Name: 3 Ingredient Dolly Parton Fruit Cocktail Cake (aka Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa Cake from Steel Magnolias)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup self-rising flour; 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 (15 ounce) can fruit cocktail, undrained; ½ teaspoon salt (optional); 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional); Vanilla ice cream, for serving

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In honor of the lovely Dolly Parton, I’m sharing her famous Fruit Cocktail Cake, also known as Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa Cake, from Steel Magnolias. Made with just three ingredients, this warm, gooey cake is wonderfully sweet, tastes like an old-fashioned cobbler, and best served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Love Maraschino Cherries? Be sure to try these Maraschino Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies!

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Dolly Parton Cake (Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa Cake)

This Dolly Parton Cake, also known as Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa Cake, is the sweet little Steel Magnolias cake that Truvy talked about in the movie. It takes a cup of flour, a cup of sugar, and a can of fruit cocktail with all its juice, and that’s the whole thing. No mixer, no eggs, no butter, no cake mix.

You stir it in one bowl, pour batter into a dish, and bake it until it’s golden brown and bubbling at the edges. This 3-ingredient fruit cocktail cake bakes up somewhere between a cobbler and a warm, buttery cake; it costs about two dollars to make, and it is absolutely perfect served hot with a scoop of ice cream.

Dolly passed away on August 25th and as things go, her recipe immediately blew up on TikTok. And since y’all tend to love Tiktok Viral recipes, I thought I’d share this one with you!

Steel Magnolias Cake

For anyone who hasn’t seen Steel Magnolias (please go watch it, and keep the tissues close), Dolly played Truvy, the beauty shop owner in the movie, and she mentions this cake in passing. Cuppa cuppa cuppa. A cup of this, a cup of that, bake it till it’s done.

That’s the original recipe, start to finish.

And it’s really, really good. The syrup from the canned fruit cocktail does all the work; the sugar caramelizes into crispy candied edges, and the middle stays soft and spoonable like a cobbler. It’s a very sweet cake (be warned), which is exactly why the vanilla ice cream isn’t optional in my book.

Why You’ll Love This Cuppa Cuppa Cake

Three cake ingredients. That’s the whole list to make Cuppa Cuppa Cake.

They’re all pantry staples, and the one you might not have is a can of fruit cocktail that costs a little over a dollar. This is an easy dessert you can pull together on a Tuesday when somebody announces at 6pm that they need to bring something somewhere. No mixer, no eggs, no butter, no cake mix.

It’s a little piece of Southern history.

This old-fashioned fruit cocktail cake has been passed around church potlucks and family reunions long before it ever showed up on TikTok. Right now, making this cake feels like a nice way to say “thank you” to Dolly.

Tools Needed

You don’t need anything special for this one:

8×8 baking dish (or a 1.5 quart casserole dish)
Large bowl
Spoon or spatula
Can opener
Measuring cups
Nonstick cooking spray or butter for greasing

Ingredients

Here’s your whole shopping list. Three things, and every one of them is at Walmart:

Self-rising flour (this one matters, more on that below)
Granulated sugar
Canned fruit cocktail, undrained*
Vanilla Extract & Salt (both optional but recommended – see notes below)

*About the flour. Self-rising flour already has the baking powder and salt mixed in, and this recipe leans on that completely since there are no eggs. All-purpose flour on its own will give you a dense, flat pan. No self-rising flour in the house? Whisk together 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1½ teaspoons baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt and use that instead.

*About the fruit cocktail… the cans packed in juice and the ones in heavy syrup both work great. Heavy syrup makes a sweeter, gooier, extra moist cake. No Sugar Added Fruit Cocktail (my preference) makes it a little bit less sweet. Use whatever you’ve got, or whatever is on sale, or whatever you like best.

*Vanilla extract and salt. All baked goods taste better with a little vanilla (in my humble opinion). As far as salt – because this cake is really sweet, I like to add ½ salt. It enhances the flavor of everything and offsets the sweet a little bit.

Shop for Ingredients here:

Fruit Cocktail (No Sugar Added)

Buy Now →

Granulated Sugar

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Self-Rising Flour

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How to Make Dolly Parton Cake

This comes together in about five minutes, so preheat your oven before you start.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 1.5-quart baking dish well with nonstick cooking spray or butter.
Stir the dry ingredients together in a large bowl… just the self-rising flour and the sugar.
Add the entire can of fruit cocktail, juice and all, and mixthe cake batter just until combined.

fruit cocktail added to dry ingredients in a mixing bowl

Pour batter into your prepared baking dish and spread it out gently.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the edges are bubbling. The center should be set but still soft.
Let it stand about 10 minutes before serving.
Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

fruit cocktail cake batter in an oval baking dish

Enjoy!

