Perfect for making the most out of berry season, this 5 ingredient blueberry skillet dump cake is the easy dessert recipe you’ve been waiting to enjoy!
Have you been going to the farmers market on weekends? I have been trying to take weekends completely off of work and blog work (like I told you in this slow cooker Greek chicken and vegetables post) and have been stopping by the farmers market as much as I can, and is it just me, or has this year seen an abundance of berries? I feel like I’ve seen more this year than ever before, and even though I had berries galore, I couldn’t walk past the fresh blueberries and not get them.
But farm fresh blueberries are a little different than berries bought at the grocery store, I feel like one has to use them the SAME DAY they are picked up from the farmers market, or else they kind of go bad (it may just be me lol). I really had no intention of eating a pint of blueberries by my lonesome, and was feeling a little lazy on the weekend, so I decided to make a dump cake, where essentially all you’re doing is ‘dumping’ the ingredients into a bowl, stirring, and then dumping it into a skillet and baking. With this recipe, you’re making a quick cake batter in a bowl and then pouring it into the skillet, and pouring the blueberries on top.
Pouring sounds a lot more graceful than dumping, does’t it? So you can think of this cake as a one bowl cake, a skillet cake, or just an all around amazing blueberry cake, and since this cake is made with only 5 ingredients and it’s Friday – it’s this week’s Five Ingredient Friday recipe!
Now, I have to share a funny story with you that makes me giggle every time I think of it: I was once doing a radio interview about my cookbook and they invited the live audience to call in. This very sweet elderly man called in and said that he had purchased his first cookbook and I got all excited thinking mine was his first cookbook he had purchased, but then he went on to say that it was a ‘dump’ cookbook but that is was a lot more complicated than he thought it was going to be, and what did I have to say about that? Whomp whomp. I of course was nice and responded with how I was sorry he wasn’t enjoying that cookbook, but that I could assure him that mine had only 5 ingredient recipes and he might like it. The funny part was, when he was describing the other cookbook, (I have no idea what the title of the cookbook or who the author was)- the one I had no idea about- he kept emphasizing the word ‘dump’ “you’re supposed to just DUMP all the ingredients in” “one makes dishes by “DUMPING” and so on. It took all I had to contain my laughter. Ever since, every time I’m making something that involves a pouring step, I think that I’m dumping ingredients in and laugh. Maybe I’m the only one that thinks it was funny?
This cake is probably one of the most tried and true old-timey recipes I know and have known for years. For the cake batter all you do is mix together melted butter, sugar, flour and milk and then add fruit and bake. That’s it! Viola! 5 ingredients is all you need to create this simple, yet delicious summery blueberry skillet dump cake. You could substitute the butter for margarine and milk for almond milk, or the blueberries for other berries. This cake is super customizable and delicious (you could even top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!) I used a 10 1/4 inch skillet for this recipe. You could use a smaller skillet, the cake would just be a little taller!
5 Ingredient Blueberry Skillet Dump Cake
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Jeanne Abernethy says
How much lemon juice or zest from lemon skin do you suggest for giving it a lemon blue berry flavor? I love that combination.
Sweetphi says
I’m a sucker for a really strong lemon flavor, so I would suggest 1 tablespoon 🙂
Deidre says
Can you substitute apples?
Sweetphi says
Oh that might work, I’ve never tried but I think it could work. I’d love to know how it turns out for you!
Airell Mazer says
Well, I tried. But this was a flop and not because of your recipe but because of my tweaks. I wanted to make this more keto friendly so I substituted 1:1 Almond Flour, added an egg for binder (as is usual with Keto using Almond Flour) and substituted the 1c. of sugar with 1/2c. of Erythritol, and it was a sloppy mess that didnt even resemble a cake…its more like a topping for cake at this point. I did leave it in the iron skillet & coooed it on the stove from the bottom to try & cook off some of the slop but it’s still a mess. Here’s why I dont Keto-exchange many recipes!
Sweetphi says
Thank you for sharing Airell, sorry it didn’t work as a keto-exchange recipe
Emily says
Would halving or reducing the size of this recipe work? Would the baking time be affected as well if I changed the size? Thanks!
Sweetphi says
Not quite sure what you mean here…if you’re reducing the recipe by, say, 1/2 or something then yes the cooking time would be different…haven’t tested it for other sizes, but I’d say a safe bet would be to check the bake time at 1/2 of the normal time.
Chris Perlini says
5 ingredient dump cake. Can you make this in a 9 inch cake pan?
Sweetphi says
Sure! I’ve never tried it but it should work, I’d love to know how it turns out for you
Christine Perlini says
I made it in a 10 inch cake pan. Came out awesome. Also added mc cormicks pure lemon extract to the batter I used almost a teaspoon. Had the perfect hint of lemon to the cake.
Janice Graham says
I made this tonight in a cake pan and it was so delicious! I substituted a gluten free all purpose flour blend and the results were tasty. My non celiac family members couldn’t tell it was gluten free and I got to enjoy an amazing dessert! Thank you for the recipe!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for coming back and leaving this feedback. I’m so glad to hear how much you and your family enjoyed this cake 🙂
Sweetphi says
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed the cake – love the modification you made, I bet the hint of lemon would work so good!
Heather says
Can you reduce the amount of sugar?
Sweetphi says
Definitely!
Gabe says
Could I use maple syrup instead of sugar?
Sweetphi says
I don’t think that would work in this particular recipe – the mix would be too liquidy…maybe you could try it and add more flour? Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
KonaGirl says
Is the flour sifted prior to measuring the 1 cup?
BTW. I think your story is funny. Now I’ll be thinking the same thing every time I’m “dumping” ingredients into a bowl.
Sweetphi says
I don’t sift the flour, but you certainly could! And I’m so happy you liked the story lol!!
KonaGirl says
I just pulled it out of the oven and it’s looking good. Can hardly wait for it to cool. I kept thinking while making it and while it was baking, “No eggs??”. LOL.
I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve devoured a piece with some vanilla ice cream. 😊
KonaGirl says
Devoured! I am so amazed at how good this is, especially since so quick and easy to make. I love the crunchiness of the crust, yet the soft cake texture under all those delicious fresh blueberries.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for your feedback, I’m so happy to hear how much you loved this recipe!
Christine says
Can you be more specific on the pan you should use use in the oven ??? Not all pans can go in oven.. I’m making this now .. anrd read that non stick pans should not be be put in oven ?? After I already have ..can be toxic it said idk but it’s looking good
Sweetphi says
Hi sorry – just seeing this now. Hopefully it all turned out good! This should be made in an oven-safe skillet (iron skillets)
Mela says
Delicious will make again, I added walnuts and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Got tons of compliments.
Sweetphi says
So happy to hear this, and love that you got tons of compliments!!