This week I chose a recipe that caught my eye when I first looked thru Grandma’s recipe box. and not for good reasons, I suppose. “Fruit cocktail cake” the card was titled. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been a fan of fruit cocktail.
My initial thought was – How could this possibly be any good? But then I read the ingredients and thought to myself: How could this be anything but good?
Have a look for yourself:
And so – with one substitution in mind, I got ready to bake. Here’s what I did! I did NOT use actual fruit cocktail. I could not bring myself to put those canned grapes and cherries in this cake. Instead I selected some canned fruit and made my own concoction for the cake: peaches, pineapple and mandarin oranges.
When I read the back of the recipe card I realized I wasn’t sure which canned milk to use… sweetened condensed milk? or evaporated milk? I knew there was SO MUCH sugar in the brown sugar topping and the icing already – I decided to go with the evaporated milk.
I mixed the ingredients up, and poured the batter into a 9×13 pan. Then, spread the topping over the batter and baked at 350 as directed for about 35-40 minutes. When I pulled it out of the oven it was nice and brown. While it was still hot I poured the cooked icing over the top.
Are you wondering how it turned out? I’ll tell you! It is rich and sticky- gooey- delicious- especially if you eat it warm. It’s not super fruity flavored – but very sweet! I give it a thumbs up and think you should try it!
Here’s a little history – my mom doesn’t remember Grandma making this cake when she lived at home. But, the card says “Katy” on it so my mom thinks the recipe came from her Aunt Katy, Grandma’s sister-in-law. I’d love to know if any of the family remembers tasting this cake in years gone by! Feel free to leave a comment below! And please – tell me if you make this cake! I’d love to know what you think!
I’ll be back soon with another recipe from Grandma B’s recipe box!
daily portion 
Remember way back many years ago when I first became acquainted with the Brubacher family? I was known to family and friends as “Katy”. In fact, most of my family still call me that to this day. The recipe that you made, Melody, was mine that I passed on to Mom. And the milk in the recipe is evaporated milk, which in the U.S. used to be called condensed milk, thus the confusion. I have not made that recipe in 40++ years. I should try it again!!
Well that’s exciting to know it was from you! Thank you for your quick reply! !!! It was very yummy!!!