Fruit Cocktail Cake is a modern version of an old family favourite made gluten free and lower in sugar content than the original one. It has been garnering great reviews from family and friends! Serve it warm with Dairy Free Vanilla Ice Cream.
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Fruit Cocktail Cake
Have you ever taken food to a potluck dinner hoping for leftovers to take home? I won't name names, but I know that happens with this cake! It's not necessarily the prettiest thing on the buffet, but it sure tastes good inside! People might be drawn to the more decadent-looking desserts and not realize what they're missing here!
The recipe that I originally followed before I was gluten free was this one from the Best of Bridge. As you'll notice, I've worked out a gluten free flour substitution that's not too pasty (my pet peeve about gluten free food). I think that different blends of gluten free flours are more suitable for different recipes. That's why I don't use the same GF flour blend in all of my recipes.
I also reduced the amount of sugar and increased the fruit content. Coconut sugar gives the Fruit Cocktail Cake a nice caramel-like flavour which I find works especially well here.
The extra fruit and juice add moisture, which is then absorbed by coconut flour.
I find that the gluten free version bakes faster than the wheat flour recipe.
More Gluten Free Desserts
You might also like:
- Paleo Key Lime Pie
- Gluten Free Angel Food Cake with 50% Less Sugar
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Coconut
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Vanilla Cake
- Lemon Cake
- Fruit Cocktail Salad (makes a great dessert, too!)
Fruit Cocktail Bundt Cake
I love that Fruit Cocktail Cake is so simple to mix together. I use a stand mixer for it, but you wouldn't have to.
It holds its shape well in a Bundt pan. If you don't have a Bundt cake pan, you could also make it in a 9-inch X 13-inch cake pan.
How to Grease a Pan
Unless you're using a nonstick pan, baking pans usually need to be greased to release your food nicely. There are a number of ways you can do this.
- My mother used to take a piece of waxed paper, grab a little butter with it and smear it all over the inside of the pan.
- I find it handy to use my empty butter wrapper and just grease the pan with the butter residue that remains on it.
- I have also dipped a pastry brush into oil and brushed it all over the inner surface of a pan or muffin tin.
- Alternatively, you can use parchment paper or paper towel to grease a pan.
Whichever way you decide to grease your pan, do it before you prepare your batter, because some batters need to go into the oven as quickly as possible for their leavening agents to work optimally.
If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars! Thanks so much!
Recipe
Fruit Cocktail Cake
Ingredients
- ¾ cup sorghum flour
- ¾ cup potato starch
- ½ cup gluten free oat flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- 1 28- ounce 796-mL can fruit cocktail, drained, JUICE RESERVED
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup milk nondairy or dairy
- ½ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Prepare a 10-inch Bundt pan by greasing it if it is not a nonstick pan.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together sorghum flour, potato starch, oat flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together eggs, first amount of coconut sugar, and juice drained from fruit cocktail.
- Add the flour mixture to the egg and juice mixture and mix to combine. Then stir in the drained fruit.
- Smooth batter into prepared 10-inch Bundt pan. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until cake tests done when poked in the thickest part with a fork.
- While cake is baking, prepare the sauce. In a small saucepan on the stovetop, bring second amount of coconut sugar, milk, and butter to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- When cake is baked, remove from oven and poke holes randomly all over the top. Immediately pour ALL of the hot sauce all over the cake. It seems like a lot, but the hot cake will absorb it.
- Let the cake sit for about 10 minutes. Then turn it out of the pan onto a serving platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Zooey says
Hi Cathy, thank you for sharing this recipe with us.
I just want to know if potato starch can be substituted for corn starch in this recipe?
Thank you.
Cathy Brak says
Good question, Zooey! Although I haven't tested it, I think that potato starch would be a good substitute for cornstarch. In fact, the next time I make this cake for myself, that's probably what I'll try. Since developing this recipe, I have discovered that I need to avoid corn, myself.
Patricia Wilson says
Hi Cathy. Can I use just gluten free flour without adding the other ingredients, sorghum flour etc.
Cathy says
Thank you for your question, Patricia. I have not tested this recipe with any blend of flour other than the ones mentioned. However, you might try replacing the sorghum flour, potato starch, and oat flour with two cups of a gluten free flour mix. I would still use the coconut flour, because few gluten free flour blends contain it, and it acts very differently from the others. Also, you won't need xanthan gum if your flour mix contains it. Good luck with this. I hope your cake turns out well!