Fermented Friendship Fruit Cake

I have never been a fan of fruit cake before, however, until I tried this fruit cake.  It is so unimaginably good! It is impossible to eat just one bite at a time. I know it takes a long time to get it ready, but believe me, it is well worth the wait!!!

Prep time: 30 days

Cook time: 1 hr 30 min

Fermented Fruit:

• 1 pint Friendship Fruit Cake Starter
• 1 16-oz. can sliced peaches in light syrup, with liquid – do not drain
• 1 16-oz. can pineapple chunks in pineapple juice, with liquid – do not drain
• 2 10-oz. jars maraschino cherries, drained and halved
• 7 1/2 cups sugar, divided

Cake Batter:

• 8 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
• 2 boxes Duncan Hines Butter yellow cake mix
• 2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding
• 2 cups chopped pecans 
• 2 cups chopped walnuts
• 2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
• 2 cups raisins

Day One

Date: ______

Pour 2 cups Starter into a large glass jar. Cut peaches into chunks then add peaches and liquid from the can into jar.  Add 2 1/2 cups sugar and stir well. Cover jar with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels and secure with a rubber band (do not seal lid tightly as the mixture needs air to ferment). Stir mixture once each day for 10 days.

Day Ten

Date: ______

Add pineapple chunks (cut them in half), with liquid to the jar.  Add 2 1/2 cups sugar and stir well. Cover jar with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels and secure with a rubber band (do not seal lid tightly as the mixture needs air to ferment). Stir mixture once each day for 10 more days.

Day Twenty

Date: ______

Add drained and halved cherries to the jar.  Add 2 1/2 cups sugar and stir well. Cover jar with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels and secure with a rubber band (do not seal lid tightly as the mixture needs air to ferment). Stir mixture once each day for ten more days.

Day Thirty – Time to Bake!

Date: ______

Grease and flour 4 small (8-inch, 6-cup) or 2 regular (10-inch, 12-cup) bundt pans*. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Drain fruit, reserving liquid to be given away as Starter (should yield 3-4 pints of liquid).

You might want to make one cake at a time because it is easier to mix that way. Combine 4 eggs and 2/3 cup oil in a large bowl and mix well.  Add 1 box cake mix and vanilla pudding mix and stir until combined (small lumps are OK).  Stir in 1/2 fruit mixture, 1 cup walnuts, 1 cup pecans, 1 cup coconut and 1 cup raisins.

Divide batter evenly into small pans or fill one full size bundt pan. Bake at 300 degrees until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (45-50 minutes for small, 70-90 minutes for large).  

Remove cakes from oven and cool in pans. Invert cakes onto serving plates. Store cakes in an air-tight container or cover with plastic wrap.  Freeze for up to three months.

*I like to make 4 small cakes. I keep one for myself and give the other three away with pints of the starter and copies of the recipe.

Friendship Cake Starter

Don’t have any Starter? Start your own!

1 16-oz. can pineapple chunks, drained

1 16-oz. can apricots, drained

1 16-oz. can sliced peaches, drained and cut into chunks

1 10-oz. jar maraschino cherries, drained

1 1/4 cups brandy

1 1/4 cups sugar

Combine all ingredients in a large glass jar and stir well. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and let stand at room temperature for three weeks. Stir mixture 2-3 times each week.

Drain fruit, reserving liquid (Starter). Serve fruit over pound cake or ice cream or anything else that suits your fancy. Pour reserved liquid into a pint-sized jar and give to a friend with the recipe for the Friendship Fruit Cake or use it yourself to make the cake and more starter.