Preheat and Prepare: First things first, preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch (23x33 cm) baking dish with a little butter or a neutral oil.

Layer the Pineapple: Pour the entire tin of crushed pineapple, including the juice, into the prepared dish. Use a spatula to spread it into an even layer across the bottom. This liquid is essential for baking the cake topping properly.

Add the Strawberries and Bananas: Scatter the sliced strawberries evenly over the pineapple. Next, arrange the sliced bananas in a single layer over the strawberries.

The "Dump" Step: Now for the key part. Open your box of yellow cake mix and sprinkle the dry powder evenly over the fruit. Try to cover all the fruit right to the edges of the dish. Do not stir it in!

Dot with Butter: Take your cold, cubed butter and distribute the pieces evenly all over the surface of the dry cake mix. What works best for me is to space them out by about an inch. This ensures the entire topping gets moisture and bakes into a golden crust.

Add Toppings: Sprinkle the chopped pecans and chocolate chips over the top of the butter and cake mix. For an extra crunchy finish, I like to add a light dusting of demerara sugar at this stage.

Bake Until Golden: Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the fruit layer is bubbling vigorously at the edges and the topping is a deep golden brown.

Rest and Serve: Carefully remove the dish from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 15-20 minutes. This allows the fruity layer to set up slightly. Serve warm, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a maraschino cherry.