Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Amish Friendship Cake

Day 1: Combine the following ingredients in a large glass jar, cover with a clean cloth, and store at room temperature:

2 cups plain white flour (not self-rising)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar

Day 2, 3, and 4: Stir the batter each day.

Day 5 Add the same ingredients as the first day.

Day 6, 7, 8, and 9: Stir the batter each day.

Day 10: Take out 3 cups of batter and give 1 cup to each of 3 friends with a copy of the following recipe. Use the remaining batter to make yourself a cake too, or add the Day 1 ingredients and start over.

1 cup friendship batter
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt.

Stir well. Then add 1 cup of any of the following:
Raisins, chocolate chips, chopped apple, chopped nuts, or crushed pineapple

Pour batter into a greased and floured 11x13-inch pan. Mix the following topping and spread on top of the batter:

1/4 cup margarine
1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon flour
1 cup brown sugar

Notes:
The batter that you start on day 1 must be kept at room temperature. It will get bubbly, but it should be discarded if any mold grows. It is a sourdough starter -- that is, it is a culture where wild yeast from the air can grow and multiply. This recipe was given to me with a cup of starter by my Mennonite neighbor, Kathryn Burkholder.

Another great Easy Recipe

Love At Home

There is beauty all around
When there's love at home.
There is joy in every sound
When there's love at home.

Roses bloom beneath our feet,
All the earth is a garden sweet,
Making life a bliss complete,
When there's love at home.

-- John Hugh McNaughton (1829-1891)