Fruit Cocktail Cake

This is an old classic that my grandmother used to make for my dad as a little boy (circa 1950s).  It's perfect with coffee and tea for a morning brunch or as a dessert later in the day.  I've played with the recipe a bit to make it easier to put together.  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients for cake:
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/2 cans fruit cocktail (15 oz cans)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Ingredients for glaze topping:
6 Tbsp salted butter
5 oz Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk


Directions for cake:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray 9x13" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Combine sugar, flour, baking soda.  Add eggs and juice from cans of fruit cocktail (1 1/2 cans worth).  Stir until smooth.
3. Fold in fruit cocktail and stir well.
4. Pour batter into baking pan.  Sprinkle with walnuts and brown sugar, then place in oven for approx. 45 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and top with glaze topping (see directions below) when still warm.

Directions for glaze topping:
1. Melt butter in small saucepan on medium heat.  Once melted, add sweetened condensed milk.  Stir.
2. Stand near-by and stir frequently, combining, as you bring it to a boil.  Once it reaches rolling boil, remove from heat.  (make sure to do this before the ingredients separate...if you leave it boiling too long the butter will separate from the milk and the milk will curdle up)  It should look nice and smooth, like this.

3. Pour glaze topping over warm cake, let sit a bit, then serve.

Let me know what you think of it...some of these old recipes simply cannot be beat.  Do you have any old family recipes that have lasted for generations?  I'd love to hear what your family favorites are.