Easy Instant Pot dump cake recipe with pie filling is delicious! Made with cake mix like our 3 ingredient dump cake, topped with ice cream, it is the perfect little pressure cooker dessert you’re whole family will enjoy.
This easy cake can be made with any fruit pie filling you like. We chose apple and it came out amazing! Now this is one of our favorite dessert Instant Pot recipes we’ve made, you can make it in any brand of pressure cooker you might have at home. 😉 (affiliate links present)
Instant Pot Apple Dump Cake
If you’ve never made our Apple Spice Dump Cake it is easy. All you do is you mix together a few ingredients, dump in your pie filling, cook and enjoy! We recently used white cake mix with blueberry pie filling and those flavors are delicious too.
Over the years we have tweaked this a time and again. I will say that apple is very much our favorite but of course the options are pretty endless. If you have a springform pan and really are craving something deep you can give our pudding cake a whirl too.
in Ninja Foodi
You can do the same thing below in your Crockpot Express or as a Ninja Foodi recipe too. The only difference with this brand is you use the lid that is not attached to pressure cook.
Ingredients
- Pie filling – really the best is apple or cherry pie filling
- Box of cake mix – best one has been spice cake mix or homemade yellow cake mix works too
- Egg added at room temperature
And a few cups of water are needed to steam it. We topped it off with scoops with vanilla ice cream which slowly melted and added even more flavor. It’s pretty amazing….
Equipment
24 ounce (or so) oven safe dish & trivet to cook this using the PIP method. I will either spray the inside of the foil with nonstick spray or use non stick aluminum foil if I have it on hand. If you don’t have it it isn’t a deal breaker. It will just stick slightly to the top where the foil meets the dump cake.
Substitutions
The apple pie filling has quite a bit of moisture to it so unlike our traditional dump cake recipes I used an egg instead of butter. These are NOT dry at all and continues to cook while it is cooling. So if it looks a bit wet when it comes out not to worry. It will be perfect when it’s cooled.
We have also used yellow cake mix + a can of apple pie filling as seen below. It comes out a looser consistency than the spice cake mix and takes a bit longer too. You can make cherry pie filling dump cake this same way with that other flavor.
How to Cook Instant Pot Dump Cake
- In a bowl make your batter with your cake mix and egg. Once incorporated, then add pie filling and fold together so it is combined well.
- Pour water into Instant Pot which will allow it to steam.
- Put a trivet at the bottom of your pot for the pot in pot technique to cook this.
- Spray your oven safe bowl with non stick spray and add cake batter into dish.
- Cover with foil so the condensation doesn’t make the top wet.
- Set to pressure cook, high, set the timer for 25 minutes cook time or so with a natural release (don’t touch steam release valve).
- Remove foil, and rest on a cooling rack so it can stiffen up and settle. Serve topped with ice cream!
Whipped cream or ice cream works for the top of the cake if you wish, it’s plenty sweet as is though. If you were really against processed, I would follow our Instant Pot Apple Crisp recipe instead with fresh fruit.
Cooking Tips
Tips to remember are: allow the steam to naturally vs. a quick release. This will allow the cake to continue cooking and not fall. It needs a bit of time to stiffen and settle in too so allow some time to rest once it’s done. Spray cooking spray inside the cake pan for easier clean up.
What does pot in pot mean?
I have made this right in the pot as you see in this video but some said they had some issues with it getting stuck so the one below is using the pot in pot method. That means that the cake batter is in a pot, which is placed inside the inner pressure cooker pot to steam, not directly inside.
Leftover boxed cake mix recipes should reach room temperature and then stored in an airtight container in your fridge though. When you’re done making this you should try our other Instant Pot dessert recipes
- Our pressure cooker donuts are so fun
- We have a list of other easy dump cake recipes using fruit filling ideas of all kinds, instructions here are for the oven too
Instant Pot Dump Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 24 ounce ramekin or up to 32 works
Ingredients
- 1 cup cake mix
- 1.5 cup pie filling
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Pour your cake mix in with 1 egg and mix together, then add pie filling and fold together so it is combined well.
