I have made a variation of the fruit cocktail cake by mixing a yellow cake mix with a 16 oz can of fruit cocktail, and baking it. It makes a very heavy, dense, moist cake, with a pleasant, but different flavor. I didn’t put eggs in it, but that would probably make it a little fluffier.
I’ve mixed a 20 oz can of crushed pineapple into an angel food cake mix, and that turns out awesome! I didn’t see the instruction that said not to overmix it, and I mixed it with my kitchen aid for a couple of minutes. It made a huge amount of batter, which I baked in my 10x7x3” pan. Don’t grease the pan. It’s supposed to be baked in a bundt pan, but there was way too much batter. It was AWESOME and addictive. Tasted like a very rich white fruit cake. Of course, except for my occasional cheat days, I’m doing a low carb diet, so I haven’t made anything like this, lately. If anyone is interested, there’s a great recipe for low carb eclairs, which are, of course, high in calories, but very low in carbs.
The fruit cocktail cake sounds delicious AND simple. ie: Almost like a white fruitcake, especially if nuts are added.
We used to make ‘Amish Friendship Cakes’, where you ferment canned fruit for weeks, and then add it to cake mix with coconut, pudding mix, sometimes nuts.
It was a wonderful cake, but I always wondered if it would really taste much different if you didn’t even bother with the fermentation.