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Chef Amber

Easy Lemon Blueberry Dump Cake

A quick and fruity dump cake made with lemon cake mix, blueberry filling, and butter. Sweet, warm, and perfect for an easy dessert with almost no prep.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 310
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Three ingredients all easy to keep on hand.
  • 2 21 oz cans blueberry pie filling
  • 1 15.25 oz box lemon cake mix
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter melted (1 1/2 sticks)

Equipment

  • Want to Switch It Up?
  • Use fresh or frozen blueberries instead of pie filling — about 3 cups total — and sprinkle them with 1/4 cup sugar and the zest of one lemon before adding the cake mix to mimic the sweetness and texture of canned filling.
  • Swap the lemon cake mix for yellow or vanilla cake mix if that is what you have, and add a teaspoon of grated lemon zest over the blueberries to keep the citrus flavor front and center.
  • Dot the top of the cake with small cubes of cream cheese before baking for tangy pockets that cut through the sweetness and make the dessert feel closer to a lemon blueberry cheesecake cobbler.
  • Stir a teaspoon of cinnamon into the dry cake mix before sprinkling it over the fruit for a warmer, more fall-leaning flavor profile that works especially well if you are serving the cake warm on cooler evenings.

Method
 

  1. How to Make Lemon Blueberry Dump Cake
  2. Step 1 - Prep the pan and oven: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray or a thin layer of butter. A metal baking pan gives the best browning on the edges and bottom, but a glass or ceramic dish also works — just keep in mind that glass may take a few extra minutes to reach the same level of golden color on top.
  3. Step 2 - Add the blueberry layer: Spread the blueberry pie filling evenly over the bottom of the prepared baking dish, smoothing it into an even layer that reaches all the way to the corners. If you are using fresh or frozen blueberries instead, scatter them evenly over the pan, then sprinkle with sugar and lemon zest to help them release juice and create a proper sauce layer as the cake bakes.
  4. Step 3 - Add the dry cake mix: Sprinkle the dry lemon cake mix evenly over the fruit layer. Do not stir. The goal is to create a uniform blanket of dry mix that covers all of the blueberries, with no large bare patches. A few small gaps are fine — the fruit will bubble up through them — but the more evenly you distribute the mix, the more consistent the crust will be after baking.
  5. Step 4 - Add the butter: Pour the melted butter slowly and evenly over the surface of the dry cake mix, trying to cover as much of the top as possible. Use a spoon to gently nudge the butter toward any dry spots if needed, but do not mix it into the cake mix — the butter should sit on top and soak down on its own in the oven. Any small patches of dry mix left after pouring will hydrate from the blueberry juice rising from below during baking.
  6. Step 5 - Bake and cool: Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is deeply golden, the edges are bubbling, and you can see thickened blueberry filling peeking through in spots around the edges and through small cracks in the crust. The surface should look set and crisp rather than pale or wet. Remove from the oven and let the cake rest for at least 10 minutes before serving — this rest allows the fruit layer to thicken slightly as it cools so you get spoonable scoops rather than a runny sauce.

Notes

Nutrition Facts (per serving): Carbs: 44g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g