How to Make Grandma Wagner's Fruit Cocktail Cake

My grandmother loved family reunions and she always brought some of the best food on the table. Her fruit cocktail cake was one of my favorites.

This recipe for Fruit Cocktail Cake is very simple and quick to make up, yet gets 'yum' comments from guests each and every time.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg, unbeaten
• 1 medium can fruit cocktail
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup brown sugar, depending on personal preference (optional)
• Chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Sift the sugar, flour and baking soda into a small bowl, making sure to combine thoroughly.
   
   If you are in a hurry or do not have a sifter, you can skip the sifting and simply mix these ingredients together. Just make sure the baking soda gets mixed well with the other dry ingredients.

3. Add the unbeaten egg to the dry flour mixture. Mix well.

4. Drain the can of fruit cocktail. Add the drained fruit the egg and flour mixture. Mix well.
   
   The fruit will retain enough fluid after draining to fully moisten the batter.

5. Pour the batter into a 9 X 9 ungreased baking pan.

6. Sprinkle the top of the batter with the brown sugar. Add the ground nuts.
   
   The topping is optional, but it even just adding the brown sugar takes the taste to another level.

7. Bake in your 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean.

8. Serve the baked fruit cocktail cake warm with ice cream or let it cool and serve it with whipped topping.

Tips & Warnings

• One thing that makes this version of Fruit Cocktail Cake appealing to so many people is the lack of coconut in the recipe. It is surprising how many people do not enjoy the taste of coconut and will comment on their surprise and delight to find it missing in a fruit cocktail cake.
• The cake is very moist and I find it begins to mold quickly if let out on a counter overnight. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Resources

• Need another simple and unique dessert recipe? How to Make Cherry Burritos (only 4-5 ingredients)

[skypilot69]

on 11/15/2009 great recipe 5*

[bellerose]

on 9/12/2009 This sounds like a great cake. I think I would eat it for breakfast too--5*

[cajunc]

on 8/19/2009 Sounds like a great cake recipe! Thanks! Linda cajunC

[langleycornwell]

on 8/19/2009 Thanks to Grandma Wagner, this sounds delicious.

[esatchel]

on 8/17/2009 This looks like a perfect recipe to add to my potluck options! Thanks.