Ree Drummond's Easy Tip For Baking Dump Cakes — Don't Melt The Butter

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The basic elements of a dump cake include cake mix, pie filling, and butter with a number of different flavor combinations to choose from. While the single most important rule for dump cakes is never to mix your ingredients, this goes hand-in-hand with the kind of ingredients you choose. In a popular video from The Pioneer Woman's Ree Drummond, she emphasizes the importance of using cold slices of butter in lieu of melting the fat and pouring it on top of your cake.

This tip ranks among the absolute best lessons we've learned from Ree Drummond for its simplicity and thoughtfulness. Because a dump cake is not supposed to be mixed before it goes in the oven to bake, the intent behind pouring melted butter over the top is to add moisture. With Drummond's clever butter upgrade, the cold slices placed across the top ensure better coverage and properly portioned moisture throughout the dessert.

In her video, Drummond notes that dump cakes are known to be richly decadent. Considering how much butter it takes to keep the cake moist, this definitely tracks. It's much easier to lay pieces of butter on top of the pie filling covered with cake mix than having to strategically tilt your pan to accommodate a portion of melted butter. Keeping the butter cold also makes slicing and placement even easier.

The most vital aspect of this tip is to keep the butter chilled and slice it into pieces of equal thickness for the most thorough coverage of your cake. Of course, if you want to get a little extra fancy with the topping, try making your own compound butter ahead of time using sweet ingredients that will complement the fruit filling and cake. For example, imagine the great taste of a cinnamon sugar compound butter topping off a dump cake made with cinnamon apples and a Betty Crocker Delights Super Moist Butter Pecan Cake Mix.

The possibilities are nearly limitless between the sliced butter, fruit filling, and cake components. Try topping a hearty portion of cherry pie filling with chocolatey devil's food cake mix and slices of cherry or chocolate-flavored compound butter. It would make a unique twist on a classic devil's food cake with the ease of dumping all of your ingredients into the dish and letting everything bake with ease. 

In addition to carefully selecting and slicing your butter for the most moist dump cake, you can consider the many ways of serving the dessert to complement the flavors within. Serve a piece of the cake alongside a scoop of melty vanilla ice cream. It also pairs well with coffee and espresso drinks for a delightful after-dinner indulgence. With Ree Drummond's tips in mind, your next dump cake will be utterly dreamy.