Quick Apple Crisp with cake mix

This Apple Cobbler from Cake Mix is a quick and easy recipe for a delicious homemade fall dessert. Also known as an “apple dump cake,” this simple dessert uses a handful of ingredients such as fresh baking apples, box cake mix, butter and a blend of fall warming spices to create an irresistibly gooey and delicious apple cobbler that takes only minutes to make.

• Why Should You Make This Recipe
• Recipe Ingredients
• How To Make
• How To Freeze, Thaw, Store and Serve
• M's Expert Tips
• FAQ's
• Other Apple Recipes to Try
• Apple Cobbler from Cake Mix Recipe

Why Should You Make This Recipe

I have quiet a few cake mix based recipes on the blog. Desserts using cake mix have become a new favorite of mine. I especially love my Lemon Cake Mix Cookies, Peach Cobbler with Cake Mix and Brownies from Cake Mix. This deliciously decadent cake mix apple cobbler is no exception. It’s guaranteed to be a new go-to apple dessert recipe for you. I know you’ll love it because: 

• Quick desserts are the best. Whether you are looking for a sweet and delicious dish to end a meal, or you need a great last minute dessert, nothing is as delicious as fresh apple cake mix cobbler. 
• Easy to make, easy to bake. This apple dump cake recipe uses fresh tart baking apples, yellow cake mix, butter, brown sugar, a blend of ground warming spices, lemon juice and a bit of thickener to make a warm, gooey fall dessert everyone will love. All you have to do is assemble and bake!
• A simple dessert with layers of flavor. The fresh apples bring a tart flavor to the cobbler, which pairs beautifully with the caramel flavor from the brown sugar and ground spices. By adding a thickener such as cornstarch, the apples bake into a delicious apple pie filling.  The apple crisp topping is created by mixing melted butter and a bit of milk with the yellow cake mix to create that classic cobbler texture. Make sure to check out my Peach Cobbler with Pie Crust for another delicious and easy cobbler recipe.

Recipe Ingredients

This easy and irresistible apple dump cake recipe requires only a handful of ingredients to make and is as simple as mixing the ingredients in a couple of bowls, dumping them into a baking dish and baking it.

The main ingredients for this apple cobbler dump cake recipe are fresh baking apples such as granny smith, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom, lemon juice, cornstarch, yellow cake mix, butter and milk.

Ingredient Substitutions 

This apple dessert with cake mix is meant to be quick and easy, but still taste like you spent hours baking up something special. Here are my recommended substitutions for this recipe if you need them:

• Box Yellow Cake Mix: This is the preferred dry cake mix. However, a similar cake mix such as spice, butter or even white cake can also work in this apple dump cake. When I’m at the grocery store I always pick up a box or two of Betty Crocker or Dunken Hines to have on hand. 
• Fresh Apples: For this easy apple crisp like cobbler, I love using fresh tart Granny Smith Apples. You can use any tart, crisp baking apples such as Honeycrisp or Braeburn. 
• Butter: To make this cake mix cobbler dairy free, make sure to use a vegan or dairy free butter.  
• Brown Sugar: There is no better pairing for a cozy fall dessert than apples with brown sugar. The caramelized flavors of the brown sugar pair perfect with the warm, tart apples. If needed, you can use coconut sugar or maple sugar for a refined sugar free option. 
• Ground “fall” warming spices: This easy cake mix apple crisp topped cobbler is full of warming spices. The ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom are the perfect blend of aromatics to make this easy apple dessert really shine. If you don’t have all the spices, feel free to use any blend of baking spices you have on hand. Pumpkin spice, chai spice or apple pie spice  blends would all work well in this recipe. Use 2-3 teaspoons of spices in this cake mix apple cobbler. 
• Cornstarch: Adding a little to the fresh apples helps to thicken the juices released from the apples during baking. The result is a wonderfully delicious and easy layer of caramelized baked apples similar to apple pie filling.

How To Make

This buttery and deliciously indulgent and apple cobbler with cake mix is ready to bake in as little as 15 minutes. Here’s how to make this wonderfully easy apple dessert.

1. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Gather all your ingredients to make the apple dump cake. Peel, core and thinly slice the fresh apples. This is the longest part of making the apple pie cobbler, but it’s well worth the extra time. 
2. Add in the ground spices, brown sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla extract into the sliced apples. Mix well until all the apples are fully coated. 
3. In another large bowl pour the melted butter into the dry yellow cake mix. 
4. Stir the butter into the cake mix until a mostly combined. The cake mix topping will look similar to an apple crisp topping.

1. Pour the milk into the crumbly cake mix topping. 
2. Mix the milk into the apple cobbler cake topping until well combined. The texture will be sticky with a lumpy paste like consistency. Don’t worry, this will bake up beautifully! 
3. Dump the coated apples into the prepared baking dish. Top the apples with the apple cobbler cake mix topping. Evenly spread the topping across the apples. 
4. Bake the apple cobbler for 35- 45 minutes or until the top is a beautiful golden brown and the fresh apple pie filling is bubbling around the edges of the baking dish. Cool the easy apple cobbler for 30 minutes.

