Ugly Duckling Cake for a Mid-Week Brunch

April 05, 2025

Happy Hour and Dessert in Capitol Hill

Happy Hour Street Tacos with Carne Asada and a Miami Vice from Poquitos. Poquitos is located in Capitol Hill and they're serving up authentic Mexican cuisine and cocktails. Their happy hour deal is a good one- during Ocho hour, everything on the happy hour menu is just $8! I went with a Miami Vice, a classic Pina Colada with Strawberry. This blended cocktail was so fruity and delicious. To eat I had two Carne Asada Street Tacos and a Birria Poquitos Burrito. The Burrito was small and served with a side of Consommé sauce. Both food items were tasty and satisfying. My husband also had some Street Tacos and a Margarita from the happy hour menu. My sons had a Cheese Quesadilla and beans and rice. Everyone enjoyed their dinner. I first visited Poquitos in 2012, also for happy hour, and I remembered liking it then, too. It was time for a meal there again. For dessert, we walked about ten minutes west to Voodoo Doughnut . The Seattle location opened late last ye...

There's something special and comforting about using recipes from one's childhood. Especially baking cakes. Ugly Duckling Cake was a favorite of my family when I was growing up. I've made it a few times for my husband and he loves it, too. The ingredients and the name are unsophisticated, it uses a yellow cake mix, a can of fruit cocktail and coconut for the cake part, but the flavors blend deliciously together. I decided to do a mid-week brunch and have the cake as the sweet element. I also made scrambled eggs with cheese, turkey sausage, Hawaiian sweet rolls, yogurt and granola parfaits with strawberries, and Pineapple Mimosas. I kind of planned the brunch around the cake and played up the tropical element a little. The flavors all went well together and now my sons like the cake, too.

Ugly Duckling Cake

1 package yellow cake mix

1 can fruit cocktail

2 1/3 c. coconut

2 eggs

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2c. butter

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. evaporated milk

Combine cake mix, fruit cocktail with juice, 1 cup of the coconut and the eggs in large mixing bowl. Blend; beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Pour into greased 13x9 inch pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Bring butter, sugar, milk to a boil in small saucepan. Boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add remaining coconut. Spoon over hot cake in pan.