My deliciously easy Caramel Apple Cobbler Dump Cake recipe is the perfect fall dessert. This boxed cake mix recipe is made with just a handful of ingredients and about 15 minutes of active kitchen time—ideal for busy weeknights!
If you’ve got an itchin’ for homemade apple pie but don’t have the time or patience to make it, my easy apple cobbler recipe with cake mix is for you. Fresh apples are cooked with spiced maple syrup and caramel sauce until tender, topped with buttery spice cake and almonds, then baked to gooey, golden perfection.
Jump to:
- Why You’ll Love This Caramel Apple Dump Cake Cobbler Recipe
- Ingredients & Substitutions
- How To Make Apple Cobbler With Cake Mix
- Storage Instructions
- Optional Variations & Dietary Adaptations
- Expert Tips
- Serving Suggestions
- FAQs
- More Easy Baking Recipes Using Boxed Mixes
- Easy Caramel Apple Cobbler with Cake Mix
- 💬 Reviews
Why You’ll Love This Caramel Apple Dump Cake Cobbler Recipe
- Fast & Foolproof - This delicious fall dessert is an easy way to satisfy your sweet tooth. All you need is 15 minutes of active prep time and only 10 simple ingredients! Better yet, it's made in one pan and no mixing bowls, so clean up is a snap.
- Customizable & Inclusive - Feeding a picky crowd? This easy apple dessert is here to help. This delicious apple dessert can be tweaked in roughly a gazillion ways—swap in a different flavor of cake mix, use pre-made apple filling, or mix & match your fruit. With a few quick swaps, you can also make it gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, or vegan! Read on below for instructions.
- A Seasonal Sensation - This warmly spiced apple caramel cobbler is autumnal to its core, but it’s no one-hit wonder. Want to give it a wintry, Christmas-y twist? Add tart cranberries or cherries to the mix for a pop of brightness and color! I’ll teach you how in the variations section below.
Ingredients & Substitutions
As promised, you only need a few pantry basics to make this cake mix apple cobbler recipe:
- Baker's Joy Non-Stick Cooking Spray - Reach for the kind with flour for the best results. You can also butter and flour the inside of the pan instead.
- Fresh Apples - I like using crisp, sweet-tart varieties like Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Granny Smith apples. Only have sweet-sweet apples? Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice for brightness. In total, you'll need about 6 large apples.
- Maple Syrup - If you can swing it, go for real maple syrup, not the colored corn syrup trickery cheaper brands peddle. Not only will it taste better, but it will be better for you.
- Cinnamon Maple Caramel Sauce - To make it homemade, you’ll need maple syrup, brown sugar, light cream, butter, and spices. Feel free to use the store-bought caramel sauce of your choice for convenience. If you do, try spiking it with apple pie spice for added warmth. For a cheaper option and delicious dulce de leche vibe, use sweetened condensed milk. You can also keep it classic by using more maple syrup.
- Cinnamon & Cardamom - This warming spice blend adds beautiful depth. The cardamom is totally optional—feel free to omit it, or replace it with another warm spice like ginger.
- Boxed Cake Mix - I like using spice cake for the built-in coziness. You’re also welcome to swap in a box of yellow cake mix or vanilla cake mix with about 2.5 teaspoons of your preferred apple spice blend whisked in!
- Vanilla Extract & Almond Extract - Flavor extracts are a quick way to add complexity. Vanilla adds warmth—you can swap in vanilla paste or powder, or half as much dried vanilla bean powder. The almond extract is optional, but adds a deliciously nutty vibe.
- Cold Cubed Butter - In the oven, the melting butter magically fuses with the cake mix to create your cobbler topping. If you only have unsalted butter on hand, I recommend adding about ½ teaspoon of extra kosher salt.
- Sliced Almonds - Another optional addition, perfect for adding richness and crunch. You can also swap in the chopped nuts of your choice like pecans or walnuts.
How To Make Apple Cobbler With Cake Mix
This delicious dessert comes together in just a few simple steps:
Prep. Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Grease 9x13 pan or large baking pan with baker's spray.
Step 1: Apple Filling. Slice and spread the apples in an even layer across the bottom of your baking dish.
Step 2: Pour ½ cup of maple syrup and ¼ cup of the caramel sauce evenly on top of the apples. Evenly sprinkle the salt, spices, and extracts (if using) over top.
