Punch-bowl cake

This simple recipe was in my local newspaper some time ago. It comes from the cookbook Down-Home Southern Girl by Queenie Payne. It's really good, and it's easy! Be sure to use butter cake. It's good! :)

(It is, of course, supposed to be made in a punch bowl. I made it for an outdoor party and didn't want it to be in anything that could tip over; so I just used a regular bowl.)

Note: Because my bowl wasn't quite large enough to hold all of the ingredients, I also made a smaller one. I didn't have enough cherries, however. Instead, I put sliced bananas for that layer. It was different, but also good. There are tons of variations that you could think of.

Ingredients:
1 box butter cake mix
1 15-ounce can crushed pineapple
1 15-ounce can cherry pie filling
1 large box instant vanilla pudding
1 16-ounce container whipped topping, thawed
Pecans, optional

Instructions:
Bake cake according to instructions on box. Divide into three parts. Crumble first part in bottom of punch bowl. Pour prepared vanilla pudding over it. Crumble second part of cake on top of pudding, and then add pineapple over it. Crumble third part of cake, and then pour pie filling over that. Then spread topping on top. You may shake nuts on top if you like. Chill until ready to serve.