Forever friends cake

[jazzidoodle]

Does anyone have a recipe for the starter and for the cake.  My mother in law gave me one years ago , you had to keep feeding it, even took it on holiday!  It must have died, or I killed it and I have lost the recipe, but remember that it was such a lovely moist cake.

Anyone remember this and unlike me kept the recipe?

[jazzidoodle]

[Mimi]

I remember having this in the 70's.  Made a lovely cake but you had to keep makeing the cakes and worst of all.... eating it and I got fed up with it after a while (and put on weight).  Would be interested to see if anyone knows the recipe for the starter.

[Jeannine]

Yes I do..there are a couple of starter recipes actually but the simple one is a 10 day one,The other takes 3 weeks.

Use a cup that is 8fluid ounces or 250ml for both dry and wet ingredients

1 packet or 1 tablespoon yeast
1 cup plain  flour
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar

Place in a LARGE non metal container and wooden  spoons to mix, stir to combine .Don't refrigerate.

Day 1..start  as above
Day 2 -5 stir daily with wooden spoon
Day 6..Add 1 cup of  plain flour,1 cup sugar,1cup milk.Use wooden spoon.
Day 7-9 Stir daily wth wooden spoon
Day 10..Add 1 cup flour,1 cup sugar,1cup milk,stir with wooden spoon.

Take out 3 cups, place in three differnt containers and share 2 with friends, save 1 for yourself , this will be your next starter.

To the balance which will be a little more than 1 cup  you make your cake.
Add..
1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 5ml teaspoon vanilla.

In a seperate bowl mix the dry stuff..
2 cups  plain flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda UK)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts

Combine wet with dry

Pour into 2 well buttered loaf pans and bake for1 hour at 325f

There are tons of variations, many change the flavour of the instant pudding which help makes the cakes moist texture but I found when in the UK the flavours where very limited. Vanilla and chocolate was all I found.

Some that don't change the pudding or use the two above are

1.Omit vanilla pudding and cinnamon and add two mashed bananas
2.Omit vanilla pudding and cinnamon and add chocolate pudding, 3 teaspoons cocoa and 3/4 cup chocolate chips.
3.Add 1 small chopped apple and 1 cup raisins
4.Omit  vanilla puddingand and add 1/2 cup of chocolate chipsand 1/2 cup coconut.

I have about 20 more variations including lemon,courgette etc etc..

XX Jeannine

Oh I forgot, give a copy of the instructions to your friend and feed your own one as in the starter.

I have kept my starter going for years, it has crossed the pond twice, in a 100 ml container of course.

If you want to stop making for a while, drop the feeds to tablespoons rather than cups, then when you start up again your  first cake should use about 1 1/2 cups. My starter has more in sometimes so I work on 1 1/2 cups when making my cakes If I share it I just take 1 cup out.I don't bother splitting into 3 anymore but that is the right way.
XX

[grannyjanny]

I've never heard of this one sounds interesting :). I think we need to refer to Jeannine as The Oracle, just ask & she comes up with the answer :).

[jazzidoodle]

i was banking on you jeannine could i trouble you for the recipe please?

[Jeannine]

Ha Ha, you will be asking me for Bible cake next.

If you can find more types of pudding I can give you tons of variations,,play around with it. You can erase the pudding completely but you may have to add a wee bit more flour.This is a US version, there is also a UK one that doesn't use the pudding and I think there is a German one..google a bit if this is not waht you want XX Jeannine

[tricia]

Did you miss out the instant vanilla pudding from the recipe Jeannine? Or am I reading it all wrong? I've never bought a vanilla pudding so wouldn't know what to buy!

Tricia

[Jeannine]

Oh eck. yes I did, in the UK and Canada it is Jello pudding, not the Jello as in gealtine (jelly in the UK) and not the cooked one which Jello also make. This is an instant one that you whip and serve. It makes the cake very moist.

Dr Oetker (I think that is right) make it for the UK and there are others made in the UK.. Royal make some;

You need a size about 5 ounces..not too crucial.

Try it without but the cake may be a tad drier.. not dry... but the pudding makes it very moist without seeming underdone. You mix it in dry with the flour ..don't make it up.

Just looked online at tescos.


Winary Vanilla Pudding 60 gram, I know that works for sure'


Dr Oetker  I bought in the UK but Tesco doesn't have it , I also bought it in Holland.They work fine and come in many flavours, you need the no cook one not the cooked one.

Tesco also has Angel Delight which may be too mousselike but I might try  try it with and without and it also comes in several flavours which would tempt me. Doubtful though.

I know there is another one but cannot remember the name, it is cold whipped with milk. It might come to me later

I used to have my puddings shipped over. if I needed different flavours.

link is for US stuff in the UK..expensive but so you can see what I am talking about..not the galatine one though.. Jello Instant pudding

                http://www.americansweets.co.uk    then tap Jello  in the search..scroll down to pictures

[jazzidoodle]

Many thanks for the recipes!  It is a wonderful site.

[tricia]

Thanks Jeannine, I'll check out the supermarkets for instant puddings.

Tricia

[Jitterbug]

I use to have this recipe in South Africa and add a cup/tin of fruit - apple or peach (minus the liquid) - and I never use to add nuts - this makes a lovely moist cake/pudding - serve hot with cream and/or custard.

Yummy - I am off to start up my starter again in time for lovely winter puds.

Jitterbug

[galina]

A friend gave me a very similar cake starter, called HERMAN FRIENDSHIP CAKE.  I later found the instructions on the web and it is very similar to Jeannine's recipe.  It is possible to freeze a starter portion to suspend making cakes for a bit.  I have done this and it came out of the freezer and started bubbling again as soon as it was warm.  The yeast gives this cake an interesting flavour, my kids thought there was alcohol in it!

Thank you for the pudding suggestions and the tinned peach suggestion.  The recipe that came with mine only suggests chopped nuts and chopped apple.  The chocolate version sounds interesting too.  This is a very different cake from any other, and the sharing idea is a very nice one too.

[gwynleg]

This site is so brilliant. I have just been given a Herman cake and fed it today so this is very topical. Delighted to find out you can freeze the feeder bit. The recipe I have suggests 100g raisins - I suppose any fruit would do?  It sounds below like you can make it more puddingy by putting more moist fruit - is that the case?

I am not a good experimenter - it usually ends in disaster. I like to follow a recipe!

[galina]

This site is so brilliant. I have just been given a Herman cake and fed it today so this is very topical. Delighted to find out you can freeze the feeder bit. The recipe I have suggests 100g raisins - I suppose any fruit would do?  It sounds below like you can make it more puddingy by putting more moist fruit - is that the case?
I am not a good experimenter - it usually ends in disaster. I like to follow a recipe!

We all agreed that 150 or 200gr raisins is better.  When I made it first I only had a packet of dried cranberries to hand, so substituted that and it turned out delicious too.  I think this is a fairly forgiving basic recipe that you can experiment with.  I have made it with two portions of starter and one portion of the things you add before baking.  Tasted slightly stronger, but better in my opinion.  Mother in law made it with hardly any oil and that worked too.  Just tasted a little more like fruit bread.  I guess fewer dried fruit and more chopped apples works too.  Have fun!  The test of sticking a knitting needle in at the end of the baking time to see whether the cake is done applies here too.