How To Use Canned Pineapple For The Easiest Dump Cake Of Your Life

If you're just getting your start in the baking scene and don't want to try anything too complex just yet, dump cakes are going to be right up your alley. You can check out this how-to on making a dump cake for beginners to learn more about it, but the concept is super simple. Just take all of your ingredients and dump them into a baking dish to bake. No mixing, no separating your ingredients; that's it! Easy, right? Canned pineapple dump cake is just one of many takes on this type of easy-peasy cake, but the canned pineapple brings a lot to the party that you might not expect.

Adding canned pineapple to your dump cake has two primary purposes here. First: it adds moisture. The moisture that comes from the pineapple alone will give your cake a tender crumb that you just can't get from any of the other liquids you might add. Second, you've got the taste. Pineapple is sweet with a naturally tart edge, making it the perfect flavor balance for a cake that might be too saccharine on its own. And of course, it's easy as pie to add. You really can't get much easier than popping the top on a can and dumping its contents into a dish, which is why it's such a hugely popular addition.

Even a dump cake takes some finessing to get just right. Fortunately, our first tip is really easy: just use the whole can without worrying about draining the juice out. You want to add your pineapple with the juice included for the extra hit of moisture. We've talked before about why you shouldn't overlook canned pineapple, too, and pointed out its cost effectiveness and long shelf life as two major plus points. If you're looking to pinch a few pennies while expanding your baking repertoire, invest in a few cans to keep on hand so you can practice whenever you want.

For the dump cake itself, you want to add the canned pineapple to the pan before anything else. This keeps the dry ingredients (i.e., the cake mix) sandwiched in between the wet ingredients, so you can be sure it'll all melt together and you won't have random dry-as-dust patches throughout your canned pineapple dump cake. Personally, we suggest starting with the pineapple, adding sweetened condensed milk to taste if you want, dumping in any boxed cake mix of your choice (but we like vanilla), and then topping the whole thing with butter slices. Be sure to arrange the slices so that as they melt, they cover as much of the cake as possible. And that's it! You can add other ingredients to make different styles of dump cake, but this one is a good recipe to dip your toes in with.