The city of Durango turned 450 years old on July 8, 2013, and what better way to celebrate your birthday than with a huge cake? In this case, it was the length of the cake that interested Guinnness World Records, as the city was claiming the mark for the longest fruit cake.
Adjudicator Johanna Hessling traveled to Durango, Mexico, from New York City to observe this attempt that hoped to overtake “La Casa de Chantilly,” who made a 337.02 metre-long cake in Lima, Peru, back in 2011.
Despite heavy rain, the cake-makers from bakeries across the city arrived with the ingredients needed to make this enormous treat. In total they used a dazzling 2,823 kg (6,223 lb) of flour, 1,882 kg (4,149 lb) of sugar, 2,352 kg (5,185 lb) of butter, and 941 kg (2,075 lb) of powdered mil, while the local hens worked day and night to provide the necessary 29,171 eggs!
During several painstaking hours, the cake-makers joined together the pieces of the cake and iced it before putting fresh fruit on top. The result was a beautiful and colorful cake decorated with the words "DURANGO."
Hessling measured the cake with a trundle wheel before concluding that the final measurement was 423.5 metres (1,389 ft 5 in), beating Peru’s effort by nearly 90 metres. The official certificate was handed over to the Durango State Governor, Jorge Herrera Caldera and the City Mayor Adan Soria Ramirez.
"The city members, including me, got together to discuss the best way to celebrate the city's 450th anniversary and decided to attempt the record for the longest fruit cake," said president of the National Institute of Breadmaking, Benjamín Flores Gómez. "We are excited to celebrate the city's birthday with this cake and gain a world record at the same time!"
