Canned Fruit Is The Secret To Dolly Parton's Famous 3-Ingredient Cake

Dolly Parton is famous for many reasons, including, of course, her iconic singing career. But she's also associated with a delicious, three-ingredient cake. In the film "Steel Magnolias," Parton plays a hairdresser, Truvy Jones, who, in one scene, tells the clients in the salon about the Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa cake.

The Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa Cake is so simple that, as Truvy explains, you won't even need to write down the ingredients — it consists of one cup of flour, one cup of sugar, and one cup of a fruit cocktail (with the juice included) — this is fitting, seeing as one of the unexpected uses for a fruit cocktail is to bake it into a cake. However, be careful about just how much juice you let into the batter — a batter that isn't too runny will yield a better, more cake-like consistency. From there, Truvy explains, "Mix and bake at 350 till gold and bubbly." Getting the cake to the "gold and bubbly" texture will take between 35 to 45 minutes.

The result is one tasty dessert despite its simplicity. There is quite a lot of sweetness, thanks to both the sugar and the fruit cocktail, so keep that in mind — this recipe may be best for those with the biggest sweet tooths. As for the consistency, the cake is a bit dense — which makes sense, as there's no leavening agents (such as baking powder or baking soda) in it, so keep that in mind as well.

In "Steel Magnolias," Truvy jokes that she serves the cake with ice cream to "cut the sweetness." So, you may as well follow Parton's lead and serve this cake with ice cream. Vanilla ice cream is always a delicious choice, but you can also branch out and try a sorbet to match the fruitiness of the cake. Perhaps a peach, cherry, or pineapple sorbet — each of these fruits are commonly found in fruit cocktails. Or, maybe you're someone who thinks that chocolate makes any dessert better — if this is you, feel free to pair the cake with chocolate ice cream.

Another way to incorporate chocolate is to drizzle the cake with hot fudge sauce — as long as you're looking to add even more sweetness to the already sweet dessert. Another sweet component you can add is salted caramel sauce — although this will also bring in that salty element, which can help balance out all that sweetness. Or, you can bring in some tanginess and pair the cake with a topping of something like lemon curd. Feel free to top with a dollop of whipped cream too.