Strawberry rhubarb dump cake is one of my favorite recipes, in fact, I started with this recipe when I was seven years old. A neighbor served this dish and the next day, I walked up the street to her log cabin and asked for the recipe. She graciously shared! (I take it as a compliment when someone asks for the recipe and always supply it upon request)
But as we started moving away from processed and boxed foods, I had a hard time making strawberry rhubarb dump cake because the original recipe called for both strawberry jello (hello food dye and artificial flavoring) and a boxed cake mix.
Since recovering my health and only using from scratch recipes in our kitchen, I struggled with giving up our beloved Strawberry Rhubarb dump cake or using the processed ingredients and cringing the entire time. I'm telling you, the dilemma is real people.
I'm not one to give up on our favorites, I was determined I could do this real food. Determined. It took a couple of goes, but I did it. This strawberry rhubarb dump cake from scratch now contains real strawberries, gelatin (totally a health food when sourced from grass fed cattle), and a homemade cake mix that is light and fluffy. Can I get an amen!!!
No more feeling guilty and it still tastes amazing.
So I did it, I came up with a completely real food version of our favorite. You're welcome!
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Easy Strawberry Rhubarb Dump Cake without Jello
4 cups diced rhubarb
1 and 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (I use raw organic cane sugar)
1 scoop (2 and 1/2 teaspoons gelatin) I use this brand of gelatin that's from grass fed cattle and no fillers
1 cup cold water
Homemade Cake Mix
1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour (we'll turn it into cake flour below)
3 Tablespoons organic non-GMO corn starch (use 2 Tablespoons in the bottom of your cup, then spoon full with flour, use 1 Tablespoon for the 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place rhubarb and sliced strawberries in pan, sprinkle sugar over it, then evenly sprinkle the gelatin over top.
Thoroughly mix your dry cake ingredients together and sprinkle evenly over rhubarb. Pour your 1 cup water over all of this and dot with 3 tablespoons chopped butter. Don’t stir!
Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Serve this warm by itself, or add a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. My husband says the rhubarb counts as a vegetable and eats it for breakfast, too
A great way to keep rhubarb for baking all year long is to chop it up and freeze it in a plastic freezer bag or freezable container.
The great thing about this strawberry rhubarb dump cake is you can use fresh or frozen fruit, so it can be served all year long.
Strawberry Rhubarb Dump Cake without Jello
Ingredients
- 4 cups diced rhubarb
- 1 and 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar I use raw organic cane sugar
- 1 scoop 2 and 1/2 teaspoons gelatin I use this brand of gelatin that's from grass fed cattle and no fillers
- 1 cup cold water
- Homemade Cake Mix
- 1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour we'll turn it into cake flour below
- 3 Tablespoons organic non-GMO corn starch use 2 Tablespoons in the bottom of your cup, then spoon full with flour, use 1 Tablespoon for the 1/2 cup
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place rhubarb and sliced strawberries in pan, sprinkle sugar over it, then evenly sprinkle the gelatin over top.
- Thoroughly mix your dry cake ingredients together and sprinkle evenly over rhubarb. Pour your 1 cup water over all of this and dot with 3 tablespoons chopped butter. Don’t stir!
- Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Serve this warm by itself, or add a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. My husband says the rhubarb counts as a vegetable and eats it for breakfast, too.
THANK YOU! I have been struggling because I find all these lovely dump cake recipes but I refuse to use packaged cake mixed. Now I don’t have to!
You’re so welcome Laurel, enjoy! I’ve used it on an apple dump cake too.
Hi! If using other fruit, is the quantity always the same? 5 1/2 cups? And does the amount of gelatin stay the same. Would like to try it with blueberries!
What size pan do you use? I have used my 9×13 and it works, however, the water doesn’t cover everything and I was wondering if a smaller pan would be better. Our whole family loves it!
Hi Sabrina,
I use a 9×13 and the water never covers everything but the butter and juices from the fruit soak into the flour so it’s never been much of an issue. You could try a smaller pan and see what you think of it.
This is egg and milk free!! Yeah!!! (My son is allergic to both, as well as nuts and coconut.) How do you think lard would be in place of the butter? Should be fine…?
I’m confused about the flour part. Is it 1 1/2 cups AP flour? Or 1 1/2 cups total of both AP flour plus corn starch?
Thanks!
I think lard would be fine… and taste really good. For the flour, take your 1 cup, put 2 Tablespoons of corn starch in then top off with the flour, then take a 1/2 cup, place 1 Tablespoon of corn starch in the bottom and top off level with flour, so it’s slightly less than the 1 and 1/2 cups flour as the corn starch takes up space in the bottom of each cup.
I made this in a 9X13 pan. When I checked it after an hour there was a lot of dry spots of flour. I smoothed them out and the sprayed some butter flavored Pam on it and put it back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. Hopefully it will come out ok. Don’t like dump cakes for this reason. ☹️
Can you replace fruits with fresh frozen? And if so, would you need more gelatin? Thanks.
Yes, I make it with frozen or fresh and I don’t change the gelatin, I keep it the same.
Yaaaaaay! I am SO excited for this! My rhubarb is poking its wrinkly little heads up out of the ground! Also glad to get this sub for cake mix. My fav fav FAV is a dump cake with pineapple, peaches, raisins, pecans, cake mix, butter, brown sugar ….. yaaaay for homemade!
I made the chocolate mayo cake and my family loved it. I would love to try this or a peach dump cake but you lost me with this “ 3 Tablespoons organic non-GMO corn starch (use 2 Tablespoons in the bottom of your cup, then spoon full with flour, use 1 Tablespoon for the 1/2 cup)” and sugar is listed twice in the ingredients. Am I just missing something?
Hi Lexie,
The sugar is listed twice because it’s part of the filling and also an ingredient for the cake mix. The 1-1/2 cup measurement for the flour is to include the 3T cornstarch. She gave a way to make sure the ratios and measurements are correct by placing 2T of cornstarch in your 1C cup first, and then top the remaining space with the flour. Same with the 1T and 1/2C. I hope that helps and doesn’t confuse your further. 🙂
We have a corn allergy so can I sub arrowroot for the cornstarch? Would I use the same amount?
Thank you for the recipe. It came out great. I didn’t know if you stir the fruit with the sugar or gelatin but I did. I also added more butter. I always add more butter to dump cake recipes so there are no dry spots. And I let it brown by cooking it for 10 minutes more.