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Sunday Dump Cake: Easy, spiced dessert perfect for new beginnings.
Sunday afternoons in my childhood home were synonymous with the cozy aromas of a ‘dump cake’ in the making. My dad had a penchant for simplicity which, in retrospect, was a form of culinary genius. I vividly recall the first time he introduced me to this hands-off dessert. It was a day of moving into my first solo apartment, a milestone that came with equal parts thrill and trepidation. Among the boxes of mismatched college-era dishes and secondhand furniture, I found a handwritten index card wedged in a spice cake mix box—his Sunday Dump Cake recipe.
Diving into nostalgia, I gathered ingredients already stashed in my barely stocked kitchen. The process was therapeutic: whisking together spice cake mix and apple pie spice, the sweet aroma instantly softened the echoes of the empty rooms. I found solace in the simplicity of pouring apple pie filling into a baking dish and drizzling caramel sauce. A gentle stir later, I let the melted butter work its magic atop the unassuming cake mix, a chef-y hack passed down with wisdom: ensuring every crumb turned delightfully golden.
As the cake baked, the bubbling apple aroma felt like an embrace, reminding me of shared Sundays past. After an hour, when the edges were crisp and inviting, I dusted a cloud of powdered sugar over the top. Serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream was more than tradition; it was a celebration. Every bite transported me to those tranquil Sunday afternoons at home, grounding me in my new life. Letting it rest before slicing kept each piece intact, a small gem of advice my dad always swore by.
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25-ounce) box spice cake mix or yellow cake mix
- 2 teaspoons apple pie spice
- 2 (21-ounce) cans apple pie filling
- 1/4 cup caramel sauce
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- powdered sugar to taste, for serving
- vanilla ice cream to taste, for serving
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk the spice cake mix and the apple pie spice together until well-combined. Set the mixture aside.
- Pour the apple pie filling into the prepared baking dish and drizzle with the caramel sauce. Stir to combine.
- Evenly sprinkle the cake mix over the pie filling so that it is covered completely.
- Pour the melted butter over the cake.
- Bake the cake until the topping turns crispy golden-brown and some of the apple filling is bubbling against the sides, about 1 hour.
- Top the cake with the powdered sugar and serve with the ice cream.
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