Step 3: Bake the apples at 350ºF for 20-25 minutes, until they are beginning to soften and caramelize.
Step 4: Dump. Sprinkle the boxed cake mix evenly across the apple mixture, using the back of a spoon to make sure the now tender apples are even and there are no large pockets of cake mix without fruit nearby. Drizzle the remaining caramel sauce on top of the cake mix. Sprinkle on the almonds (if using). Dot evenly with butter.
Step 5: Bake at 350ºF for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and check for any dry spots. If you find any, drizzle on a little bit of water until the dry powder disappears; I used a scant 2 tablespoons. Applesauce, apple juice, or milk will also work! Return to the oven and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and puffy.
Step 6: Serve. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving, preferably with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. YUM!
Storage Instructions
- Allow the cobbler to cool completely to room temperature before wrapping well with plastic wrap. (Don't want bugs or prying fingers to disturb your masterpiece? Cover it lightly with a clean kitchen towel so the steam can escape, keeping the crisp, buttery edges of the cobbler topping from getting soggy.)
- Leftover cake mix cobbler can be kept covered at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- To extend the shelf life, refrigerate for up to a week.
- You can also transfer leftovers to an airtight container (or multiple single-serve containers) and freeze for up to 3 months.
- To reheat, transfer to an oven-safe dish and warm in a 300ºF oven or toaster oven for 6-8 minutes, or until warmed through. You can also microwave it if you prefer, but the topping will lose any crispness if you do.
Optional Variations & Dietary Adaptations
Perhaps my favorite part about this apple dump cake recipe is that it can be adjusted to fit nearly any need. Here are just a few creative customizations you can try:
- Mix & Match Fruit. This easy cobbler recipe is quite adaptable. Want to make an apple cherry cobbler, apple cranberry cobbler, or apple pear cobbler? Be my guest! All told, you'll need 2.5-3 pounds of fresh fruit, or 3 regular-sized cans (~14.5 ounces) of fruit in their juices. Note that fresh cranberries will be extra tart—I recommend sticking to just a cup or so, or adding a bit of extra sugar for sweetness.
- Gluten-Free - Use regular non-stick spray or use your favorite gluten-free flour to butter and flour it. Then, just swap in your favorite gluten-free boxed cake mix!
- Dairy-Free/Vegan - Use plant-based butter and cake mix, and ensure your caramel sauce is vegan-friendly by using plant-based butter and cream.
- Nut-Free - Omit the sliced almonds and almond extract, and make sure your cake mix is nut-free. (Some are processed on the same equipment as nuts.)
- Shortcut - Don't want to deal with a knife? Turn this recipe into the easiest apple cobbler EVER using 3 cans of apple pie filling, cinnamon apple slices, or fried apples with their juices. (If you go this route, omit the maple syrup. You are welcome to keep or omit the spices.)
The Old Recipe — Cherry Apple Cobbler with Pancake Mix
While it’s not a dump cake, I still like to make my old cobbler recipe using protein pancake mix. Here’s how it’s done:
Prep. Preheat the oven to 375ºF and spray a large pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Step 1: Mix 3 large sliced apples, 10 ounces of pitted cherries, the zest and juice of 1 lemon, ¾ cup each of brown sugar and white sugar, 3 Tablespoons of flour (use cornstarch or potato starch for GF), and 1 teaspoon each of kosher salt, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl.
Step 2: Topping. In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup of pancake mix (I like using Kodiak for protein) and ½ cup of sugar. Cut or rub in ½ cup of cold cubed butter until it looks sandy. Gently mix in ½ cup of your milk of choice until just combined.
Step 3: Assemble. Add the apple mixture and any accumulated juices to the pan. Dollop on the cobbler topping.
Step 4: Bake in the preheated oven for 40-60 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and cooked through. (The large window of time is to account for different-sized pans and how thick your batter dollops are.) Cool for about 10 minutes, then serve and enjoy! Covered leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3 days.
Expert Tips
If it's your first time making an apple cobbler recipe with cake mix, you're in for a treat. This semi-homemade apple cobbler is almost impossible to biff. Just keep the following tips in mind:
- Even Steven. Since we’re not using any mixing bowls here, it’s super important that you add everything in even layers. You don’t want all the salt or spices to end up in one spot!
