Fruit Cocktail Cake

Fruit cocktail was a staple in our home when I was young. I didn't love it, though. Oh, it was okay, especially in the fruit salad my mom used to make, but I wouldn't have eaten it plain. 

Grandma liked it. I know that because several recipes in her box contain fruit cocktail as a main ingredient. This is one of them. Before I get to the testing of it, though, I have to explain the name change. The handwritten card calls this a dessert, however, the name Fruit Cocktail Dessert makes me think of something creamy and fruity, which this is not.    

How to Make Fruit Cocktail Cake 

If you're looking for something easy to make, this cake fits the bill. The hard part was trying to read between the lines. For example, the recipe doesn’t say whether to drain the fruit cocktail, so rather than err on the side of having a too-runny batter, I drained the fruit but kept the liquid close in case I needed to add it. By the way, I used fruit cocktail in juice instead of heavy syrup. Grandma probably used the heavy syrup kind, but that sickly sweet liquid was one of the things I didn't love about it.

After draining the fruit, I added the dry ingredients to a different bowl. 

Next, I beat the egg then added a quarter cup of oil to the egg. 

Last, I brought it all together by pouring the fruit and egg mixture into the flour.  

It only took a couple of stirs before I realized I did need the extra liquid.  

I added that to the batter and stirred it together. I didn’t know what size of pan to put it in, so I eyeballed the batter and figured a 9 x 9-inch pan would be best.  

The last step was to add the topping, and this was where I was tempted to fiddle. One cup of sugar sounded like a LOT for that small of a cake. However, I had my vow to make each recipe as written, so I held to it and sprinkled on the whole cup of brown sugar. 

I topped that with chopped nuts, and into the oven the pan went.  

When the timer rang, the middle was still gooey. I realized then that the juice might have produced a thinner batter than the heavy syrup would have done. Normally, baking a cake longer wouldn’t cause a problem, but the top was already quite brown. I weighed the options and decided that on the scale of badness, a doughy cake middle ranks worse than an overdone top. I stuck it in for five more minutes, and that was all it took.  

The Verdict

Because of my ambivalence for fruit cocktail, my hopes for this cake weren’t high. I did think my husband would like it. He grew up eating fruit cocktail straight from the can. Plus, he prefers a crumbly cake topping to a frosted one. This recipe seemed made for him.  

I was right. Three pieces disappeared in a flash. And, like I said, he is not a cake eater. 

I’ll admit, I liked it too. The fruit sort of disappears into the cake to create a super moist bite. And the top is crunchy and crackly. Speaking of the top, it was extremely sweet. Next time, I’ll cut down the brown sugar, possibly by half. 

We ate it when it was still warm and topped it with a dollop of ice cream, which helped cut the sweetness.

 It was good cold, too, still moist, and the brown sugar had softened so that it didn’t seem quite as sweet. Another thing I liked was the size. With just three of us in the house, we didn't need a huge cake. This one was just right. 

As I discovered, you don’t need to love fruit cocktail to enjoy this cake. But don’t take my word for it. Try it yourself by clicking on the link to download and print it out.