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Fruit Cocktail Cake – this easy cake recipe is the perfect coffee cake for breakfast! It’s full of coconut and fruit, with no oil! This old fashioned recipe is the perfect way to use up canned fruit cocktail.
Wait, I know. I’d never heard of Fruit Cocktail Cake either! But it’s actually fantastic, so you’re gonna want this recipe.
Jordan loves Fruit Cocktail. She loves all sorts of those little fruit cups, canned pineapple and peaches. I feel good when she eats it for breakfast because that way she starts off her day getting the nutrition she needs. I often buy cans of Fruit Cocktail when they’re on sale but, as happens with all of my canned goods, I often forget I’ve bought them. I don’t know why that is; when I was growing up we lived on canned food but now I buy fruit and beans and corn and they sit on the shelf until I realize they’re almost expired. Hence, me looking for fruit cocktail recipes.
I’d been planning to make a cocktail, but when I started searching for recipes for Fruit Cocktail one kept coming up that intrigued me: Fruit Cocktail Cake. It’s an old recipe that has traditional cake ingredients like flour and sugar, but there is no butter or oil because you use a can of Fruit Cocktail instead. Then you top it with brown sugar and coconut, like a crumble on top. To me, that meant that this is like a coffee cake and coffee cake is for breakfast.
So basically, Fruit Cocktail cake can be eaten any time of day or night: breakfast, snack, dessert…you name it!
We served this as a coffee cake at brunch and everyone gobbled it up.
I used Libby’s Fruit Cocktail in this recipe. I’m sure you’ve heard of Libby’s before, but you might not be aware of all of their offerings. Libby’s makes all kind of canned fruit, from peaches to apricots to pears to fruit cocktail. You should add a little newness to your breakfast routine and add some fruit cocktail…especially if it’s in the form of CAKE!
My favorite part of this fruit cocktail cake recipe is that there is no oil. The liquid from the fruit cocktail keeps it moist like a cake should be. I also love the brown sugar and coconut topping. It adds a little spring flair to the cake, along with a simple glaze. The glaze is optional, but it makes it look a lot prettier. Because of the fruit in the cake, it doesn’t need any frosting, making it perfect for brunch.
I love bringing old recipes to life and this fruit cocktail cake is definitely one that your family needs!
Fruit Cocktail Cake
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 15 ounce can Fruit Cocktail with juice
- 1 ¼ cups (155g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup (100g) packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup (26g) powdered sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13” pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Stir together eggs, sugar, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large bowl using a wooden spoon or spatula. Stir in fruit cocktail with the juice, then stir in flour. Pour into prepared pan.
- Stir coconut and brown sugar together and sprinkle over the top of the cake. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
- Make the glaze (optional) by whisking powdered sugar and enough milk for a pourable consistency. Drizzle over cake. Serve warm or room temperature. Store loosely covered for up to 2 days.
Recipe Nutrition
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Libby’s Fruits & Vegetables. The opinions and text are all mine.
Last Updated on May 12, 2020
What a fun idea!
I wish I had a slice of this to go with my coffee right now. This is an acceptable breakfast, right!?!?!
This is SUCH a fun idea! Perfect for summer too!
Ohmygoodness, you just brought back a flood of memories. I can’t wait to make this!!
My mother made fruit cocktail cake for us in the sixties-I have her recipe and still make it on occasion. No coconut or glaze in her version, but take a look around the internet-lots of variations. I do remember we all wanted to get the piece of cake with the cherry in it, there was only one per can of fruit.
I had never heard of this cake, until my sister baked one. Very good! I like that you added coconut to your cake.
I, too, would forget all the cans I had bought, and then would end up trading them to the library for forgiveness of overdue fines, during one of their food drives. Now I have a good coffee cake to make with one of those cans!
Sounds interesting. I agree that it’s like a coffee cake and therefore it’s breakfast! 🙂
My mother made a fruit cocktail cake but she added nuts and mini chocolate chips.
I have never heard of this cake! And my mother/grandma are/were the queens of coming up with random old-fashioned type cakes! Very intrigued with this cake! As a kid, I was like Jordan, and absolutely loved fruit cocktail!
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