- Moisturize. Unlike my peach dump cake cobbler where the fruit gives off a ton of juice as it bakes, apples are far less juicy. Don’t forget to check for dry patches about 20-25 minutes after adding the cake mix—it’s likely you’ll have at least a few spots that need a little drizzle of water.
- A-peeling Ease. Peeling your apples is optional. I generally don’t—they have lots of nutrients, and I don’t feel the textural difference is worth the effort. If you don’t just make sure to wash your apples very well—many producers add a waxy coating that can trap in pesticides.
- Waste Free Kitchen. Save any apple peels and cores for making apple brown sugar coffee syrup, fruit-infused water, or delicious-smelling simmer pots. Orange peel, cinnamon sticks, and cloves are all nice additions for either the spa water or simmer pot!
Serving Suggestions
Joe and I like to go apple picking at a local apple orchard every year, and without fail, I end up with a ton of apples. While this is technically hyperbole (I don’t think I could physically pick 2000 pounds worth in an afternoon), it’s not that far off. No joke, I generally end up with enough to stock a grocery store bin. I call myself a grocery addict for a reason, y’all. 😂
So, from about September through November, apple recipes dominate my kitchen. Sticky apple cinnamon monkey bread or apple cinnamon steel cut oats for breakfast, spicy apple butternut squash soup or sheet pan pork tenderloin with roasted apples for dinner, and this apple cobbler dump cake or healthy apple crisps for dessert? Sounds like a perfectly normal day to me.
While it needs no garnishing, I recommend topping your warm cobbler with a cold scoop of ice cream—try vanilla, caramel, pralines & cream, or oatmeal cream pie ice cream, or anything else in that flavor neighborhood. Whipped cream is great too! And a little extra of that caramel sauce wouldn’t hurt, either. 😉
FAQs
While all are delicious apple desserts, apple crumble and apple crisp have crumbly, crispy toppings (as their names imply), whereas apple cobbler has more of a cakey, biscuit-y topping. To confuse matters even more, apple crisp topping is primarily made with oats and nuts rather than the flour-based streusel chunks you’ll find on most crumbles.
Generally speaking, apple cobbler is made of a spiced apple filling (similar to what you’d find in an apple pie or apple crisp) and topped with dollops of cake, pancake, or biscuit-like batter. The name “cobbler” comes from the classic rough appearance of the dolloped topping because it is reminiscent of a cobbled street.
A traditional fruit cobbler has an uneven crumbly biscuit-style topping, while this dump cake version has a more uniform appearance and cakier consistency. That said, in this apple cobbler dump cake they’re one and the same with a hybrid crumbly-cakey topping. The method of making traditional cobblers and dump cakes is also a bit different—for most cobbler recipes I’ve seen, raw macerated fruit is topped with a mixed batter. For a dump cake, ingredients are layered into a pan without any mixing, so there’s no batter to speak of.
Sure! While I think spice cake adds the best flavor for fall, you can swap in either white or yellow cake mix mixed with your choice of warming spices. I recommend adding between 2 ½ teaspoons to a Tablespoon worth.
The Best: So far in life, I've made cobblers with apples, pears, berries and stone fruits like cherries, peaches and apricots. I haven't met a single combination of those fruits that I don't like in a cobbler.
The Unknown: I haven't worked with more tropical fruits like fresh mango, pineapple or kiwi in a cobbler yet, but that's a massive oversight on my part, because I'd bet they'd be delicious. Oooh, and I could add some shredded coconut to the topping!
I also recommend moving forward with caution if you opt for starchier fruits like bananas and plantains. While I'd bet a banana cobbler would be yummy, I have a feeling you'll need a different filling recipe, perhaps one that incorporates more liquid into the mix.
The Probably Nots: All in all, I have a feeling that *most* fruits will work for this cobbler recipe. The only possible exceptions I can think of right now would be watermelon, as it has far too high of a liquid content.
More Easy Baking Recipes Using Boxed Mixes
If you tried this recipe for my Easy Apple Cherry Fruit Cobbler, let me know how it turned out for you! I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.
