difference. (This will turn it into a 3 ingredient recipe if you also use canned berries!)
Butter Banter
I used salted for this recipe, but you could easily use unsalted and add a touch of salt to the dry ingredient mix (I would suggest ¼ – ½ tsp)
I prefer to slice my butter up very thinly and dot the top of the cake evenly before I put it in the oven, but you could melt the butter and pour it over the top if you prefer. I find that my method results in a more even color and texture.
Additions & Options
Cream Cheese – If you want to add cream cheese, add it in between the berry layer and the dry ingredient mix layer.
I use a whipped cream cheese for a better chance at evenness and spreading. You’ll definitely want to use at least 8 oz of cream cheese here.
Leave it thicker than you would probably think you should – too thin, and the cream cheese just blends into the berries, doing nothing but making the berries a lighter purple.
Lemon Juice & Zest – These are just for flavoring. Add them to the berries before you put them in the oven to add a touch of complexity!
Pecans – For texture, add some chopped pecans in a thin layer on top of the dry mix, before the butter slices. Yum!
Other Fruit Variations
Your options here are almost endless. Here is a list of ideas I had:
Pineapple – Chop your pineapple up into tidbits (or use canned) and perform the recipe the exact same way, just substituting pineapple for blueberries!
Raspberries or Blackberries – You can leave these whole before roasting. Substitute either berry in place of the blueberries or mix it up! You could even do an all-berry dump cake.
Strawberries – These I would quarter or half before roasting. Add whipped cream for a super easy strawberry shortcake variation!
Apples – Depending on your preferences, you can either slice the apples into wedges or cut them up smaller. Personally, I don’t love a big piece of fruit in my cakes or pies, so I would chop them up into smaller, bite-sized pieces.
I would substitute brown sugar instead of white with apples, particularly for the roasting stage. A dash of cinnamon and/or other warming spices wouldn’t hurt either!
The roasting stage will also take longer for a harder fruit like apples. Instead of the few minutes for the blueberries, depending on how small you’ve cut them, the apples may take up to 25-30 minutes for larger slices.
You can also crank the heat up to 400 F to speed up the process.
Peaches – Depending on your preferences, you can either slice the peaches into wedges or cut them up smaller (Canned will definitely work here as well).
Personally, I don’t love a big piece of fruit in my cakes or pies, so I would chop them up into smaller, bite-sized pieces.
I would substitute brown sugar instead of white with peaches, particularly for the roasting stage.
A dash of cinnamon and/or other warming spices wouldn’t hurt either! If you leave your peaches in slices, you may add 5 more minutes of roasting time in the oven.
Cherries – Canned, fresh, or frozen would be fine. If using fresh, don’t forget to remove the pit! I would halve them if using fresh also.
Note: The list does not end here. You could also do something like rhubarb in place of blueberries or possibly even pecans!
Though, I would do some more research on how to prepare the fillings properly first.
We Thought You Would Like
You may want to check out Cara’s super Easy Pineapple Upside Down Dump Cake
Diet Variations
Substitute Flour for Almond Flour
Substitute Sugar for Swerve or another Keto-friendly sweetener
Gluten-Free
Substitute Flour for Gluten-Free flour
Vegan
Substitute Butter for Vegan Butter Substitute
(Coconut oil may work, but it would leave a strong coconut flavor and will result in a crispier top)
Storage
Fridge: Store this cake covered in your fridge. It’ll keep for 4-5 days (if it lasts that long).
Freezer: Wrap the cake, pan and all, tightly in a few layers of plastic wrap. Freeze for up to a month. To reheat, place on the middle rack of a 250 F oven and warm through.
5 Ingredient Blueberry Dump Cake
This simple recipe is perfect for any occasion, whether it’s a summer pool party, back-to-school bash, or even a midwinter summer daydream. It’s fabulous cold or hot, and even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup + ½ cup Sugar, separated
- 2 ⅓ cup Flour
- 1 TBSP Baking Powder
- 5 cups Blueberries (about 2 ½ pints)
- 2 sticks (1 cup) Butter (I used salted, but you could use unsalted and add ¼ - ½ tsp salt in with the dry ingredients)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add blueberries and ½ cup sugar to the pan. Stir.
- Roast these in the oven at 350 F for 15 minutes. Stir, then put back in the oven for another 10 minutes or until they are softened and the sugar dissolves. The berries should be in a pool of their own juice.
- In a bowl, mix together your sugar, flour, and baking soda.
- Evenly spread dry ingredient mix all over the blueberry layer.
- Spread thinly sliced butter evenly all over the dry ingredient mix.
- Bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Enjoy with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 469Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 369mgCarbohydrates: 108gFiber: 6gSugar: 44gProtein: 9g
My name is Keren Tayler. I am a stay-at-home mama to three lovely girls, Sarah + Rachel + Hannah. Prior to becoming a mom, I had a successful career in the accounting field, steps away from becoming a CPA. I decided to give up on my career in order to raise my own kids (as opposed to letting a nanny do it, no judgment here :)) I learned a lot and I love sharing it with other moms. Along the way, I also became a Certified Food Handler.