7 Dump Cakes for When You Need an Easy Dessert Recipe

We love sinking our forks into a homemade cake, but finding the time to bake a cake from scratch isn't always easy. Enter dump cakes to save the day. They cut out most of the prep work that comes with making a cake, they require very few ingredients, and they're delicious (we could rave about this all day). The only thing we love more than a classic dump cake recipe is one made in the slow cooker. Thankfully we've got some of those too, so you don't even have to turn on your oven. Your next go-to easy dessert recipe is just a few steps away.

1. Apple-Cherry Dump Cake

Rather than choosing between cherry dump cake and apple dump cake, make them both at once. This slow cooker dessert will be popular with fruit fans thanks to chopped apples, dried cherries, and a pinch of apple pie spice. If you want to make your dump cake more indulgent, dress it up with a scoop of cherry or vanilla ice cream and add a cherry on top.

2. Hummingbird Dump Cake

This pineapple dump cake tastes like a traditional hummingbird cake but is much easier to make. You don't even have to do any mixing. Start by dumping crushed pineapple and banana slices into a 13x9-inch baking pan, then sprinkle on pecans, cinnamon, and our favorite shortcut ingredient—cake mix. When it's finished baking, it tastes best with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a few extra pecans on top (especially when it's fresh out of the oven).

3. Cinnamon-Pecan Dump Cake

No matter how busy you are, we're sure you can find time to squeeze this slow cooker dump cake recipe into your schedule. You don't even have to keep an eye on it while it "bakes." Stir everything together, dump it in your slow cooker ($20, Walmart), and let your cooker do the rest. The cinnamon flavor, crunchy pecans, and decadent dulce de leche topping also make it a fit for a holiday celebration. (And we know you could use an easy dessert recipe when the holidays roll around.)

4. Slow Cooker S'more Cake

No need to gather around your campfire for a taste of s'mores. Instead, gather around your slow cooker to snag a slice of this chocolate dump cake recipe. It gets a double dose of chocolate from the chocolate cake mix and chocolate chips sprinkled on top. Marshmallow crème and crushed graham crackers added before serving make each bite taste like a treat hot from a campfire.

5. Easy Peach Dump Cake

If you're craving a summery dessert, look no further than this easy peach dump cake. It only has three ingredients—a can of peach slices, a package of yellow cake mix, and butter. Dump the peaches in a baking dish, shake your cake mix over the peaches, top with butter, and bake. Easiest cake recipe ever!

6. Lemon-Poppy Seed Dump Cake

You'll make this lemon dump cake recipe completely from scratch (no boxed cake mixes), but it's as easy as any other in this collection. Stirring in fresh lemon zest and a spoonful of poppy seeds gives each bite of this slow cooker dump cake its signature flavor. Thanks to the bright lemony flavor, this cake tastes just like summer—even more so when topped with fresh berries.

7. Mixed Berry Pudding Cake

You'll never miss the frosting on this slow cooker dump cake recipe. The juicy berries that are dumped in first (a combination of blueberries, raspberries, and cranberries) are yummy enough to completely replace frosting. To keep this slow cooker cake extra moist while it cooks, pour a mixture of hot water and sugar on top of the batter. (It also makes it taste like a pudding cake.)