With Just 3 Ingredients You Can Turn Store-Bought Cake Mix Into A Brand-New Dessert

Boxed cake mixes can actually make more than just cake; in fact, you can use one to make an entirely different dessert: fruit cobbler. Typically, cobblers — such as our old-fashioned peach cobbler — are made with flour, sugar, baking powder, and more to create the biscuit-like topping that bakes over the sweet fruit filling. In this version, the cake mix takes care of all those ingredients, and when combined with butter, it forms a topping that's pretty close to the real thing. In other words, this version is everything that you love about cobbler but with less work. 

All you need is one box of yellow or white cake mix, ½ cup of butter, and about 30 ounces of canned peaches or pears (which could be two small cans or one large). Or, if you want to make an apple cobbler, then the best method is to use apple pie filling, since apples aren't typically sold in cans. 

Everything comes together directly in the pan (a rectangular casserole dish about 9 by 13 inches). And just like with a dump cake, all you have to do is pour the fruit filling in the baking dish, top it with the cake mix so it's uniformly covering all the fruit, then pour the melted butter evenly around the whole thing — no need to stir at all. Pop it in the oven for about 40 to 50 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until it appears crispy and golden brown with the fruit bubbling. You can store any leftovers in a covered container or dish in the fridge for up to four days and in the freezer for up to three months. 

If you're feeling a little ambitious, then you may be wondering about easy ways to upgrade this three-ingredient fruit cobbler. One option is to brown your butter before adding it; this will impart a nutty, richer flavor to the dessert. If you try out this upgrade, be sure to read our guide on the tell-tale signs that your brown butter is ready. Or add some chopped-up nuts — or even granola — to the cake mix layer to give the topping a satisfying crunch.

Other variations include a sprinkle of cinnamon or cinnamon sugar to the top before baking, which gives it more of a traditional cobbler flavor (as cobblers often include cinnamon). For a similar outcome, you can also use spice cake mix instead of yellow or white, or opt for a vanilla cake mix for a sweet vanilla infusion. 

Regardless of whether you utilize one of those upgrades or not, the easiest way to take fruit cobbler to the next level is to serve it well. Of course, the cobbler will taste delicious all on its own — especially if it's still warm from the oven. But to take it to the next level, pair it with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream. For an adult version, you can try infusing your whipped cream with booze. Pick the booze based on the fruit of the cobbler — for example, bourbon pairs well with both peach and apple.