By Christmas week and I am officially on winter break, which means I have traded thirty-one fourth-graders for approximately one thousand prenatal to-do list items. The nursery is ready. Two IKEA cribs assembled over a weekend with Ryan reading instructions aloud. The hospital bag is packed. Ryan triple-checked it. He is a firefighter-paramedic and he approaches preparedness the way other people approach religion.
Christmas Eve at Steve and Patty's was everything it always is. The smell of Babcia Rose's kitchen from the parking lot. Steve's handshake-hug that communicates one full year of quiet love. Matt drove in from Springfield. Babcia Rose held my face in both hands and said something in Polish about the babies being healthy. Dziadek Wally called me Myszka and gave me his chair, which is the highest honor he bestows.
I sat between Ryan and my dad and ate my weight in golabki and tried not to think about how much is about to change. Owen and Nora are already people to me. Already the subject of 3 AM conversations about what kind of lives we want them to have. Ryan put his hand on my belly under the table and left it there through dessert.
I made one thing for the Christmas spread: a simple apple cake I have made every winter for years. Aldi baking apples, oil, eggs, cinnamon. I assembled it sitting down, which is my new cooking posture. Patty said it was delicious. Babcia Rose nodded, which is the higher compliment. Thirty-eight weeks pregnant and still collecting small victories wherever I can reach them.
The apple cake I brought to Steve and Patty’s Christmas Eve was the same spirit as this one — minimal effort, maximum comfort, assembled sitting down because that’s where I live now. A dump cake is exactly that: fruit, a box of cake mix, butter, done. No standing over a mixer, no complicated steps, just something warm and sweet that says I showed up, I made something, I’m still here. Babcia Rose’s nod is not easily earned, and I will take every version of it I can get.
Strawberry Dump Cake
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 1 box (15.25 oz) white or yellow cake mix
- 2 cans (21 oz each) strawberry pie filling
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Add the filling. Pour both cans of strawberry pie filling into the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer. Stir in vanilla extract if using.
- Add the cake mix. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the top of the strawberry filling. Do not stir — leave it in an even layer.
- Top with butter. Arrange the thin slices of butter across the top of the cake mix, covering as much surface area as possible so the top bakes evenly and develops a golden crust.
- Bake. Bake uncovered for 40–45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling around the edges.
- Rest and serve. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Spoon into bowls and top with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 310 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 56g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 310mg