(Making and) Taking the Cake

[robotech_master]

Well, just got back from church service. This one happened to be the "yearly guilt trip" service—i.e. the fund drive reminder. But one thing that I did find out that was of interest was that this afternoon is the church's Thanksgiving Dinner. The pastor asked folks who come to bring "Thanksgiving-style" desserts if they can—whatever that means. I foresee about a zillion pumpkin pies and very little else on the dessert table...which is why I'm going to make a recipe that brought my Dad a lot of acclaim when he brought it to church or square-dance potluck dinners back when I was staying with them. It's one of those recipes that seems like it cheats the Law of Cooking that goes "there is a direct proportion between the amount of effort put into a dish and how good it is"—because it's exceedingly delicious and the instructions amount to "just dump a whole lot of stuff into a cake pan and shove it in the oven." It's sort of the dessert equivalent of one of those "stew with biscuit topping" casseroles you can buy at grocery stores.

Anyway, here's the recipe, just as I got it from my Dad, for those of you who might want to try it for yourselves. (If you do, please let me know how well it goes over!)

DAD'S DUMP CAKE

Dump into a 9" x 13" cake pan:
20 oz. can crushed pineapple
21 oz. can cherry pie filling (or other flavor)

Sprinkle on top:
1 18 to 20 oz. box cake mix (NOTE: Many use yellow cake mix, but I like to use dark chocolate.)

Pour over it:
2 sticks (or 1/2 lb.) melted butter.

Sprinkle over all:
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Bake at 325 for 1 hour, 20 minutes. Serve with a serving spoon.