I’ve had a lot of amazing desserts in my lifetime; I’ve dined at fancy pants restaurants and been served teeny tiny little hand-dipped chocolate tea cups filled will all sorts of heavenly mousses, baked and sampled all manner of tortes and cream-filled cakes, engorged myself on fresh French pastries until I had to buy new jeans, and have licked my way through time trying to consume every possible ice cream flavor I can. But regardless of the incredible sweets I’ve savored, I’m always drawn back to one thing–pie. And since pie = fruit + crust and cobbler = fruit + crumb crust, it’s only natural that cobbler is up there on my to-die-for list as well.
This cobbler is one of my absolute favorite desserts of all time. Seriously.
I know, you’d think that I would have moved beyond the cake mix and canned pie filling concoctions by now, but guys, this stuff is good. One of the best parts about it is that you can have it in the oven in 5 minutes and be enjoying hot cobbler in under an hour from start to finish. This recipe has been around for a long time and has all sorts of variations, but I find the recipe below to be the very best. Its most common name is “Dump Cake”, referencing the fact that all the ingredients just get dumped into the pan, but I prefer to call it by a more sophisticated name: 6 Layer Miracle Cobbler. It makes it sound mysterious.
Let’s find out where these 6 layers come from and why it’s such a miracle, shall we?
Layer 1: Cherry pie filling. Pour it into a 9×13″ pan
Layer 2: Crushed pineapple, juice and all. Dump it on top of the cherries and smooth it out with a spatula into an even layer.
Layer 3: 1 box of DRY yellow cake mix. Yes, DRY cake mix. Sprinkle the entire box over the cherries and pineapple into an even layer.
Layer 4: Butter. You knew butter would be an ingredient, didn’t you? Cube 1 stick of butter into small pieces and place evenly over the cake mix.
Layers 5 & 6 Walnuts and Coconut. Sprinkle over the top of the butter.
Miracle time: Bake for about 40 minutes at 350° until golden brown and bubbly. The butter will melt, moistening the cake mix from the top, aiding in browning and crisping while the pineapple and cherries will moisten the bottom of the cake mix. When it’s all done you’ll have a perfectly crisp, sweet, tart, crumbly, gooey, chewy, and slightly salty cobbler. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream for maximum enjoyment!
6 Layer Miracle Cobbler
Ingredients
- 1 21 oz can cherry pie filling
- 1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, UNDRAINED
- 1 18.25 oz box yellow cake mix
- 1 4 oz stick butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 C shredded coconut
- 1/2 C chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Pour cherry pie filling into a 9x13" pan. Pour pineapple over cherries, smoothing into an even layer of fruit.
- Sprinkle entire box of DRY cake mix over the fruit, spreading into an even layer.
- Distribute small pieces of butter all over the top of the cake mix and top with the coconut and walnuts.
- Bake @ 350° for 40-45 minutes or until the top of the cobbler is golden and the fruit is bubbling up from the bottom in spots.
Debra says
March 22, 2019 at 12:22 amThanks for your recipe I have made dump cake for years but I appreciate your cause it gives cake a little boast my family love it better than the regular old dump cake again thank you for this version I’ll keep it and use it over and over
Kellee Minner says
May 27, 2018 at 7:21 pmHi, I love peach cobbler. When switching from cherries to peaches……do I still put the pineapple ontop? Thanks for the recipe…… I will make the cherry cobbler too!
Heather Cheney says
February 22, 2019 at 10:12 amYou definitely can use the pineapple, if you’d like for peach cobbler. The pineapple adds juices and moisture to the pie filling so it has enough to make the cobbler topping.
Melodie says
November 25, 2016 at 5:32 pmWould using a chocolate cake mix hinder the recipe? I’d appreciate a response as I’m a novice cook Thank You.
Heather Cheney says
November 29, 2016 at 1:34 pmUsing a chocolate cake mix would definitely work but it will give it whole different flavor. It would be more of a “Black Forrest” cobbler (Chocolate = cherry) instead of your basic buttery, vanilla topping. If you try it, let me know how it worked!
Veda says
May 3, 2016 at 1:30 amLooks soooooo good? I will make it this weekend when my husband
Comes in!
Thanks
Rene says
March 24, 2016 at 8:52 pmIs there something we can use in place of the coconut? Or does it change the consistency if we do not use the coconut?
Heather Cheney says
April 15, 2016 at 12:31 pmYou can just omit it. It won’t change the finished product at all!
ladm says
September 4, 2015 at 2:44 amI have made this dessert for many year. I add about 1/2 cup sugar and a teaspoon of almond extract. My family likes my version of this recipe. I don’t add the topping. [walnut and coconut]
Debra says
June 30, 2015 at 1:02 amWould you make any other ingredient changes if substituting blackberries for the cherries?
juneaux childre says
April 27, 2015 at 12:21 pmdoes it have to be yellow cake mix? what about white?
Heather Cheney says
May 5, 2015 at 11:19 amWhite works well too, it will just have a slightly different flavor. Not much though.
LuAnn Cross says
January 28, 2015 at 7:17 amThe 6 layer miracle cobbler is not a new recipe. It is a Dump cake and we have been making this in my family for over 40 years. Good try.
Heather Cheney says
February 3, 2015 at 1:45 pmNope, not a new recipe– just a new name to shake things up! 🙂
Adeline says
October 15, 2014 at 7:42 amHI,
The first time I ever had this, it was at a friends house,it was Peach & we loved it…..that was in 1978…I watched her make it and thought she was the most clever person ! Now we love the Cherry the most and whenever I have to have a fast unexpected dessert…this is what I pop in the oven ! Thanks for the fun reminder and the great new name !
Heather says
October 17, 2014 at 11:44 amYou bet Adeline! Thanks for visiting!
Me says
June 2, 2014 at 3:54 pmThat’s just a plain ole cherry dump cake. Where have you been?
Chelsea F. says
October 18, 2012 at 11:18 amHoly crapoli…I thought the cherry layer was awfully thin and thought that maybe you listed the wrong sized pan. So, I put it in an 11×7 pan…and used less cake mix and butter. Hopefully my oven won’t explode. I found your recipe through Tastykitchen and maybe should have clicked on your blog link before making it to see your step-by-steps first. Although, I think this recipe may be a little fool proof. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Judy Uhl says
September 27, 2012 at 10:25 amThis is “dump cake”!! LOL
admin says
October 4, 2012 at 9:21 pmHaha, yes it is! But I had to sensationalized the name a bit to give it some intrigue. 🙂