When Ann and Ken Fredericks got married on August 19, 1955, they started a tradition that would last them the next 60 years.
After enjoying a slice of their wedding cake at their reception, the couple saved the top tier to be consumed on their first anniversary.
But they didn't stop there. For the past 60 years, Ann and Ken have shared a slice of the original cake on Aug. 19.
"Every year we do this — usually by ourselves — and we have a bottle of champagne and a piece of cake," Ken, 85, says in the video above by Florida Today Communications.
The cake – a three-tiered dark fruit cake – was baked by Ann's grandmother a full two months before the couple got married, ABC News reports.
"It tastes like cake... it tastes like dark fruit cake [and] dark fruit cake has a totally different taste from the cakes of today," Ann, 81, says.
Fruit cake is considered a traditional wedding cake that can last for years when stored correctly, food researcher Ben Chapman of North Carolina State University explains. Fruit cake is baked very slowly, allowing water to evaporate from the cake over time. Less water means fewer opportunities for bacteria to develop and reproduce.
While most wedding cakes can be preserved in a freezer for a year or two, fruit cake doesn't require the deep freeze. Ann and Ken tightly wrap the cake in plastic wrap before putting it in an old coffee tin with a tight lid. The packaged cake is then kept in the cupboard above the couple's fridge. Ann says the cake has definitely gotten drier over the years, but the couple keeps it moist with a splash of brandy every year.
Would you eat a wedding cake that was years old? Let us know in the comments below.
Also on HuffPost:
