This 4-ingredient slow cooker caramel apple dump cake is soft, gooey, and packed with cinnamon-y apples, buttery cake topping, and sticky caramel pockets. Layer everything in the slow cooker, don’t stir it, and let it cook while you get on with life. Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream for an easy dessert you’re going to love.
Why You’ll Love It
- Just 4 ingredients — apple pie filling, cake mix, caramel sauce, and butter are all it takes.
- No mixer or bowl — layer everything directly in the slow cooker with no stirring.
- Gooey caramel apple filling — warm apples, buttery cake topping, and sticky caramel pockets in every scoop.
- Oven-free dessert — the slow cooker keeps the oven free for dinner.
Ingredient Notes
The apple pie filling is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here, so use one you actually enjoy. The regular canned kind with cinnamon-spiced apples works well; no need to peel apples or pretend this is a pioneer dessert. Two 21-ounce cans give you a nice deep apple layer. Try our MINI CANNOLI CUPS next.
Yellow cake mix is the classic choice. The plain store-brand box works well. Do not prepare the cake mix according to the package directions. Use it dry, straight from the box. That part seems suspicious the first time, but it works.
For the caramel sauce, use the pourable ice-cream-topping kind, not those individually wrapped chewy caramel candies. A decent jarred caramel sauce is perfect. If you like this, you'll love our 3 INGREDIENT APPLE PIE CAKE.
Use real unsalted butter. A whole stick. It’s dessert, honey. We’re not making a kale salad. Melt it and drizzle it carefully over the cake mix so you don’t wind up with dusty dry patches on top.
Ingredients
- 2 cans (21 ounces each) apple pie filling
- 1 box (about 15.25 ounces) yellow cake mix, used dry—do not mix it with eggs or anything
- 3/4 cup caramel sauce, divided
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Lightly grease the insert of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Nothing fancy here—just a little cooking spray or butter around the bottom and sides so cleanup doesn’t become an evening project. Spread both cans of apple pie filling evenly across the bottom. Use a spoon and nudge the apples around until they look reasonably level, though “reasonably” is doing some work.
Drizzle about 1/2 cup of the caramel sauce over the apple pie filling. It does not have to be perfectly distributed; this is a dump cake, not a geometry exam. The caramel will loosen up as it heats and find its way into the apples.
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Sprinkle the dry yellow cake mix evenly over the apple layer. Try to cover the apples as uniformly as you can, but do not stir the layers together. Stirring gives you something more like sweet apple mush, and while I’m not above mush, that isn’t the goal here. For another easy option, see our Christmas Cherry Bars.
Drizzle the melted butter over the cake mix as evenly as possible, then drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup caramel sauce over the top. Take a minute to look for any big dry patches of cake mix and aim a little butter there.
Cover the slow cooker and cook on High for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Start checking around the 2-hour mark, since slow cookers all seem to have their own personalities. The apple filling should be bubbling around the edges and the top should look set and golden at the sides, with no obvious raw, dusty cake mix.
Turn off the slow cooker, remove the lid, and let the dump cake rest uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes. This little pause helps it firm up just enough to scoop into bowls without turning into lava. It will still be soft and gooey in the middle—that’s the whole point—so do not expect neat bakery slices. Spoon it up warm, preferably with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or a little extra caramel sauce.
Variations
For some crunch, scatter 1/2 cup chopped pecans over the buttered cake mix before you put the lid on. They toast gently while the cake cooks, and pecans with apples and caramel are just plain hard to argue with.
You can also stir 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg into the apple pie filling before layering it in the cooker. The canned filling already has some spice, so this is not necessary, but it does make the whole kitchen smell more like fall. Or like a strongly scented candle. The actual cake is better. You might also like our Slow Cooker 3-Ingredient Cranberry Chicken.
Spice cake mix wasn’t terrible. Nothing with butter and caramel is terrible. But it covered up the apple flavor more than expected, so yellow cake mix remains the best choice. Plain works. Sometimes plain is the clever choice, despite what every food magazine would have you believe.
For an oven dump cake with pecan pie flavor, try my Pecan Pie Dump Cake.
For another apple dessert, try Apple Fritters, which are ready in 20 minutes.
Storage & Reheating
For leftovers, let the cake cool, then scoop it into a covered container and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. The topping softens in the fridge, but the flavor is still wonderful. Maybe better the next day.
For a single serving, microwave it in a bowl for 30 to 45 seconds, then add ice cream after heating. To warm a larger amount, put it back in the slow cooker on Low until warm, but keep an eye on it so the edges don’t get overly dark. Freezing is not recommended. The apple filling gets a little watery once thawed and the topping loses its charm. Make another batch. Try our 3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert next.
Final Notes
There is something so nice about a warm dessert that doesn’t ask much of you. No pie crust to patch. No apples to peel. Just cans, a box, butter, caramel… and that slow, sweet smell drifting through the house. If you like this, you'll love our Slow Cooker Mississippi Meatballs.
4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Caramel Apple Dump Cake
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Ingredients
- 2 cans (21 ounces each) apple pie filling
- 1 box (about 15.25 ounces) yellow cake mix Use dry; do not prepare according to package directions.
- 3/4 cup caramel sauce Divided; use pourable ice-cream-topping caramel sauce.
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter Melted.
Instructions
- Lightly grease the insert of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, then spread both cans of apple pie filling evenly across the bottom.
- Drizzle about 1/2 cup of the caramel sauce over the apple pie filling.
- Sprinkle the dry yellow cake mix evenly over the apple layer without stirring the layers together.
- Drizzle the melted butter over the cake mix as evenly as possible, then drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup caramel sauce over the top, targeting any large dry patches.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on High for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, beginning to check around the 2-hour mark, until the apple filling bubbles around the edges and the top is set and golden at the sides with no obvious raw cake mix.
- Turn off the slow cooker, remove the lid, and let the dump cake rest uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes before spooning it up warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or extra caramel sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
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Nutrition values are estimates based on the listed ingredients and serving count. Actual values vary with brands, cuts and portion sizes.