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Easy Caramel Apple Cobbler with Cake Mix
Equipment
- 9x13 or Large Casserole Dish
Ingredients
- Nonstick Baker's Spray With Flour or butter and flour of choice
- 2.5 - 3 Pounds Apples of Choice (preferably sweet tart & firm) sliced ¼ inch thick, or 3 cans cinnamon apples with juices. Peeling optional.
- ½ Cup Maple Syrup
- ½ Cup Cinnamon Maple Caramel Sauce, divided or honey caramel, or the caramel sauce of your choice. For a cheaper option that has a dulce de leche vibe, use sweetened condensed milk.
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt or fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom optional
- 1 Box Spice Cake Mix Or yellow cake mix with your preferred spice blend added! (2.5 teaspoons ought to do it)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract or vanilla paste or powder, or half as much dried vanilla bean powder. optional, but deliciousl.
- 1 teaspoon Almond Extract optional, but awesome.
- ¾ Cup Butter cubed small for scattering
- ½ Cup Sliced Almonds or chopped nuts of choice; optional if nut free.
- 2 - 4 tablespoon Water, if needed milk, cream, or apple juice work too!
- Ice Cream for serving. I recommend oatmeal cream pie ice cream, vanilla, caramel, pralines & cream, or anything else in the spice-caramel-vanilla-almond/nut neighborhood. Whipped cream is great too!
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Grease 9x13 pan or large baking dish.Slice and spread the apples across the bottom of your baking dish.
- Top with ½ cup of maple syrup and ¼ cup of the caramel sauce, drizzling evenly across the surface.
- Evenly sprinkle the salt, spices, and extracts (if using) over top. Bake at 350ºF for 20-25 minutes, until apples are starting to become soft.
- Remove the cake from the oven. Sprinkle the boxed cake mix evenly across the apple mixture, using the back of a spoon to make sure the apples are mostly even and there are no large pockets of cake mix without fruit nearby.
- Drizzle the remaining caramel sauce over the cake mix.
- Sprinkle on the almonds (if using). Dot evenly with butter.
- Bake at 350ºF for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and check for any dry spots. If you find any, drizzle on a little bit of water until the dry powder disappears. I used a scant 2 tablespoons. Applesauce, apple juice, or milk will also work!
- Bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until golden and puffy. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Allow the cobbler to cool completely to room temperature before wrapping well with plastic wrap. (Don't want bugs or prying fingers to disturb your masterpiece? Cover it lightly with a clean kitchen towel so the steam can escape, keeping the crisp, buttery edges of the cobbler topping from getting soggy.)
- Leftover cake mix cobbler can be kept covered at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- To extend the shelf life, refrigerate for up to a week.
- You can also transfer leftovers to an airtight container (or multiple single-serve containers) and freeze for up to 3 months.
- To reheat, transfer to an oven-safe dish and warm in a 300ºF oven or toaster oven for 6-8 minutes, or until warmed through. You can also microwave it if you prefer, but the topping will lose any crispness if you do.
- Mix & Match Fruit. This easy cobbler recipe is quite adaptable. Want to make an apple cherry cobbler, apple cranberry cobbler, or apple pear cobbler? Be my guest! All told, you'll need 2.5-3 pounds of fresh fruit, or 3 regular-sized cans (~14.5 ounces) of fruit in their juices. Note that fresh cranberries will be extra tart—I recommend sticking to just a cup or so, or adding a bit of extra sugar for sweetness.
- Gluten-Free - Use regular non-stick spray or use your favorite gluten-free flour to butter and flour it. Then, just swap in your favorite gluten-free boxed cake mix!
- Dairy-Free/Vegan - Use plant-based butter and cake mix, and ensure your caramel sauce is vegan-friendly by using plant-based butter and cream.
- Nut-Free - Omit the sliced almonds and almond extract, and make sure your cake mix is nut-free. (Some are processed on the same equipment as nuts.)
- Shortcut - Don't want to deal with a knife? Turn this recipe into the easiest apple cobbler EVER using 3 cans of apple pie filling, cinnamon apple slices, or fried apples with their juices. (If you go this route, omit the maple syrup. You are welcome to keep or omit the spices.)
Ana says
I will be trying this recipe for Christmas, wish me luck. Just one thing, for the dumb people on the back (raises hand) you should not short hand the word "Cup" it's short enough as it is >~<
Ash, The Grocery Addict says
Merry Christmas, Ana! I hope this turned out great for you!