Overnight Apple Cinnamon Dump Cake
An incredibly easy, crowd-pleasing dessert made with simple ingredients like apples, butter, and a boxed yellow cake mix. Perfect for hosting, it can be assembled the night before and baked to golden, bubbly perfection.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 to 5 medium apples (mix of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp), peeled, cored, and sliced into ¼-inch wedges
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 box (15.25 ounces) yellow cake mix
- ¾ cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into thin pats
- Optional: ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- Optional: 1 tablespoon coarse sugar (like turbinado) for topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). If making overnight, skip this step until ready to bake; let the assembled dish sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking.
- Peel, core, and slice apples into thin wedges (about ¼-inch thick). Place in a mixing bowl.
- Add ½ cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to the apples. Stir until evenly coated. Let sit for 5 minutes to release juices.
- Spread the seasoned apple slices evenly in a single layer in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Do not pour the leftover juices yet.
- Pour the remaining sugary-cinnamon liquid from the bowl evenly over the apples.
- Sprinkle the dry yellow cake mix evenly over the apples. Do not stir.
- Arrange the cold butter pats evenly over the entire surface of the dry cake mix, covering as much as possible.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown and the edges are bubbly. If the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.
- Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes before serving to allow the syrupy layer to thicken.
Notes
Don’t overmix the topping; let the butter melt on top for a crunchy texture. Use cold butter cut into thin pats. For a crispier top, sprinkle coarse sugar over the butter before baking. If making overnight, cover and refrigerate the unbaked dish for up to 24 hours; add 5-10 minutes to baking time. For a gluten-free version, use a gluten-free yellow cake mix of the same size.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/9 of cake
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 38
- Sodium: 320
- Fat: 18
- Saturated Fat: 11
- Carbohydrates: 55
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 3
Keywords: apple cinnamon dump cake, easy dump cake, overnight dump cake, apple dessert, crowd-pleaser dessert