Recipe: Friendship Cake w/Starter, Friendship Fruit Cake w/starter, Amish Friendship Starter (2024)

The Friendship Cake Starter:

2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup flour

Mix in plastic or glass container with tight lid. Cover, store at room temperature for 17 days, stirring once a day.
After that, leave undisturbed for 1 day.

Stir again daily for 3 days. Add 1 cup each of sugar, milk, and flour. Stir the next 4 days.

Add another cup of each sugar, milk and flour.

Mix well. Give 1 cup each to 2 friends, use 1 cup to make a cake or use as base for another batch of starter.

The Friendship Cake:
1 cup starter
2/3 cup oil
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups chopped (apples, or blueberries, cherries, pineapple, peaches, or any kind of fruit)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 to 1 cup nuts (opt.)

Combine all ingredients until well mixed.Grease and flour a bundt or loaf pan. Pour batter into pan and bake in preheated oven 350 until cake tests done 40 to 50 min.Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out and continue cooling.

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HERE IS ANOTHER VERSION

Friendship Fruit Starter

One 20 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained
16 oz. can peach slices, drained16 oz. can apricot halves, drained
10 oz. jar maraschino cherries, drained
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups brandy

Combine all ingredients in a clean, large glass jar. Stir gently with wooden spoon. Cover and let stand at room temperature for three weeks, stirring at least twice a week.

Serve over ice cream or pound cake, use in recipes or feed as directed.

To keep the starter going, retain at least three cups at all times.

To feed and maintain: Stir mixture daily. Add one cup sugar and one cup of pineapple, peaches or cherries every two weeks, alternating fruits each time and stirring gently.

Brandy should not be required. Do not add fruit more often than once every two weeks. Do not delay adding fruit for more than one or two days past schedule.

Cover and let stand at room temperature at least three days before using. Fruit is fermented when it is translucent. To store, keep in warm place. Makes about nine cups.
Variation: Substitute canned fruit co*cktail, mandarin oranges or pears.

To share: Whenever you have more than six cups of fermented fruit, you may divide it into two portions, being sure there are at least three cups in each portion. Do this just before you would do a normal feeding. Feed each portion. Give one portion to a friend and keep one for yourself.
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Friendship Fruit Cake

1 box yellow, white or lemon cake mix
4-serving size box instant vanilla or lemon pudding mix
4 eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 to 2 cups drained Friendship Fruit
Optional: 1/2 to 1 cup raisins
Optional: 1/2 to 1 cup chopped walnuts
Optional: 1/2 to 1 cup shredded coconut
Optional: 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Friendship Fruit liquid

Optional Glaze: 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice, brandy or rum
1/2 cup margarine

Pour cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, and oil into large bowl. Stir with a spoon or beat with an electric mixer only until well mixed and smooth, then stir in drained fruit and any desired optional ingredients.

Pour into greased and floured tube or Bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for about one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Baking times vary greatly. They are affected by the starter, the fruit and additional ingredients. Baking time can increase by 30 minutes or more.

Cool 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Turn cake out of pan and allow to cool to room temperature on rack. Slowly pour hot glaze over
the cooled cake. Makes 12 servings.

Glaze:
Combine sugar, water and orange juice in a saucepan. Add margarine
and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Slowly pour
the hot syrup over the cooled cake.
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Traditional Friendship Fruit Cake

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts
3 cups chopped Friendship Fruit, well drained

Mix together oil, sugar and eggs in electric mixer. Add vanilla and beat well. Stir together flour, soda and salt. Blend into batter,
then mix in nuts and fruit.

Bake at 325 degrees in a greased and floured Bundt, tube, or 9-by-13 inch pan for one hour and 15 minutes or until cake tests done.

Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Serves 12.
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AMISH FRIENDSHIP STARTER

1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup warm milk

Starter Food (every 5 days
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk.

In a small (non-aluminum) bowl, soften yeast in water for 10 minutes. Stir
well.

In a 2-quart bowl, combine flour and sugar. Mix thoroughly or the flour will lump when the milk is added. Slowly stir in warm milk and softened yeast mixture. Cover loosly and let stand at room temperature until bubbly.

Refrigerate. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle.

Day 2 through 4: Stir a couple times a day.

Day 5 (Starter Food) Blend flour (1 cup) and sugar (1 cup) in a small bowl, slowly mix in milk (1 cup). Stir mixture into starter. Return to refrigerator.

Day 6 through 9: Stir a couple times a day.

Day 10: (which becomes Day 1 for the next series).

Feed Again.

Note: Consider the 10 day cycle a guide; it does not have to be followed exactly. If you need more starter, feed it more often. The starter is a yeast.
culture and will grow when fed. To hasten growth, leave starter at room
temperature for several hours.

After feeding the starter, choose your favorite receipe and use the starter
accordingly. Return starter to frig.

