This 5-ingredient chocolate dump cake is the EASIEST chocolate dessert you’ll ever make, and one of the most indulgent! It’s rich and gooey, super chocolatey, and ready for your oven in minutes.

 

I love making fuss-free desserts with cake mix, from my fudgy cake mix brownies to soft and chewy cake mix cookies. Another surefire favorite is this easy chocolate dump cake! It’s a classic, and it’s the perfect dessert if you’re looking to squeeze some baking into a busy schedule. All it takes is 5 ingredients, including your favorite chocolate cake mix, and 5 minutes to have this decadent dessert ready for the oven. 

Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Dump Cake Recipe

• Dump-and-bake. There’s no sifting or measuring involved, and no bowls to clean afterward. You just dump the ingredients into your baking pan, stir, and bake!
• Extra chocolatey. This chocolate dump cake is like a cross between a decadent chocolate cake and an ooey-gooey cobbler. It has a thick chocolate cake layer topped with melty chocolate chips. Served warm with ice cream? Swoon.
• Adaptable. Make this chocolate dump cake using your favorite box of chocolate cake mix, whether that’s German chocolate cake, triple chocolate, or Devil’s Food cake. It’s easy to change out ingredients to make this recipe your own.

Why Is It Called a Dump Cake?

Dump cakes are an American dessert, a lot like a cobbler. Instead of a biscuit-like topping, dump cakes are made with a box of cake mix that’s “dumped” into a pan with the other ingredients, and baked without mixing.

Ingredients You’ll Need

I’ve included some quick notes on what you’ll need. You’ll find a printable list of ingredients in the recipe card below the post.

• Cake Mix – We’ll use chocolate cake for this recipe, but you can make a dump cake with any flavor of cake mix. See further in the post for some fun variation ideas.
• Pudding Mix – Again, you can use just about any flavor of instant pudding here. For this cake, you’ll need an instant chocolate pudding mix.
• Butter – You can use salted or unsalted butter. Melt it in the microwave and let it cool before you start.
• Milk – Use any kind of milk you’d like, dairy or non-dairy.
• Chocolate Chips – These can be semi-sweet, dark, or milk chocolate chips. You can also use chocolate chunks or chopped chocolate.

How to Make a Chocolate Dump Cake

Here’s the (very) short step-by-step. Don’t worry, you don’t lose any chocolatey goodness in the speedy making of this dump cake! Scroll to the recipe card for printable instructions.

• Add the dry ingredients. First, spread the cake mix into the bottom of a greased 9×13” baking dish. Sprinkle the pudding mix over top.
• Add the wet ingredients. Stir the milk and melted butter together, and drizzle this evenly over the dry ingredients. Using a spoon or spatula, gently stir the liquid through the cake mix. Whatever you do, don’t overmix (see below).

• Bake. Sprinkle over the chocolate chips. Then, bake the cake at 350ºF for 40 minutes, until it’s set. Let the cake cool, then slice and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

The Biggest Mistake to Avoid When Making a Dump Cake

The #1 rule when making dump cakes is, do NOT over-stir! Some dump cake recipes will say not to stir the cake mix at all. However, I’ve found that this hands-off approach sometimes leads to uneven baking (sorry, dump cake purists!). 

So, you don’t need to stir the ingredients into a batter. But to avoid a half-baked cake, swirl them together enough to get the milk down to the bottom and distribute it throughout the dry cake mix.

How Can I Tell if My Dump Cake Is Done?

You can test this dump cake for doneness the same way you’d test a chocolate cake. Stick a toothpick into the middle of the cake, and if it comes out clean or with a few crumbs, the cake is done. 

If your dump cake is still undercooked in the middle, there are a few reasons why this might be. There could be too much liquid, or your oven temperature might be too low. It could also be that the pan is too small if you used any other size besides a 9×13” baking dish. In all of these cases, try giving the cake more time in the oven, until it sets up.

Dump Cake Variations

There are plenty of ways that you can adapt the dump cake “formula” of cake mix + pudding mix + milk and butter + topping to create a fresh new dessert. Below are some easy dump cake variations that I’ve shared on the site. I’d love to hear your favorite combinations in the comments!

• Different cake mix. There’s no wrong type of chocolate cake mix for this recipe, so pick your favorite box. Devil’s Food cake is a great choice, or you can opt for something extra fudgy, like dark chocolate cake mix. You can also make a gluten-free chocolate dump cake with gluten-free chocolate cake mix.
• Fruit. You can make more variations of a dump cake by dumping canned fruit or pie filling into the pan along with a cake mix. Try my apple dump cake recipe!
• Seasonal. Looking for a fun dump cake to make for fall? This pumpkin dump cake is delicious, made with spice cake mix and canned pumpkin puree.
• Peanut Butter. We can blame my original peanut butter cup dump cake for kickstarting my obsession with dump cakes! Make something similar by sprinkling chopped peanut butter cups over this chocolate cake instead of chocolate chips.

How to Store

• To Store. You don’t need to refrigerate a chocolate dump cake, but it does last longer if you do. Store the dump cake airtight at room temperature for 2 days, or in the fridge for 4-5 days.
• Freeze. Store the cooled chocolate dump cake airtight and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake in the fridge before serving. I like to warm up my dump cake in the oven for 10-20 minutes at 350ºF, or in the microwave, to get it nice and gooey again.

More Chocolate Dessert Recipes

• Triple Chocolate Skillet Brownie
• Mint Chocolate Pudding Cookies
• Flourless Chocolate Cake
• Double Chocolate Cupcakes
• Mint Chocolate Poke Cake