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.

Pumpkin Cake

2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs 2 cups sugar 3/4 cup vegetable oil 2 cups pumpkin puree

Directions:
Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together; set aside. Beat eggs and sugar together; add oil and blend well. Add flour mixture and beat well. Stir in pumpkin, blending until well-combined. Bake in a greased and floured 9x13" pan for 1 hour or until cake tests done. Cool on a wire rack and frost as desired.

Oatmeal Cake

1-1/8 cups hot water* 1 cup Quaker Quick Oats 1 cup raisins 1/2 cup butter 2 cups brown sugar (packed)

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon baking soda 1-1/4 cups flour 1/2 cup chopped nuts

* 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons

Directions:
Pour hot water over quick oats and raisins and let stand for 30 minutes. Cream butter and brown sugar together; add eggs and beat until well blended. Sift nutmeg, cloves, soda, and flour together. Stir flour mixture and nuts into egg mixture. Add oatmeal and beat by hand until well blended. Bake in a greased and floured bundt cake pan for 1 hor at 350°. Do not take cake out of pan or tip the pan until the cake is COLD.

Notes:
This recipe was given to me in 1982 by Barbara Galindo, a fellow teacher at the Santa Cruz Cooperative School in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Zucchini Spice Cake

1 box yellow cake mix 2 tablespoons oil 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice 3 eggs 1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla 2 cups grated zucchini 1 cup nuts 1 cup raisins

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, oil, spice, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix well until batter is smooth. Fold in grated zucchini, nuts and raisins. Pour into a greased and floured 9x13" cake pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool and frost as desired.

Notes:
This recipe was collected by my mother, Doris Hill. She wrote it by hand on a recipe card for her files.

I like to plump the raisins when I use them in cakes or cookies. It's easy to do and they taste much better. Put the raisins in a microwave dish with 2 tablespoons water. Microwave on high for 1 minute and let the raisins sit in the microwave until you are ready for them. Drain them well before adding them to the dough.

Applesauce Spice Cake

1 cup applesauce
3/4 cup brown sugar (or Splenda/brown sugar mixture)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon. cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powdered cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
Put the raisins in a microwavable dish with 2 tablespoons water. Microwave them on high for a minute and let them stand for five minutes. Meanwhile, blend applesauce, sugar, and oil in a large mixer bowl. Add remaining ingredients except nuts and raisins. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Discard any remaining water from the raisins; fold in raisins and nuts. Pour into greased and floured 9x9-inch cake pan; bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes. Great with or without frosting.

Notes:
This is a moist, delicious cake. It is so easy to make that kids can do it. In fact, this was one of my daughter's tried and true recipes when she was about 10 years old.