Couple Celebrates 61 Years of Marriage by Eating Their Original Wedding Cake
"We still go to bed at night and we snuggle,” said Ann Fredericks.
— -- This Satellite Beach, Florida, couple certainly has their cake and eats it, too!
After 61 years of marriage, Ann and Ken Fredericks still celebrate their anniversary by eating a piece of their original wedding cake.
“It’s finally gotten down to a pretty small piece,” Ann told ABC News of the cake that’s dwindled away over the years.
However, it’s a tasty tradition they hope to continue for years to come -- if it lasts.
“We’re beginning to think we may outlive the tradition,” she laughed. “I’m 82 and my husband is 86 and this year was our 61st wedding anniversary. The cake is only like 3 inches by 4 inches, what we have left of it. So we both enjoyed a very small piece. I’m torn between eating and having it over with or making it last. And then we said, ‘You know, it would be fun if we outlive it.’ That would be a goal for us.”
The happy couple wed on Aug. 19, 1955, and claim the dark fruit cake made by Ann’s grandmother is just as tasty now as it was then -- although the coloring is a bit different.
“It tastes fine. It’s never been in the refrigerator or the freezer,” Ann explained. “I keep it wrapped in saran wrap. When we started the tradition it used to be wax paper because that’s all we had back then. It doesn’t spoil. Dark fruit cake is made with brandy and it’s made with enough alcohol in it so it doesn’t spoil. But let me tell you -- it looks black. It’s that dark now after all these years.”
It’s been preserved for generations thanks to her grandmother’s recipe, which Ann wishes she had to this day.
“The caterer at the reception gave my mother the top tier of our cake. My grandmother made it,” she recalled. “She used her recipe and I wish I had that recipe. It hung in her cellar in cheesecloth to age and then it was taken to a baker and sealed with an almond glaze. Dark fruit cake is moist and it will bleed through regular white frosting. It was glazed with almond glaze then topped with white icing.”
Each year, the Fredericks pour a shot of brandy over the slice of cake to re-moisten it. It’s safe to say that’s one of their ingredients to such a healthy marriage.
“Here we are in our 80s and we still love each other. We still go to bed at night and we snuggle,” said Ann.
“We’ve raised three children, put them all through college and we’ve got nine grandchildren. We’ve had a really fortunate life,” she added.