Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake is an easy dessert recipe that is a lot like cobbler. Cherry pie filling, almond extract (optional), cake mix, and butter is all you need. Just dump the ingredients into a pan and bake! It doesn’t get any easier than that!

Chocolate cherry dump cake in a small bowl topped with vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake

Dump cakes, aka cobbler, is a great dessert for potlucks and parties. It’s easy to make, but feels special, AND feeds a crowd.

This Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake is the EASIEST version of cobbler you can make. In fact it’s one of the EASIEST desserts EVER. And it’s just as delicious as it is easy.

With cherry pie filling flavored with almond extract on the bottom, and a sweet and crunchy chocolatey cake on top, what’s not to love? This chocolate variation of cherry cobbler with cake mix is a great dessert for Valentine’s Day too.

Baked chocolate cherry dump cake in baking dish with a serving spoon.

Why is it called Dump Cake?

It’s not the most appetizing name, but with very minimal prep and cleanup, dump cakes are a dessert win!

The reason why dump cakes are so loved, is because you literally dump ingredients into a dish and then bake it.

Everyone loves a warm dump cake with sweet fruit and crunchy cake. And the flavors are as infinite as pie fillings and cake flavors. We also really like this Caramel Apple Dump Cake.

Dump cakes are best served warm with vanilla ice cream on top. Don’t forget it!

Chocolate cherry cobbler in a small bowl topped with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

This recipe for chocolate cherry dump cake has four ingredients:

  • Cherry Pie Filling — two cans are needed for this recipe.
  • Almond Extract — optional, but highly recommended. It enhances the fruit flavor without adding extra sweetness.
  • Cake Mix — I used Duncan Hines devil’s food cake mix.
  • Butter — unsalted or salted, depending on your salt tolerance.
Ingredients to make chocolate cherry dump cake, aka cobbler.

How to make Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake

  1. First, add almond extract to the cherry pie filling (I put some in each can and gave it a little stir), then spread the filling over the bottom of a lightly greased 13×9-inch pan.
  2. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over the fruit.
  3. Layer thin slices of butter over the cake mix.
Steps to make chocolate cherry dump cake.

Baking and Serving

BAKE at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45-50 minutes or until the top is baked and the filling is bubbling in the center. (Some dry spots are ok.)

Serve this chocolate cherry dump cake warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired. Whipped cream would also be delicious. Enjoy!

Baked chocolate cherry cobbler in baking dish with a serving spoon.

To Store

Cover the pan with foil or transfer the dessert to an airtight container. You can store this cherry dump cake at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator up to 1 week.

Scoop leftovers individually into a microwave safe bowl and nuke until heated through.

Warm chocolate cherry dump cake in a small bowl.

Substitutions and Tips

FRESH CHERRIES – Use 5 cups of fresh, pitted cherries tossed with 2/3 cup (+) granulated sugar and 2 Tablespoons cornstarch. You may still add the almond extract to this mixture as well.

BUTTER – For the butter, it’s best to slice it very thin. You want it to melt over the whole top of the cake so you don’t have any dry spots. This also makes it nice and crunchy. You can always use more butter if you’re worried about it. Or melt the butter, combine it with a 1/4 cup of milk (to make it go a little further), and drizzle it slowly over the cake mix. NOTE: Adding milk will make the cake more fluffy instead of crisp.

SODA – Some dump cake recipes will substitute butter for soda. One 12-oz can of Sprite, 7-Up, or other lemon-lime soda works well. Cherry-cola would also taste great for this chocolate cherry dump cake.

SLOW COOKER – This cherry dessert can be made in the crockpot! Cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours.

Warm chocolate cherry cobbler in a small bowl.

More Cherry Desserts

If you love cherry desserts, check out these other recipes:

If You Make This Recipe, Please Rate and Review it in the Comments Below. THANKS!

Warm chocolate cherry dump cake in a small bowl.

Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 10 servings

Cherry pie filling, almond extract (optional), cake mix, and butter is all you need for this simple chocolate cherry cobbler.

Ingredients

  • 2 (21oz) cans cherry pie filling
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract, optional
  • 1 (15.25oz) box devil's food cake mix
  • 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp) unsalted butter, sliced thin

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray.
  2. Add almond extract to the cherry pie filling (I put it in the can and gave it a little stir), then spread the cherry pie filling over the bottom of the prepared pan.
  3. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over the fruit.
  4. Layer thin slices of butter over the cake mix.
  5. Bake at 350˚F for 45-50 minutes or until the top is baked and the filling is bubbling in the center. (Some dry spots are ok.) Serve cherry dump cake warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired. Whipped cream would also be delicious. Enjoy!

Notes

  • To Store: Cover the pan with foil or transfer the dessert to an airtight container. You can store this cherry dump cake at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator up to 1 week.
  • Scoop leftovers individually into a microwave safe bowl and nuke until heated through.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 213Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 390mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 1gSugar: 23gProtein: 2g

This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix, and is an estimation only.