I would like to share my easy fruit cocktail cake recipe with you. It is a snap to make and there are many variations for you to try. Each time I make this cake for a potluck or a party, it is gone in a flash and I get a lot of compliments on it.

It all started about 22 years ago. I was newly married and needed to make a cake. I mentioned this to a co-worker named Kathy at Aetna Life & Casualty. She quoted the basic recipe to me off the top of her head. I was so impressed. Up until then I had only made cakes from box mixes, never from scratch.

I wrote the recipe down and I still have that original paper in my kitchen scrapbook. I made the cake that night and it was a hit. Since then, I have altered it in many ways and it is always good. If you have last minute company, you can whip it up quickly and serve it hot with ice cream. You can frost it, but I normally don't. Without the frosting, people think of it as healthy because it has fruit in it.

I would like to clarify that this is a fruit cocktail cake, not a nasty fruit cake like those stale things you might get at Christmas time with fake fruit that tastes poisonous, like my grandmother used to serve us when I was a child. Yuk! She would not make these things. Someone would give them to her and they were just awful. Please do not confuse this delicious cake with that!

Here is the basic recipe for my fruit cocktail cake:

You will need:

2 cups sifted flour

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, well-beaten

1 #303 can of fruit cocktail (about 15.5 ounces) Do not drain the liquid off.

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Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Choose a 13"x9" baking pan. I prefer to use a glass pan, but that is not necessary. Do not grease or spray the pan. If you do, the cake will not cling to the sides of the pan causing the cake to not rise the way it should.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together all of the above-ingredients in order. When you open the can of fruit cocktail, dump the entire can including the liquid into the bowl. Mix well. I just stir until it is well-blended. It does not take very long. If you are going to frost it, it is ready to go into the oven just like it is.

Bake the cake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick that you stick into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

No need to remove the cake. Serve it right out of the pan you bake it in. That is why I bake it in a pretty clear glass baking dish.

The easy fruit cocktail cake is good when served plain as above, frosted with a white or cream cheese frosting, with Cool Whip, or with ice cream. It tastes good hot, cold, or served at room temperature. I have served it all of these ways.

To make it extra special, I add a topping to the cake. The easiest one to do is to sprinkle the entire cake prior to baking with 1/2 cup of brown sugar. This gives you a sweet and slightly crunchy texture to the top of it. I get a lot of compliments and requests for the recipe when I do this. With this topping, the cake can be served plain or dress it up with a little whipped cream, but it is not necessary to add anything else. I usually don't.

You can also combine 1/2 cup chopped nuts with 1/2 cup brown sugar and sprinkle the mixture over the batter before you bake it. Just remember that some people have nut allergies so make sure you let guests know about the nuts.

There are many fruit variations that will change your fruit cocktail cake. Here are a few suggestions. I have tried them all and they are wonderful.

Instead of the 15.5 ounce can of fruit cocktail, add a 15 to 16 ounce can of pineapple chunks, mandarin oranges, applesauce, peaches, pears, plain pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling), or plain baking apples (not apple pie filling.) Some of the chunkier fruits will have to be broken up a little with a potato masher. If you use the apples or the pumpkin, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, along with a pinch of nutmeg to the batter. Mix a little cinnamon with the brown sugar that you will sprinkle on top of the cake as well. Add 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger to the peach cake batter for extra flavor.

Have fun baking and serving this delicious and versatile Easy Fruit Cocktail Cake! Let me know how you like it.