Anyone made a German Friendship Cake?

[Squash64]

Has anyone made a German Friendship cake?  My friend gave me one today because she is going away and won't be able to look after it.  It's a batter at the moment and has a full page of instructions of when and what to feed it.  On the last day it has to be divided, some cooked and some given away.

I was just wondering what it was like. 

[Squash64]

[small]

When we first moved here (27 years! Where did my life go?) a neighbour presented me with a starter batch of friendship cake, it was easy enough to maintain the mother, I even froze batches - the cake itself was OK but it was the idea that appealed most. I'd forgotten all about it till now. Let us know how you get on.

[Morris]

Gosh, yes, I'm feeling old now.

More than twenty years ago, well before my girls were born and the eldest is 19 now. Anyway, a colleague at work used to make them and bring them into the office. She gave me some of the starter.

I did manage to make a cake from it, but I didn't keep the starter going very long. I killed it after a few goes through lack of attention.

The cakes were nice - a bit like carrot cake, moist and fruity, so far as I remember. 

Good luck with yours!

[spatiallyaware]

OOOh, reminding me of my mis-spent childhood in Germany...
There it's called a "Hermann" - don't ask, noone seems to know where the name originated. It's a good family challenge to come up with variations on the basic recipe every 10 or so days. Enjoy!

[Duke Ellington]

I really didn't like mine. Someone gave me the starter last month....I kept it going and baked the cake. I just didn't like it ....I didn't like having to remember to attend to it....didn't like the flavour of it ....didn't like the smell of the beerrry smell of it in the kitchen.
Just call me miserable!!!! :P ;D

[PAULW]

I agree with the duke about the beery smell it was not really to my taste,having made it from scratch myself(no friends) I am not sure what it supposed to taste like, there are a few differant recipes to be found on the web one of these may be an improvement on the one I tried

[Mr Smith]

Has anyone made a German Friendship cake?  My friend gave me one today because she is going away and won't be able to look after it.  It's a batter at the moment and has a full page of instructions of when and what to feed it.  On the last day it has to be divided, some cooked and some given away.

I was just wondering what it was like. 

Squash,
                                    What is a German Friendship Cake all about?, I'm intrigued, are we still at war with Da Fatherland?,

[PurpleHeather]

This sounds very 'American' to me.

Germans are actually a friendly lot, as are the rest of the human race. Offering cake and coffee to a guest is perfectly normal in Germany

Like in the UK we always offer tea and biscuits.

Keeping something in the larder for an unexpected visitor is a perfectly normal and usual habit with all nationalities.

[Squash64]

I made the cake at the weekend.  It didn't rise much (I would use self-raising flour if I made it again) and it was too sweet for my taste. 

I took it to the allotments and put it out for people to have with their cuppas.  They all loved it and one old bloke made me feel sad because he said it was years since he'd eaten home-made cake.

The idea of it is nice, that it's part of a cake-chain, but the cake itself is nothing special. 

[shirlton]

I would much rather have your cake Betty. Folks are in for a treat if they manage to get to Walsall Rd open day in May. ;D

[Duke Ellington]

I think it would be better to send someone all the dry ingredients for a cake in a a lovely storage jar eg muffin or cookie ingredients. I know I am missing the point of it but the cake itself isn't *all that*. I also found it too sweet. My OH turned his nose up at it and he loves cake. He said he hopes the friend that gave it to me never becomes an enemy.

Duke ;D