Fruit Cocktail Cake
Fruit Cocktail Cake is a from-scratch, old fashioned cake recipe that is easy to make. This moist cake has a simple coconut frosting. It makes a great potluck dessert! You may also love our easy amish cake.
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Fruit Cocktail Cake Recipe
If you’re new to our site, you’ll quickly learn that as much as we love crazy beautiful layer cakes, our first love is simple, old fashioned cake recipes and this easy fruit cocktail cake is a classic! I got this cake recipe from one of my grandma’s old recipe books. I was so intrigued that it had fruit cocktail in the cake…and had a unique coconut icing that got drizzled over the top of the cake once it was baked. This cake is fun for kids to make and will quickly become a family favorite.
Canned Fruit Cocktail Cake
This cake is a from-scratch cake that uses canned fruit cocktail. You’ll want to find a can that is about 15.25 ounces for the best results. Don’t be tempted to drain that liquid. You’ll open the can and just dump it all in. The fruit, juice and eggs are what help keep this cake moist!
How to Make Fruit Cocktail Cake
- This cake recipe starts as many other recipes do…by mixing the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients together separately. Mixing the dry ingredients separately will make sure that all of the leavening gets mixed in evenly to the cake without over mixing the batter. If you mix the batter too much, the cake could end up tough instead of moist, tender and light.
- Once you have the batter, pour it into a greased 9×13 cake pan. Then sprinkle brown sugar and nuts on top of the batter. This makes the top of the cake taste AMAZING.
- While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting.
Fruit Cocktail Cake with Coconut Icing
This unique icing is made of butter, evaporated milk and sugar. You’ll boil this together until it starts to thicken, then fold in the shredded coconut. Once the cake is done, poke holes over the top of it and spread this icing evenly over the top of the cake.
Be sure to let the cake cool before you cover it and store it.
Does fruit cocktail cake need to be refrigerated?
This fruit cocktail cake can be made in advance. If you aren’t going to be serving it the same day you make it, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator so the fruit doesn’t go bad. We like to bring it to room temperature before serving, however.
Easy Fruit Cakes
- Blueberry Raspberry Cake
- Mandarin Orange Cake
- Blueberry Coffee Cake
- Orange Raisin Coffee Cake
- Gooey Blueberry Butter Cake
- Homemade Black Forest Cake


Fruit Cocktail Cake
Fruit Cocktail Cake is a from-scratch, old fashioned cake recipe that is easy to make. This moist cake has a simple coconut frosting. It makes a great potluck dessert!
Servings 15
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ⅓ cups white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 can fruit cocktail with juice (15.25 ounces)
Topping:
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Frosting:
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- 2 ½ cups shredded coconut
- Whipped cream and cherries for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray then dust the pan with flour.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar and vanilla.
- Add in the flour mixture and fruit cocktail, beating well.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar and walnuts on top of the cake.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake tests done.
- While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together the sugar, butter and evaporated milk. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Allow the mixture to thicken slightly.
- Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the coconut.
- As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poke the top of the cake with a fork to make holes, then spread the coconut frosting on top of the cake.
- Serve the cake with a dollop of whipped cream and cherry.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Video
Notes
The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 15 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 339mg | Potassium: 153mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 305IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1.4mg
my mom doesn’t like coconut and I didn’t have all ingredients so I used what i had came out very good didn’t use frosting or coconut but came out just as good my challenge was to make a dessert with fruit cocktail will have this again
I put the coconut on the cake before I bake it, then I bake it, the coconut come out nice and brown, I then use a fork and poke holes in the top of the cake before pouring the frosting evenly over the cake. Then I let it cool down.