3 Ingredients and 4 Steps To A 1-Of-A-Kind Apple Cake

Friends, today’s recipe is a test. A. Liz Adventures shared this idea for a Fresh Apple Cake that only takes three ingredients and only four steps. Since we here at Tip Hero can never turn down the chance to try a new dessert, and since it’s apple-picking season, I decided to give it a try. Read on to learn how it’s made and to see if this take on a “dump cake” is everything it claims to be!

3 Ingredients


– Apples (I ended up using 2 Gala apples and 1 Honeycrisp, while A. Liz Adventures used 2 Roma apples)
– 1 box yellow cake mix
– 1 stick of butter, melted

4 Steps

  1. Slice the apples and layer them in a baking dish greased with non-stick spray. A. Liz Adventures recommends a 9-by-13-inch, but I think you’re better off using an 8-by-8 or 9-by-9 inch, depending on the size of your apples.
  2. Sprinkle on the cake mix. I used the entire box, but I’d recommend using 1/2 to 3/4 of it when you make it!
  3. Pour the butter over the apples and cake mix.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 34 to 45 minutes, until bubbly. I used the full 45 minutes.

    5. The Verdict

    So did this cake pass the test? The answer is both yes and no. In the most important area – Taste! – it absolutely passes, because how can you go wrong with baked apples?! As a dish, it’s mostly sweet, simple, and satisfying— but it’s definitely more of an apple crisp than a cake. The cake mix forms a kind of top crust over the apples that’s absolutely delicious in the areas where it baked correctly. In the areas where it didn’t, though, it’s like eating— well, dry cake mix.


    Here’s what I’d recommend to get the most out of this recipe:
    • Use a deeper, square pan. A. Liz Adventures doesn’t specify how much apple you need, just that she happened to use two. Based on that fact, I started off with two Galas, but after slicing them into the pan, it was clear I needed more— hence the added Honeycrisp. The final cake – or crisp, if we’re being more accurate – ended up being very shallow, so I think you need a smaller, deeper, more square pan that allows for more layers of apple.
    • Add another liquid! Yes, it’ll take the recipe up to FOUR ingredients, but it’ll be worth it. It could just be some water, but I think apple juice, cider, or even orange juice might be great here. All the other dump cake recipes I’ve seen use either juicier fruits or canned fruits with lots of liquid; fresh apples just don’t have enough juice to really absorb all the cake mix. Since I don’t recommend adding even more butter, juice or water seems like a good alternative. I did, on A. Liz Adventures’ recommendation, add some water to my cake during baking when I saw the cake mix was still powdery, but it’ll be easier on you if you just do so from the start!
    • Do NOT use all the cake mix. Use about 1/2 to 3/4 of the box. The amount will depend on how much liquid you add, how juicy your apples are, etc., but a full box is just too much. A. Liz Adventures recommends reserving some for making mini portions of this dessert, and we love that idea!


    Ultimately, this Fresh Apple Dump Cake was tasty, totally worth a try, and something I’m definitely going to try again! Head on over to A. Liz Adventures’ original post to tell us what you think, then let us know if you give it a try!