How To Freeze, Thaw, Store and Serve

• To store this cake mix apple cobbler store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 
• To freeze this recipe: Make and bake the apple dump cake according to the recipe directions. Allow the apple cake cobbler to cool completely. Wrap the entire dish in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Store the easy apple dessert in the freezer for up to 2 months.
• Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and reheat the apple dump cobbler in the oven at 350 F (177 C) for 15 minutes or until warmed through.
• The best way to serve this easy apple cobbler is warm from the oven with a big scoop of cold vanilla ice cream on top! For a decadent breakfast option, serve this apple cake mix cobbler with unsweetend greek yogurt, topped with a dusting a cinnamon.

M's Expert Tips

• Grease the bottom and sides of the baking dish with about 1 tablespoon (14 g) melted butter. This helps prevent the apples from sticking onto the dish while baking. Plus, a little extra butter makes the apple filling even more delicious.
• Peel, core and slice the apples. The fastest and easiest way is to use a vegetable peeler to remove the apple skins. An apple corer is helpful to remove the core more easily, but is not needed. Slice the apples into ¼ -in (½-cm) thick slices. 
• Use cornstarch or arrowroot as a thickener. Adding just a little to the apples before baking the cake mix cobbler will transform the apples into a wonderfully spiced apple pie filling.
• Make sure the apple crumble with cake mix topping is fully covering the coated apples. The topping will be paste like and it could be a little tricky to fully cover the dish. That’s ok! Just make sure to cover most of the apples.  
• Allow the easy apple cobbler to rest for about 20-30 minutes before serving. This allows the apple filling to cool and thicken, while the cake mix cobbler topping absorbs the spiced juices. In other words, a little cooling time allows this apple cake mix cobbler to get even more delicious!
• Serve with cold vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.

FAQ's

How many apples do I need to make an apple cobbler?

The average large baking apple weighs 130-160 g or about 5.6 oz. per apple. This apple cobbler cake recipe calls for 6 large baking apples such as Granny Smith. This means the total weight before peeling, coring and slicing will be about 2.5 pounds (1133 g). After peeling, coring and slicing, the total weight will be about 2 pounds (906 g) sliced apples.

Is apple cobbler the same as apple dump cake?

The terms are used interchangeably when cake mix is used to make them. Both are made using fruit with some kind of cake or biscuit-like topping. A cobbler has more of a biscuit shaped cake topping and a dump cake has more of a crust.

Why is the apple cobbler soggy?

This can be caused by too much liquid in the apples or by not letting the cobbler cool long enough to thicken. By using some cornstarch and allowing the cake mix cobbler to cool this shouldn’t be an issue for this recipe.

How thick should I cut the apples for apple cobbler?

You don’t want to cut the apples too thick or too thin. A good guide is to cut apples to the same thickness as when baking an apple pie or an apple crisp. For this apple cobbler from cake mix recipe, I recommend slicing the apples into ¼-in (½-cm) thick slices.

Other Apple Recipes to Try

• Apple Cider Donut Muffins
• Maple Apple Loaf Cake
• Spiced Pumpkin Apple Bread

If you try this Apple Cobbler from Cake Mix Recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! -M

Apple Cobbler from Cake Mix Recipe

This Apple Cobbler with Cake Mix is a quick and easy recipe for a delicious homemade fall dessert. Also known an “apple dump cake,” this simple desserts uses a handful of ingredients such as fresh baking apples, box cake mix, butter and a blend of fall warming spices to create an irresistibly gooey and delicious apple cobbler that takes only minutes to make.

4.45 from 25 votes

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 40 mins

Cooling Time 30 mins

Total Time 1 hr 25 mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 1 9x13 baking dish

Equipment

• 1 9X13 baking dish

• 2 large mixing bowls

• 2 mixing spoons

Ingredients  1x2x3x

• 6 large baking apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Braeburn
• ½ cup (100 g) light or dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp (15 g) cornstarch or cornflower
• 1 ½ tsp (4 g) ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ¼ tsp ground cardmom
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 15.25 oz box yellow cake mix
• ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
• ¼ cup milk

Instructions 

• Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Gather all your ingredients to make the apple dump cake.

• Peel, core and thinly slice the fresh apples. This is the longest part of making the apple pie cobbler, but it’s well worth the extra few minutes. 

• In a large bowl, mix in the ground spices, brown sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla extract with the sliced apples. Mix well until all the apples are fully coated. 

• In another large bowl pour the melted butter into the dry yellow cake mix. Stir the butter into the cake mix until a mostly combined. The cake mix topping will look similar to an apple crisp topping.

• Pour the milk into the crumbly cake mix topping. Mix the milk into the apple cobbler cake topping until well combined. The texture will be sticky with a lumpy paste like consistency. Don’t worry, this will bake up beautifully! 

• Dump the coated apples into the prepared baking dish. Top the apples with the apple cobbler cake mix topping. Evenly spread the topping across the apples. 

• Bake the apple cobbler for 35- 45 minutes or until the top is a beautiful golden brown and the fresh apple pie filling is bubbling around the edges of the baking dish. Cool the apple cobbler for 30 minutes. Scoop into a bowl, top with ice cream and enjoy!

Notes

This apple cobbler recipe calls for 6 large baking apples such as Granny Smith, for a total weight of about 2.5 pounds (1133 g). After peeling, coring and slicing, the total weight will be about 2 pounds (906 g) of sliced apples.Allow the apple cobbler to rest for about 20-30 minutes before serving. This allows the apple filling to cool and thicken, while the cake mix cobbler topping absorbs the spiced apple juices.

Why is my apple crisp topping not crispy?

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Why do you add lemon juice to apple crisp?

Why did my apple crisp come out watery?