Just 4 ingredients, this tasty Strawberry Shortcake Dump Cake is your favorite summer dessert made even easier! It’s perfect for parties and potlucks! With 5 minutes of prep, you’ll be enjoying this delicious treat in no time!
I have a really big sweet tooth and make dump cakes as often as possible. I just figured out that I could make one of my favorite desserts, a strawberry shortcake, even easier and I feel like I deserve a trophy.
I live to find shortcuts for the recipes I love and pass them on to you! Call this a shortcut shortcake if you want, because that’s totally what it is! If you love strawberry desserts, this is for you.
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Why this recipe works
Let me start out by acknowledging that this is not actually a shortcake. I know that is more biscuit-like and dense. But growing up, we always topped angel food cake with strawberries and called it shortcake so, that’s why this might not match your idea of a shortcake.
There is nothing better than Strawberry Shortcake. But fresh strawberries can be hard to find or super expensive unless you find them in season (which is far too short if you ask me!).
I know there are several ways to make a Strawberry Shortcake dessert. But in my family, it’s always with Angel Food Cake.
I love that you can make this strawberry dump cake with angel food cake with items you probably have in your pantry which means you can make this dessert whenever you are craving some strawberry goodness.
The angel food cake is light and fluffy and gets sort of a caramel-y taste to the browned crust. I love how it soaks in the juices from the fruit and it’s just so easy to make!
Easier than my favorite No-Bake Strawberry Jello Cake and Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream with Condensed Milk, this recipe is layered and baked and makes enough to serve a crowd.
If you’re looking for a delicious strawberry dessert to make but don’t want to spend much time on it, this super simple Strawberry Shortcake Dump Cake is it!
But if you are looking for more of a traditional strawberry dump cake make this one instead. And browse Angel Food Desserts here.
Ingredient notes
To make this super easy angel food dump cake you need a boxed angel food cake mix, canned strawberry pie filling and water. I also add some orange juice and zest but that is optional.
How To Make Strawberry Shortcake Dump Cake
This strawberry dump cake with pie filling is super easy thanks to not having to take the time to clean and slice all the berries.
To a 9×13 baking dish add the strawberry pie filling.
Zest the orange and sprinkle over the strawberries. Juice the orange and pour into the strawberries.
OMG. I have my eye on this juicer for citrus. You know I love to make easy cocktails so this would be perfect. I hate the idea of another gadget to store but it looks nice and small.
Or you can use a citrus squeezer like I usually do. I just think you get way more juice than if you are using your hands.
With a spatula, give a quick stir to incorporate the juice and zest. It doesn’t require a hearty stir, just make sure it’s not all sitting in one place.
I freaking love this zester. I’ve had it for years (I have a few different sizes) and it’s such good quality. It’s easy to use and washes really well in the dishwasher.
If I was tech-savvy and could figure out how to turn on the emojis I would insert praise hands right here.
In a large bowl, add the angel food cake mix and water. Stir well. It expands when you stir it and looks foamy. It’s kind of cool! You’ll feel like you are doing science.
So listen. I’m a dump cake purist and think you should only call it a dump cake if you literally just open things and pour them on top of each other.
But the angel food cake mix doesn’t work like a regular yellow cake mix as I use in this Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake.
You have to mix it with water first or it just won’t work. But I still think this recipe is super simple and qualifies as a dump cake.
Pour the cake mix over the top of the strawberries. Look at how the batter looks like fluffy clouds! Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 40 minutes.
You don’t want the top to be too brown but the cake does need to be set and cooked through. I love a nice golden brown crust on top.
There is so much flavor in that part of the cake! Angel Food cake on its own is a delicious treat. But an angel food dump cake, it’s even better!
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve tried to make strawberry dump cake from fresh strawberries and I don’t love the flavor. But if you want to add a little more texture and bits of fruit, you could add in some fresh along with canned pie filling.
When I first decided to try making this dessert I wanted to use fresh strawberries to keep it as close to the original recipe as possible.
But when I tasted the finished dessert, it was totally missing something. I don’t love the flavor of roasted strawberries. There was no brightness to the taste. It didn’t sing.
While a typical dump cake recipe uses butter to make a cake mix crust with the dry cake mix, using angel food cake mix is a bit different. In this case, you make the cake mix as instructed (usually just adding water and mixing) before layering on top of the fruit. No butter needed.
The zest and juice from an orange add brightness to the canned strawberry. But it can be left out if you don’t have it. You could substitute with lemon zest and juice if you have that on hand instead.
Also, I loved to drizzle my angel food cake with some orange juice before adding strawberries as a child. So it just made sense for me to have that jolt of orange in this dessert too.
A little orange can make sure the strawberries have a little flavor boost. Pie fillings can sometimes be overly sweet and citrus is a great way to cut through that.
To serve, top your strawberry angel food cake dump cake with whipped cream and fresh herbs.
The creaminess of the whipped cream is a perfect pairing to the sweet strawberries and belongs on every shortcake dessert, no matter the type.
Trader Joe’s sells a shelf-stable whipped cream product that you can keep on hand to create the perfect topping. Or you can use Cool Whip or whipped cream.
I always love to add a few fresh herbs to my sweet desserts. I think it gives it such a nice boost of fresh flavor. It helps to cut the sweetness a little. Thyme would be good. And, of course, mint would work too.
I love that sweet and salty combo where applicable. But here I love the sweet and savory balance.
SO good! And SO easy. I would consider myself a lazy baker. So dump cakes are perfect for me.
Related recipes
- Easy Angel Food Cake Desserts
- How to Make Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake – the classic recipe!
- Strawberry Angel Food Cake Jello No-Bake Dessert
- Blueberry Pineapple Dump Cake
- Pineapple Dump Cake with Condensed Milk
- Angel Food Pineapple Dump Cake – Just 2 ingredients!
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Strawberry Shortcake Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 42 ounces Strawberry Pie Filling (2 – cans)
- 1 TBSP orange zest
- 1 ounce fresh orange juice up to 1 oz
- 16 ounce Angel Food Cake Mix boxed mix
- 1 cup water or whatever the Angel Food Cake box tells you to use
- Whipped Cream and fresh herbs for garnish optional
Instructions
- To a 9×13 baking dish add the strawberry pie filling.
- Zest the orange and sprinkle over the strawberries.
- Juice the orange and pour into the strawberries.
- With a spatula, give a quick stir to incorporate the juice and zest.
- In a large bowl, add the angel food cake mix and water.
- Stir well (it expands when you stir it so make sure the bowl is big enough).
- Pour the cake mix over the top of the strawberries.
- Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 40 minutes.
- You don’t want the top to be too brown but the cake does need to be set and cooked through.
Annette says
Sharon, thanks for sharing this recipe. My husband’s birthday is here and every year he requests Strawberry Shortcake for dessert. I came across your dump cake recipe and will be making it tomorrow. I can’t wait to get the family’s input. I hope they love it! My mouth waters when I look at the picture. Thanks again.
Annette from Wilmington NC