fruit cocktail cake on a fork with ice cream

Pro Tips

Don’t drain the can. The juice is the liquid in this fruit cocktail cake recipe. Draining it is the number one reason people end up with a dry cake.
Add a pinch of salt for balance against all that sugar. About ¼ teaspoon does it.
Watch the edges, not the clock. Ovens vary, and this cake tells you when it’s ready. Golden brown on top, bubbling at the sides.
A toothpick in the center should come out mostly clean. A few moist crumbs are fine. This is a cobbler-ish cake, not a layer cake.
For best results, serve it the day you bake it. It keeps just fine, but that crispy sugar edge is at its peak the first few hours.
Don’t double it in the same pan. A double batch in a 9×13 works great, but the bake time goes up to around 55 to 60 minutes.

Cast Iron Skillet Method

Want really crispy edges? Make it in a 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet.

Melt a tablespoon or two of butter in the skillet first, swirl it around to coat, then pour batter right on top of the melted butter. Bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes. The butter fries the bottom and the edges go deep golden brown and crackly.

It’s a little different from the original recipe, but still delicious!

Fruit Cocktail Dump Cake Method (with a Cake Mix)

Here’s another version that also only has 3 ingredients: yellow cake mix, 2 cans fruit cocktail, and butter. This Fruit Cocktail Dump Cake make a bigger dish so it’s a good option if you need to feed a crowd.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Pour 2 cans of fruit cocktail (undrained) into the dish and spread them out.
Sprinkle a box of dry cake mix evenly over the top. Yellow cake mix is the classic, and white or butter pecan are both wonderful too. Don’t stir it in!
Slice a stick of butter thin and lay the pieces all over the top of the boxed cake mix. Optional, but if you’ve got some, sprinkle on a little brown sugar too.
Bake 45 to 50 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

Variations

The base recipe is perfect as is, but here’s where you can play:

Extra maraschino cherries. If you’ve got family that can never get enough maraschino cherries, grab a small jar, drain them, and stir a handful of extra cherries into the cake batter. You can also buy Very Cherry Fruit Cocktail. And if you love maraschino cherries – be sure to try these Maraschino Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Peach version. Swap in a can of sliced peaches. This is basically a recipe for peach cobbler – see my full peach cobbler recipe here.
Brown sugar and pecans. Scatter a few tablespoons of brown sugar and some chopped pecans across the top before baking. Very Southern, very good.
A splash of vanilla. Vanilla extract makes every dessert better so if you want, mix about a teaspoon into the cake batter.
Warm, with vanilla ice cream. I know I’ve said it three times now, but I mean it.

Other things that are wonderful with it:

A big spoonful of fresh whipped cream (unsweetened is really nice here, since the cake is doing plenty)
Strong coffee, for the grownups
Tall glass of milk

It’s also a great potluck dessert because it travels well and it’s still delicious served at room temperature.

Storage Instructions

Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap, or move leftovers to an airtight container. It keeps in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

To reheat, microwave a single serving for 20 to 30 seconds, or warm the whole baking dish in a 300°F oven for about 15 minutes. The edges soften up overnight, so the next day it won’t be quite as crispy, but it’s still a moist cake and still delicious.

I don’t recommend freezing this recipe.

FAQ

Is this really Dolly Parton’s recipe?

Sort of! It comes from her character Truvy in Steel Magnolias, so it’s forever known as the Dolly Parton cake and the Steel Magnolias cake. The recipe itself is much older than the movie… it’s a classic Southern shortcut dessert that’s been around for generations.

Can I use all-purpose flour?

You can, but you’ll need to add the leavening yourself. Whisk 1 cup all-purpose flour with 1½ teaspoons baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt, and use that in place of the self-rising flour.

Is it a cake or a cobbler?

Both? Sort of. The top and edges bake up like a cake, and the middle stays soft and saucy like a fruit cocktail cobbler.

Do I have to use fruit cocktail?

Nope. Any canned fruit in juice or heavy syrup will work. Peaches, pears, pineapple, or a mixed fruit salad blend are all great. Just don’t drain the can.

Can kids make this?

Absolutely. This is one of the best beginner recipes. Older kids can do the whole thing start to finish, and little ones can pour and stir with you handling the oven.

Why is my cake dry?

Nine times out of ten, the can got drained. All the liquid in this recipe comes from that fruit cocktail juice, so it has to go in the bowl.

Can I make it less sweet?

Yes! Use fruit cocktail packed in juice rather than heavy syrup, add ¼ teaspoon of salt, and serve it with unsweetened whipped cream instead of ice cream.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tried this recipe? Please take a moment to leave a comment and a star rating below… it helps me grow my blog, and I’d be so grateful!

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