Friendship Cake

Friendship Cake

 

(read a related story here:  https://wp.me/p1lazE-5S)

 

Tip: if you are going to do this, I suggest that you have all ingredients handy before you start. You don’t want to wake up on day 20 and realize you forgot to pick up your fruit cocktail and cherries. When it says “Add fruit cocktail and cherries on day 20″ it means day 20, not day 21.

 

Friendship Starter Juice

 

4 oranges, sectioned and coarsely chopped

 

2 peaches, peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped (1 cup)

 

2 pears, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped (1 cup)

 

1/2 cup cranberries or red grapes, halved and seeded

 

3/4 cup granulated sugar

 

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

 

2 tbsp. Amaretto, pear brandy or brandy

 

1 package active dry yeast

 

Combine all ingredients in bowl and stir in yeast. Cover loosely with clear plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours, stirring occasionally. Store in refrigerator for at least one week. Stir once a day. Strain off 2 cups (one pint) liquid for starter juice. Remaining fruit and juice can be served over ice cream or layered with pudding for parfait. Do not eat fermented fruit uncooked.

 

Friendship Cake

 

1 pint starter juice

 

16 oz. sliced peaches, cut in small pieces with juice

 

16 oz. chunk pineapple and juice

 

5 cups sugar, divided

 

10 oz. maraschino cherries, drained and sliced

 

Day 1

 

Pour one pint of starter into a gallon glass jar. Add peaches and juice. Stir everyday for 10 days. Cover jar with saucer and leave at room temperature. DO NOT COVER TIGHTLY.

 

Day 10

 

Add pineapple and juice plus 2 1/2 cups sugar. Stir for 10 more days. The color will change and the fruit will foam as you stir it.

 

Day 20

 

Add maraschino cherries, drained. Add 2 1/2 cups sugar. Stir everyday for the final 10 days. The cherries will give back the pink color.

 

Day 31

 

You are ready to share your starter and bake a cake your starter. Drain the fruit, pour into three pint jars. Keep one and share two. Cake must be started three days after receiving the starter. If you have a friend or neighbor with whom you want to share the cakes but don’t feel they will want to follow through with the 30 day process for making the cakes themselves, then bake the cakes for them and deliver. But, that means that you will have tostart over with making more starter before you can start baking more cakes.

 

Ingredients for one cake:

 

1 box Duncan Hines Golden Cake mix

 

1 box vanilla instant pudding

 

4 eggs

 

2/3 cup cooking oil

 

1 cup fruit, drained

 

1 cup walnuts

 

1 cup pecans

 

1 cup raisins

 

1 cup coconut

 

Mix first ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Pour into a greased and floured 10-inch tube or bundt pan. Bake in a 300 degree preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours or until toothpick comes out clean.