Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake

I've been off sugar.  Me.  Off sugar.  But, I've been having a lot of trouble with inflammation in my ankles and sugar makes inflammation worse so, you gotta do what you gotta do.  It's been helping a little bit.  However, I've been going nuts.  I needed a cheat day.  If I kept it up cold turkey I would have went on a bender and devoured all the left over Halloween candy (which is a lot because we only had 4 trick-or-treaters this year).  I searched the pantry to see what I could make.  This cake has very few ingredients and it's super easy.  The reason it's called a dump cake (a word that my kids think is hilarious, btw) is because you just dump everything in a baking dish (no mixing bowl to dirty!).  It tastes pretty darn good, too.

CHERRY PINEAPPLE DUMP CAKE

1 (21oz) can cherry pie filling
1 (20oz) can crushed pineapple (in juice)
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour the pie filling and pineapple (with the juice) into a 9x13 baking dish and mix together.

Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the top.

Spread the cake mix evenly and gently pat it down.

Sprinkle the coconut evenly over the cake mix.

Cut the butter into thin pats and place them evenly on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Mine took 35 minutes.

Let it cool 5 - 10 minutes before serving.  I like to spoon it into bowls and serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.  

Store left overs in the fridge.  It's even better the next day (according to my Mama and she's a cake aficionado).

So, the cherry pineapple dump cake definitely satisfied my sweet tooth without being overly sweet.  It tasted kind of like a cobbler.  The cherry and pineapple marry into a magical flavor and the toasted coconut gives it a great texture.  It was was so easy to make and uses so few ingredients that it could be a great go to recipe.  Plus, you can change it up easily.  Use whatever flavors you like.  Apple pie filling, canned pears, spice cake mix and walnuts instead of coconut would be delicious!  Blueberry pie filling, canned peaches, white cake mix and pecans instead of coconut.  Double cherry pie filling and chocolate cake mix would be like a black forest cake.  The possibilities are endless.