- Pour 1.5 c of water into your Instant Pot and put a trivet at the bottom of your pot.
- Spray your oven safe bowl with non stick spray and dump your dump cake mixture into your dish, cover that with foil (can spray underside of foil with non stick spray to avoid sticking as well, I do) and make a sling out of foil to lower it on to your trivet inside your Instant Pot.
- Put lid on, close steam valve, and set to: manual, pressure, high, for 28 minutes. Do a natural release.
- Take out, remove foil, and let stand for 5-10 minutes on a cooling rack so it can stiffen up and settle.
- Serve topped with ice cream!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We never have leftovers but if you did you could put foil over the top and put into the fridge. Enjoy it within the next 2 days or so for optimal results and taste.
Not in order to serve it, most times they’re served warm. If you do have leftovers you should cover it once cooled and keep in the fridge. Since there is typically fruit inside it will spoil faster if not kept cold overnight.
I don’t understand the complaints. I used a box of cinnamon swirl muffin mix from Aldi and it was scrumptious and moist after cooking 15 minutes. I love easy recipes thanks alot!
Yeah…glad to know muffin mix works well too!
Excellent idea
My ip keeps turning to burn and then shuts off. What am I doing wrong?
Same problem. Any ideas?
I don’t think there is enough liquid.
You arent supposed to put it directly in the pot. You put it in another oven safe dish. Pour water directly into pot. Set your trivet in. Then put your oven safe dish filled with cake on top of trivet. You won’t get burn code. I used round pie pans.
The IP Duo manual list this situation under Troubleshooting, item 12. Remove the inner pot and inspect the bottom of it for starch deposits that may have clogged the heat dissipation. I had this happen once when cooking rice.
I made the apple crisp dump cake:but used the slow cook option on my instapot. Came out great and was delicious. I refrigerated it and the next morning it was as hard as a rock.
Any insight?
That one may not save well as there isn’t a lot of moisture and it is best served immediately. Try this one and it saves for a good 2 days after. https://temeculablogs.com/pressure-cooker-brownies/
I made the apple crisp dump cake:but used the slow cook option on my instapot. Came out great and was delicious. I refrigerated it and the next morning it was as hard as a rock.
Any insight?
I used yellow cake and cherry pie filling. After 12 minutes it was still very raw looking even after I let it stand for 6 or 7 minutes. I put the lid back on and cooked an additional 5 minutes. When I went to release the steam slowly. there was no steam. Not sure if I did something wrong. I did a water test afterwards and everything was fine.
There isn’t a lot of steam for this one as there isn’t much true liquid and that is okay. A dump cake typically is a very loose consistency by nature so you did it right! Adding a few more min. is fine to get the texture you want.
Can you do this pip like your peach cobbler your son made? Also, if you can would you melt the butter like this recipe calls to do or would you prepare it like the peach way cutting the butter into the cake mix?
I have always melted my butter first when making dump cakes. You could do pip for sure.
What about using pumpkin instead of pie filling?
Would probably work with pumpkin, I will probably try that! Let me know if you do!
Do you NPR or quick release?
I move steam valve just slightly to let steam out very slowly.
Did you grease the interior of the pot? Is there a problem with sticking?
No I didn’t and had no problems with sticking.
Looks like one I need to try!
EASY dessert in the IP!
Looks delicious. Do you use some kind of pot inside the jnstapot?
No for this one I just put it right in!
Earlier you described putting an oven proof bowl, covered with foil, into the inner pot. “Just put it right in” may have confused Di Trying. It is a pot within the inner pot (whatever type) is what I assume is done.
Yes it is a pot inside the inner Instant Pot pot. You can see the picture of the pot with the metal handle, that goes inside.