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Recipe: Friendship Cake w/Starter, Friendship Fruit Cake w/starter, Amish Friendship Starter (2024)

FAQs

Should my Amish Friendship Bread starter smell like alcohol? ›

As fermentation gasses build up in the container , let it out or the bag will go BOOM! It is normal for the batter to rise, bubble, ferment and smell like good beer or alcohol. Smelling like nasty feet is bad and means that your starter died and you need to toss it an start again.

Can you put Amish friendship starter in the fridge? ›

You should store your starter in the fridge if: You plan to bake 2-4x a month. If you don't have a plan to regularly bake, then freeze your starter. Refrigerated starters still have to be fed regularly, and if you are not using it, you'll need to discard some starter regularly as well.

How long is Amish Friendship Bread starter good for after? ›

If it's properly cared for, Amish friendship starter can be maintained indefinitely. "It is heartier than most sourdough starters because the sugars in the added milk and sugar give the yeasts extra food to survive, but other things like ambient temperature and contamination could alter your starter," Gee says.

What is the difference between Amish friendship starter and sourdough starter? ›

A Herman starter or Amish Friendship Bread Starter is typically made with milk, flour, sugar and commercial yeast. A sourdough starter is generally made only of flour and water. A Herman starter will be sweeter and more mellow flavored than a sourdough starter.

What happens if you put too much starter in your bread? ›

And you guessed it..the more starter you use, the faster your dough will ferment - resulting in a less sour loaf. Using less starter in your recipe will help slow down the fermentation process.

Why can't you use metal with Amish Friendship Bread? ›

The original instructions for Amish Friendship Bread states that you should not use metal bowls or utensils. The original reason was because there's a chemical reaction that occurs between the fermenting starter and metal.

Is my sourdough starter dead if it smells like alcohol? ›

When the sourdough starter isn't fed often enough or feedings are skipped, it is common for an alcohol odor to develop. Increasing feeding frequency can help; however, if the starter has been neglected for a while, it may require more effort to revive it.

Can I use my sourdough starter if it smells like acetone? ›

Acetone is the main ingredient in cheap fingernail polish remover. If you smell that, it's probably time to start a new starter. Refined white wheat flours, such as all-purpose flour, bread flour, high gluten flour, and Patent flour lead to milder aromas in the starter.

Can you use starter straight from the fridge? ›

Technically, yes you can use your sourdough starter straight from the fridge. However it is not advisable to do this because you will be using a sleepy, inactive starter. This can cause many sourdough bread problems. It's much better to wake your starter up before you bake.

Does Amish Friendship Bread need to be refrigerated after baking? ›

Does Amish friendship bread need to be refrigerated? No. After the bread has cooled completely, you can store it like any other baked good in an airtight container at room temperature for several days, or wrap it tightly and freeze it for later.

How long after I feed my starter can I put it in the fridge? ›

You do not want to instantly put it back in the fridge, even if you are not planning to use it. You want to let the starter sit out for a few hours to feed and be active for a little bit, then cover it and put it back into the refrigerator.

What happens if you forgot to feed your sourdough starter for a day? ›

If you missed one feeding

Don't worry — your starter is fine. Just pick back up with your typical routine and your starter will settle in easily. To be safe, give it one or two feedings before you bake with it to make sure it's at full strength.

Can you skip a day of feeding your sourdough starter? ›

I wouldn't go more than 24 hours without feeding a very young sourdough starter (it may survive longer than this unfed however you will leave it open to the risk of mold). Mature sourdough starter aged more than 6 months old should be able to survive unfed on the counter for around 3-4 days without any risk of mold.

Can I use starter that has fallen? ›

You can keep a “peaked” starter in the refrigerator for about 12 hours (sometimes more), and still use it directly in your mix. You do not need to let it come up to room temperature. If your starter is well past peak (a few hours) and visibly falling, you can give it a “refresh” feeding to reactivate it.

How do you know if your bread starter is bad? ›

Typical signs of food spoilage and mold include pink, orange, or green colors, white fuzzy spots, or sometimes areas that are darker with white areas on top. If you see any of these signs, I would recommend throwing your starter away and creating a new one.

How do I know if my starter dough is bad? ›

It's usually pretty obvious when your starter has gone bad. You will either see mold or discoloration (generally pink or orange). If you see either of these things, you will need to toss your starter. The smell is usually a big give away.

How do you know if a bread starter is good? ›

A “ripe” starter is one that's fermented for some number of hours and is ready to use in a recipe, whether to make a levain or mix directly into a dough for sourdough bread-making. Generally, when a starter is ripe, it has risen, is bubbly on top, has a sour aroma, and has a looser consistency.

Why does my friendship bread starter smell like alcohol? ›

If your sourdough starter smells strongly of yeast and alcohol, it's likely that it has become over-fermented. This can happen if you've been feeding your starter too much or too often, or if the temperature in your kitchen is too warm. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that your starter is ruined.

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