30-Day Friendship Cake Recipe: A Delicious Fruitcake Adventure

Ingredients

• 2 cups Friendship Fruit Starter
• 1 (15 ounce) can sliced peaches with juice
• 5.5 cups white sugar, divided
• 1 (15 ounce) can pineapple chunks with juice
• 2 (10 ounce) jars maraschino cherries, drained
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour for dusting
• 2 (15.25 ounce) packages yellow cake mix
• 8 large eggs
• 1.33 cups vegetable oil
• 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 cups golden raisins
• 2 cups chopped walnuts
• 2 cups flaked coconut

Instructions

1. Day One: Transfer the starter to a large glass jar or bowl. Gently pour peach juice over the starter. Cut each peach slice into quarters and add them to the starter-juice mix. Stir in 2 1/2 cups of sugar until thoroughly combined. Cover the jar loosely with a clean kitchen towel. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 10 days, stirring once daily. Placing a pan of water under the jar can help prevent ants.
2. Day Ten: Pour pineapple juice over the starter mixture. Cut each pineapple slice in half and add it to the starter mixture. Stir in 1/2 cup of sugar until well combined. Let the mixture sit, loosely covered, at room temperature for 10 days, stirring once each day. You should notice a change in color, and the mixture should foam slightly when stirred.
3. Day Twenty: Slice each maraschino cherry in half and incorporate them into the starter mixture. Stir in the remaining 2 1/2 cups of sugar until fully combined. Allow it to sit, loosely covered, at room temperature for the final 10 days, stirring once each day. The color will gradually turn pink due to the cherries.
4. Day Thirty: Drain the liquid from the fruit and divide it into 3 glass or ceramic pint jars — one for you to use for your next cake and two to share with friends. Set the fruit aside.
5. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9x13-inch baking dishes.
6. In a large bowl, beat together 1 box of cake mix, 4 eggs, 2/3 cup of oil, and 1 package of instant pudding until well combined. Mix in half of the reserved fruit. Stir in 1 cup of raisins, 1 cup of nuts, and 1 cup of coconut until evenly distributed; the batter will be thick. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Repeat this process for the second cake.
7. Bake the cakes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, approximately 55 to 65 minutes.

Nutrition

• Calories: 346 kcal
• Fat Content: 14 g
• Fiber Content: 1 g
• Sugar Content: 39 g
• Sodium Content: 220 mg
• Protein Content: 3 g
• Cholesterol Content: 31 mg
• Carbohydrate Content: 56 g
• Saturated Fat Content: 3 g
• Unsaturated Fat Content: 0 g