Tornado Cake (Texas)

Have you ever found yourself with unexpected guests stopping by - and you need to scramble to get dinner and dessert made - but don’t have time to run to the supermarket? That’s when we turn to our pantry - or more accurately, our “cantry” - and grab a variety of canned ingredients we always keep on hand to prepare something delicious and nutritious. Texas Tornado Cake is a classic old-fashioned recipe. I’ve seen it also called Do Nothing Cake because you literally stir and bake. Because the recipe was invented in the 1940s when baking required a lot of measuring and weighing, this cake was about as close to “do nothing” as it could get. Tornado cake is a moist cake filled with crushed pineapple and topped with a decadent sweet coconut frosting.

Cake:
1½ cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
2 cups canned fruit, drained (such as 1 cup canned peaches + 1 cup canned pears cut into large dice)
2 tsp. baking soda
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup nuts, chopped

Coconut Icing:
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) butter
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup canned evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C/140°C fan, Gas Mark 3). Grease and flour a 9x13" glass baking dish.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add granulated sugar, eggs, flour, canned fruit and baking soda. On low speed, mix until just combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl as needed.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish spreading evenly in the pan.

In a small bowl combine brown sugar and nuts. Sprinkle nut mixture over the batter in the baking dish.

Bake in a preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until the cake is firm in the middle.

While the cake is baking, prepare the Coconut Icing by combining the butter, coconut, brown sugar and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and allow to boil for 2 minutes. Turn heat to low and keep the icing warm, stirring occasionally, until the cake is done baking.

Once the cake is done, remove from the oven and pour the icing over the top of the hot cake.

Allow the cake to cool, then cut into squares.