Rhubarb Dump Cake Recipe #GlutenFree #DairyFree (2024)

FAQs

Why don t you mix dump cakes? ›

Layering ingredients instead of mixing them might look silly and feel counter-productive, but it's the trick to ensuring a crusty, crumbly, buttery top, and a gooey interior. For example, when a recipe calls for sprinkling the dry cake mix over the wet filling, do not mix it.

For some reason, nearly every dump cake recipe insists that the ingredients are not to be stirred. (In fact, most recipes add extra emphasis to this instruction by writing it in all-caps: DO NOT STIR!!!) The result of this laissez-faire approach is a half-baked cake.

A dump cake is an American dessert similar to a cobbler but with a cake-like topping. It is so named because it is prepared by "dumping" ingredients (typically canned fruit or pie filling, followed by a boxed cake mix) into a cake pan without mixing.

Again, do NOT mix.

Alternatively, some recipes will call for melting the stick of butter and drizzling it evenly over the entire portion of dry cake mix instead of using cold butter. Technically, either way works. However, melting isn't really necessary. (The cold butter is the first thing to melt in the oven anyway.)

It's important to pay attention to the specifics called for in a recipe, but in general, most cakes are best removed from the pan after cooling for 10 to 20 minutes. Try it too soon, and it may fall apart. Wait too long, and it may stick.

Compared to other kinds of cakes, dump cake does bake up a little less caky and little more gooey thanks to all of the delicious fruit. It has a similar consistency to a fruit cobbler or crisp and is served by the scoop rather than the slice!

If you've baked your dump cake and there's still cake mix powder on the top, it's likely because the butter wasn't evenly distributed on top of the cake. When assembling your dump cake recipe, be sure to spread the cake mix in a thin even layer and space the pats of butter evenly across the top.

The origins of this cake are murky. Some sources say it may have first shown up in a Texas newspaper, which is why it's called "Texas" sheet cake, while others claim the name comes from the fact that it's the size of Texas. Regardless of its origins, this cake is truly a crowd-pleaser.

Although there were a few uses of the term "dump cake" as far back as the 1920s, that was another nickname for so-called wacky cakes and crazy cakes, a type of make-do, eggless batters stirred together in the baking pan. Those cakes predate cake mixes, a necessity for contemporary dump cake recipes.

Cakes sink in the middle due to several reasons. One reason is that the cake batter might be too moist, causing it to collapse during baking. Another reason could be that the oven temperature is too low, leading to uneven baking. Opening the oven door too frequently while baking can also cause cakes to sink.

Is dump cake supposed to be gooey? ›

Is dump cake supposed to be gooey? Once set, the fruit filling should be gooey and thick but definitely not runny.

The good news is, while curdled batter is certainly a cake-baking problem, it can still be baked and produce a cake. But the crumb or texture of that cake will be uneven because the fat isn't dispersed evenly throughout the batter. You might find pockets of cake that seem dry or others that seem slightly gummy.