Caramel Apple Walker’s Shortbread Dump Cake
This caramel apple dump cake is the fall dessert that requires zero mixing bowls, zero melting butter, and zero making a crust. Drizzle caramel sauce over the warm top and a pinch of flaky salt and that is your dessert. My family asks for this every single fall and it never lasts past the first night.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Caramel Apple Walker's Shortbread Dump Cake
- Main Ingredients: Walker's Shortbread cookies, apple pie filling, box spice cake mix, pumpkin pie spice, salted butter, Caramel sauce, Flaky sea salt
- Why You'll Love It: This caramel apple dump cake layers Walker's Shortbread cookies, apple pie filling, and spice cake mix with pumpkin pie spice and cold butter then bakes until golden and finishes with a caramel drizzle for an easy fall dessert.
The Walker’s Shortbread base is what makes this specifically different from every other dump cake out there. That buttery, slightly crispy shortbread layer underneath the apple filling and spice cake top adds a richness and texture that plain graham crackers or no base at all simply cannot replicate.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No mixing bowls, no softening butter, no making anything from scratch. Layer, dump, and bake is genuinely the entire method.
- Walker’s Shortbread cookies as the base add a buttery, slightly crispy layer underneath the apple filling that makes this taste more like a composed dessert than a five-ingredient dump cake.
- The pumpkin pie spice stirred into the spice cake mix doubles down on the fall flavors and makes every bite taste warm and deeply seasonal.
- The caramel drizzle and flaky salt finish at the end take this from a simple dump cake to something that looks and tastes genuinely impressive.
Ingredients Needed To Make Shortbread Dump Cake
The Layers
Walker’s Shortbread cookies arranged in a single layer form the buttery, slightly crispy base that sets this apart from a standard dump cake. Apple pie filling spooned over the cookies provides the sweet, spiced fruit filling. Spice cake mix combined with pumpkin pie spice and sprinkled dry over the filling creates the cake layer that bakes into a golden, slightly crumbly topping. Cold butter sliced very thin and laid across the entire surface melts down through the dry cake mix during baking and produces the golden, slightly crispy top.
The Finishing Touches
Caramel sauce drizzled generously over the warm cake right before serving adds the caramel element that ties everything together. Flaky sea salt is optional but adds a salty-sweet contrast that makes every bite more interesting.
How to Make Caramel Apple Walker’s Shortbread Dump Cake
1
Preheat the oven to 350Ā°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
2
Arrange the Walker’s Shortbread cookies in a single even layer across the bottom of the dish. Break cookies as needed to fill any gaps completely.
3
Spoon the apple pie filling evenly over the cookie layer and spread gently to cover.
4
Stir the pumpkin pie spice into the dry spice cake mix until combined. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the apple filling. Do not mix.
5
Arrange the cold thinly sliced butter pieces all over the top of the cake mix covering as much of the surface as possible.
6
Bake uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes until the top is golden brown and the filling is hot and bubbly around the edges.
7
Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle generously with caramel sauce and sprinkle with flaky sea salt if using. Serve warm.
Caramel Apple Walker’s Shortbread Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 1 package Walker's Shortbread cookies
- 1 can apple pie filling 21 oz
- 1 box spice cake mix
- 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 stick salted butter cold and very thinly sliced
- Caramel sauce for drizzling
- Flaky sea salt optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350Ā°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Arrange the Walker’s Shortbread cookies in a single layer across the bottom of the dish. Break a few cookies as needed to fill in any gaps.
- Spoon the apple pie filling evenly over the cookie layer.
- In a small bowl stir together the dry spice cake mix and pumpkin pie spice. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the apple filling. Do not mix.
- Arrange the thin cold butter slices all over the top covering as much of the cake mix surface as possible.
- Bake uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes until the top is golden brown and the filling is hot and bubbly around the edges.
- Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
- Finish with a generous drizzle of caramel sauce and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt if desired.
Notes
- Use cold butter sliced very thin and cover as much of the dry cake mix as possible. This is what produces the golden, slightly crispy top rather than dry powdery patches of uncooked mix.
- Do not mix the layers. The whole point of a dump cake is that the butter melts down through the dry cake mix and the apple filling bubbles up through it during baking. Mixing destroys that process.
- The pumpkin pie spice added to the spice cake mix takes this from a standard caramel apple dump cake to something that tastes specifically like fall in every bite. It is a one-tablespoon addition that makes a big difference.
- The flaky sea salt over the caramel at the end is optional but highly recommended. The salty-sweet contrast on top of the warm caramel and apple is genuinely excellent.
