Question about how to use the cake mix

It's certainly NOT a dumb question. This recipe kind of flies in the face of how you ordinarily use a cake mix - so better to ask than just wonder. The cake mix goes on dry, after you mix the spices into it. Then you pour the butter over the top of everything and bake. There will be enough liquid given off by the apples and things to create a mixture that makes the top cakey portion. It's not an apple cake in the same sense as one made by mixing apples into cake batter. But it's a nice quick version, and my kids like it with ice cream.