Sour Cream Cocktail Cake

This sour cream fruit cocktail cake is the kind of mid-century pantry magic that turned cans of fruit cocktail into something better than the sum of its parts. The trick is a heavy slug of sour cream in the batter that tenderizes the crumb and balances the sweetness of the canned fruit, so the cake bakes up moist enough to last days on the counter.

The spice trio of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove gives this its grandma’s-kitchen scent. None of them dominate, they just layer warmth into the background and frame the canned fruit’s sweetness.

Folding the drained fruit cocktail in last is intentional. Stirring it into the batter mid-mix would crush the cherries and pears, which is the whole textural fun of this cake.

Kitchen Tips

• Drain the fruit cocktail thoroughly, ideally letting it sit in a sieve for 5 minutes, excess syrup makes the batter runny and the cake gummy.
• Beat the butter and sugar a full 3 to 4 minutes until visibly light and fluffy, this is where the cake gets its lift since there’s no baking powder.
• Alternate dry and wet ingredients into the batter starting and ending with flour, this protects the gluten from over-development.
• Let the cake cool only 5 minutes in the pan, much longer and the bottom can stick to the sides.

Variations

• Sprinkle a brown sugar and pecan streusel over the top before baking for a coffee-cake feel.
• Brush the warm cake with a quick caramel glaze made from butter and brown sugar.
• Swap the fruit cocktail for a 16-ounce can of crushed pineapple for a tropical version.