Decadently rich, sweet, and gooey Cola Chocolate Cherry Cake reaches next level dump cake status by adding cola to the classic ingredients.
If you're one who thinks dessert is the best part of the meal then you won't be disappointed with this cake. You'll also love our Peach Dump Cake or our seasonal, but really it's great anytime of the year, favorite Pumpkin Dump Cake.
What is a dump cake?
A dump cake is exactly what it sounds like: a cake that just has its ingredients dumped in instead of made into a traditional batter. Dump cakes require little-to-no prep time and are so easy to make.
Additionally, most dump cake don't use the traditional boxed cake ingredients of eggs, water, and oil.
Once baked with canned fruit, dump cakes are really closer to a cobbler than a cake, as it has hot and bubbling fruit at the bottom with a bit rising to the surface and a softly crusted cake top. But once you spoon into it, it's ooey-gooey, and delicious.
How do you know when a dump cake is done?
Since the standard toothpick test we use for regular cakes won't work in a dump cake, the best gauge of being done is some of the fruit filling is bubbling along the surfaces edges of the cake, the cake topping itself has formed a soft and tender crust. Also all the butter that dots the top of the pre-baked cake will have melted.
Recipe ingredients
- Cherry pie filling — You'll need two cans.
- Devil's Food cake mix — any box brand will work, we used Duncan Hines.
- Chocolate syrup —just the delicious stuff you use to make chocolate milk or drizzle over your favorite ice cream.
- butter — we used SALTED butter to help (although only minimally) the sweetness of the cake.
- cola — from the image above we just used a single can of Coca-Cola (Coke) Classic.
Step by step directions
Step 1 — Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pour the cans of cherry pie filling into the bottom of your Dutch oven. We used enameled, but for camping, use your camp oven/bare Dutch oven.
Step 2 — Sprinkle the cake mix over the pie filling as evenly as possible. Break up any large clumps, but small ones are fine.
Step 3 — Drizzle the chocolate syrup over the dry cake mix. Don't worry if it starts to run together.
Step 4 — Slice the butter into thin pats and lay over the top of the cake. Slice some in half or on the diagonal to fill in any gaps.
Step 5 — SLOWLY pour the cola over the surface of the cake. If you pour it to fast, it will pool and dislodge the butter. Cover with the lid or tightly with foil, toss it in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
Step 6 — Once done, remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving or you could experience molten fruit, which is never pleasant. You can serve this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
See recipe card for camp oven directions.
Adaptations and variations
- Fruit Filling — swap out the cherry pie filling and use blueberry, raspberry, or mixed berry.
- Cake mix flavor — can't find Devil's Food, use regular a chocolate cake mix, milk chocolate or chocolate fudge cake mix.
- Soda — the flavor of the cola doesn't come through against the bold cherry and chocolate flavors so you can use any canned soda you have readily available.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, after you've served it and have leftovers, we recommend storing this in an airtight sealed container for 3-4 days at most.
Oh yes, almost every dump cake recipe is so very, very gooey. If you've had a lava cake, this is a few steps in gooeyness past the lava center. The cake will be gooey, but will not be runny. If it is runny, it is not baked.
The quickest and easiest way is to put a portion on a plate and toss it in the microwave, but if you're trying to reheat it as a whole, the oven at 325° for 10-15 minutes will do it.
Our favorite tools to make Cola Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake!
Lodge 3 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
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Cola Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake
Equipment
- 5 quart Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 2-21 oz cherry pie filling
- 1 box Devil Food's cake mix
- ¼ lb salted butter 1 stick; thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoon chocolate syrup
- 12 oz cola
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Pour the cherry pie filling into the bottom of the Dutch oven, spread out to smooth.
- Sprinkle the cake mix over the pie filling as evenly as possible, breaking up any large clumps.
- Drizzle the chocolate syrup over the dry cake mix.
- Place the sliced butter over the top of the cake. Slice some in half or on the diagonal to fill in any gaps.
- SLOWLY pour the cola over the surface of the cake.
- Cover with the lid or tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Camp Oven
- Heat coals in a charcoal chimney.
- Once hot, place 12 coals on bottom (camp table, fire pit, etc).
- Construct the cake via directions above.
- Cover with the camp oven lid.
- Place heated coals over the entire lid.
- Allow to cook for 45 minutes.
- Check for doneness by using a lid lifter, if not done, cook up to an additional 15 minutes.
- When done, remove from coals, allow to rest then and serve.