Thirty-Day Friendship Cake

Ingredients

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

Instructions

1. 1

   Day One: Place starter into a large glass jar or bowl. Strain peach juice over starter. Cut each peach slice into 4 pieces and add to starter-juice mixture. Stir in 2 1/2 cups sugar until combined. Cover the jar loosely with a clean dish towel. Let sit at room temperature for 10 days, stirring once each day. A pan of water underneath the jar will keep ants out.

2. 2

   Day Ten: Strain pineapple juice over starter mixture. Cut each pineapple in half and add to starter mixture. Stir in 1/2 cup sugar until combined. Let sit, loosely covered, at room temperature for 10 days, stirring once each day. The color should change and mixture should foam when stirred.

3. 3

   Day Twenty: Slice each maraschino cherry in half and add to starter mixture. Stir in remaining 2 1/2 cups sugar until combined. Let sit, loosely covered, at room temperature for the final 10 days, stirring once each day. The color will turn slightly pink from the cherries.

4. 4

   Day Thirty: Drain liquid from fruit and pour into 3 glass or ceramic pint jars — one for you to make your next cake and two for friends. Set aside fruit.

5. 5

   Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9x13-inch baking dishes.

6. 6

   Beat together 1 box cake mix, 4 eggs, 2/3 cup oil, and 1 package instant pudding in a large bowl until well combined. Mix in 1/2 of the reserved fruit. Stir in 1 cup raisins, 1 cup nuts, and 1 cup coconut until incorporated; batter will be stiff. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Repeat this step for second cake.

7. 7

   Bake cakes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes.