Hawaiian Goulash

This one's not for the faint of heart...or fat and calorie watchers.
This one IS for those who love tropical, refreshing flavors that satisfy the sweet tooth.

You know how sometimes you try to make something and it ends up a complete failure? So then you try to salvage it in any way possible...and people RAVE about how tasty it is? That is this recipe. It is an "original" with me because alas, I failed to bake a cake once. So I had to turn it into a trifle and added a few things. But I've not found one person that doesn't like it yet! It refrigerates well and serves alot!

2 cups sour cream
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 pkg flaked coconut (14 oz)
1 pkg yellow cake mix (18 oz)
1 pkg orange gelatin (3 oz)
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 can mandarine oranges
2 large cans pineapple chunks
1 banana (0ptional)

1) Preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl, combine sour cream, sugar, and orange juice; mix well. Fold in coconut, mixing well. Cover and refrigerate.

2) In another mixing bowl, combine dry cake mix, gelatin powder, water, oil, and eggs; mix well. Pour into greased 9x13 or two greased 9" pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire cooling rack. Cool completely.

3) Using a serrated bread knife, cut cake into 1" or smaller cubes. Reserve 1 cup of the coconut filling. Crumble enough cubes to cover bottom of punch/serving bowl. Spread some of the coconut filling over cake pieces. Disburse mandarine slices, pineapple chunks, and banana slices (if using) over coconut filling, not covering it completely. Crumble more cake to cover fruit and coconut filling and continue with another coconut filling and fruit layer. End with a cake layer on top.

4) Using a beater, beat 1 cup heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into reserved cup of coconut filling. Spread evenly over top layer of cake. Arrange mandarine slices and pineapple chunks in a pretty design. Refrigerate. To serve, just use a big spoon to get all the goodness of the layers heapin' on plate!

Yummy. That's all I have to say.

Tips:
~Coat banana slices (if using) with lemon or lime juice to slow the browning process.
~Use as little or as much mandarine and pineapple as you like. The point of the fruit is to compliment the orange flavored cake and creamy coconut filling as well as add a different texture...not to overpower and be the main event of the trifle.
~This thing is even good several days later!