Here’s an easy throw – it – together dessert from a box cake mix, some cream cheese (or ricotta, or cottage cheese) and fruit on top.
I got the inspiration from a dump cake recipe online, and from watching a Jamie Oliver series on Tastemade TV. He filmed the “Keep Cooking & Carry On” show during COVID 19 in 2018-2019, when we were all stuck at home. If you can stream it, I highly recommend it. The show can open your eyes to how to use what you have and still make delicious food.
Use what you have, and substitute what you don’t
The premise of the show is to teach people a basic recipe, but know that you can substitute in whatever you have for various ingredients. Omit what you don’t like. Add something else that you do. Add some extra spice, or herbs, or vegetables. A recipe doesn’t have to be followed exactly as written. And don’t waste the food you DO have.
That’s a wonderful thing to teach – I do this all the time. I seldom make a recipe the way the author did!
In this dessert, the base is a box cake mix combined with melted butter. I used a white vanilla box mix. Yellow would be fine, as would chocolate in some cases. Heck, use a brownie mix! If you don’t have a box cake mix, make your own cake! Or use a biscuit mix. See how easy?
Same thing for the cream cheese layer. The original recipe called for 3 8-oz packages. I only had two. But I did have a big tub of small curd cottage cheese, so I substituted that. Or ricotta would work.
Lastly, I used strawberries on top this time. I made my strawberry pie filling (because I had plenty of strawberries on hand), but any kind of canned pie filling would work…. blueberries? Perfect. Peaches? Yes! Cherries? Delicious!! Lemon pie filling would work…just spread it all evenly over the cheese layer.
So you get the idea – use what you have, or make what you can. A bit of whipped cream on top of each serving will make a perfect dessert fit for family or friends. And since it makes an 9 x 13″ pan-full, it works great for a crowd, like a meeting or church supper.
Since the dessert needs to cool for at least 30 minutes and then be refrigerated for at least 4 hours, it can be made a day ahead and kept refrigerated overnight. Just let it sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with a couple of pieces of fresh fruit, if you have any.
I didn’t get to take pictures of each step – here’s the before baking picture:
And then the final product: edges have puffed up, the strawberries have cooked down, and I put a couple fresh strawberries fanned out in corners.
Fruit & Cheese Dump Cake
Use a boxed cake mix, some soft cheese and fruit pie filling to make a quick and easy dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 box cake mix – vanilla, yellow, chocolate or brownie mix
- 12 tbsp butter, melted (1 1/2 sticks)
- 3 8 oz packages cream cheese or cottage or ricotta cheese
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract (almond, lemon, orange)
- 2 zest lemons (orange zest, lime zest)
- 1/4 tsp salt preferably kosher
- 1 can fruit pie filling – strawberry, blueberry, cherry, peach, lemon (or make your own)
- fresh fruit for garnish (if you have it)
- cooking spray
Instructions
Cake base
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Spray the cake pan with cooking spray.
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Make the base by mixing the cake mix with the melted butter. Press the mixture into the pan to form an even layer. Set aside.
Cheese layer
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In the bowl or a stand mixer, or large bowl for a hand mixer, put in the cream cheese(s), sugar, vanilla, grated zest, & salt, Beat on slow to start (especially with blocks of cream cheese) then on medium speed for 2 minutes. Make sure the cheese(s) turn creamy. Pour over the crust and spread to the edges.
Fruit topping
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Open the tins of fruit pie filling (use two cans if you want a thick layer). If you have made your pie filling, cook the fruit on the stove-top for a couple of minutes to melt the sugar until it thickens slightly. Cool if homemade… spread the fruit over the cheese layer.
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Bake at 350°F for about 45 minutes. The center will jiggle when shaken, and edges should bubble.
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Cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Let sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before serving.
Tell me – what combination did you try? Any exotic fruits?
