- 2 cups Friendship Fruit Starter
- 1 (15 ounce) can sliced peaches with juice
- 2 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 (15 ounce) can pineapple chunks with juice
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 (10 ounce) jars maraschino cherries
- 2 1/2 cups white sugar
- 2 (18.25 ounce) packages yellow cake mix
- 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
- 8 eggs
- 2 cups golden raisins
- 2 cups chopped walnuts
- 2 cups flaked coconut
- Day One: In a large glass jar or bowl, combine 2 cups of the starter with 1 can of the sliced peaches and their juice (each slice chopped into 4 pieces). Add 2 1/2 cups of the white sugar and stir once every day for 10 days. When not stirring mixture, keep it covered with a paper towel, foil, or a loose lid. Let sit at room temperature. Don't refrigerate it or cover it airtight. A pan of water underneath the jar or bowl will keep the ants out.
- Day Ten: Add 1 can of chunk pineapple and it's juice. Cut each chunk of pineapple in half. Stir in 1/2 cup of white sugar. Stir once everyday for 10 days. The color should change, and the mixture should foam when stirred.
- Day Twenty: Slice each cherry in half, and stir in. Add 2 1/2 cups of the white sugar. Stir once every day for the final 10 days. The cherries will give the juice back its pinkish color.
- Day Thirty: Drain fruit and reserve it and the liquid. The fruit will be used in the cake. Pour the liquid into 3 glass or ceramic pint jars. One for you to start your next cake, and two for friends. Cake must be started within 3 days after receiving the starter, or you should freeze the starter to use at a later date. Do not use plastic or metal containers to store liquid!
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9×13 inch baking pans.
- It's best to mix the two cakes separately. Combine 1 box of the cake mix, 1 box of the instant vanilla pudding, 2/3 cup of the vegetable oil, and 4 of the eggs. Stir, then add 1/2 of the drained reserved fruit from the starter. Stir, then add 1 cup of the golden raisins, 1 cup of the chopped nuts and 1 cup of the coconut. Stir until all ingredients are combined. The batter will be stiff. Pour batter into the prepared cake pan. Repeat for cake number two.
- Bake cakes at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 55 to 65 minutes.