Cake plant recipes did the rounds in the 70s / 80s, and we were given starters to feed by friends several times over that period. Inevitably, we would maintain them for a couple of months, handing out starters to any friends who weren't sick of it yet, before it just became too much of the same cake over and over, or the mixture managed to overflow the storage bowl and cause a mess. The mixture would be discarded, and the instructions filed away until the next time we were given a starter to try again.
Over the years, on rediscovering the archived instructions, I have restarted the culture from scratch a few times. These restarts have eventually suffered the same fates as the originals.
Over time - and especially over this last strange year - I have evolved how I manage the cake plant starter away from the original instructions. I have also added to my stock of recipes using the starter. So I am recording the details here, so I don't forget them once working from home stops being the norm.
Starting a new Cake Plant from scratch:
To start a new culture, mix the following in a LARGE lidded bowl:
* 1/2 cup plain flour
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 tbsp live plain yoghurt
* 1 tsp dry instant yeast
Feed the mixture immediately with a further:
* 1 cup plain flour
* 1 cup milk
* 1/2 cup sugar
Then tomorrow, start at day 2 of the feeding schedule below.
The hope was that the yeast and the yoghurt might seed the culture. It took a little time to properly catch though. For the first few drawings-off, the starter was somewhat active from yeast, but not yet sour from lactobacilli. The undigested lactose built up and gave it a condensed milk sort of smell. At this stage I used the drawn off starter only for baking cake or making pancakes or waffles.
After a few weeks, the lactobacilli and yeast finally came to an agreement and the starter became active and sour with a fruity alcoholic smell. The condensed milk flavour was gone. At this point I started using drawn-off starter for making bread.
The Feeding Schedule:
I have adjusted the original 10-day feeding cycle with a single baking day at the end to an 8-day feeding cycle with two baking days in it. This fits better with making bread - I get 2 loaves of bread and a loaf of cake over the course of a cycle.
Day 1: Draw off 2 cups of starter for baking or giving away. Then feed the starter with 1 cup milk, 1 cup plain flour and 1/2 cup sugar.
Days 2-4: Stir starter.
Day 5: Draw off one cup of starter for baking or giving away. Then feed the starter with 1 cup milk, 1 cup plain flour and 1/2 cup sugar.
Days 6-8: Stir starter.
Rounding Errors:
Every few weeks, the level of starter in the bowl will have risen to the point where you need to draw off an extra cup of starter on day 5 to prevent overflowing. Use this extra draw-off to bake more stuff. Or give it away to a friend who wants to run their own cake plant.
The Cake Recipe:
I have divided down the original cake recipe so that it can be baked as smaller loaves, and it has also become more of a template to which I add whatever flavouring combo I fancy.
For one loaf of cake (in a 2lb loaf tin):
Preheat over to 180C.
Line a 2lb loaf tin with greased greaseproof paper.
In a bowl combine:
* 1 cup of drawn-off starter
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 cup plain flour
* 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* flavourings and other ingredients as required - see below for some ideas, or try your own!
Mix thoroughly together, then pour into the lined tin.
Bake for ~45 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Turn out of tin, peel off the paper lining and let cool.
Ice if you so desire.
Will keep for a week or two in a tin.
Can be wrapped and frozen if not required immediately.
Some cake flavour combo ideas:
The original: 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup raisins.
Coffee and almond: 2 tsp instant coffee granules, 1/4 cup ground almonds, 1 tsp vanilla essence.
Ginger: 2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp mixed spice, 1/4 cup medium oatmeal, 1/4 cup raisins.
Chocolate: 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 1 tsp vanilla essence.
Coconut and Apricot: 1/4 cup shredded dessicated coconut, 1/4 cup dried apricots, finely chopped.
Using Up: 1/2 cup end of any packet of muesli or granola, 1 tsp cinnamon.
Cherry: 1/4 cup ground almonds, 1/4 cup raisins, 1/4 cup glace cherries, quartered, 1 tsp almond essence.
Date and Walnut: 1/4 cup chopped dried dates, 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, 1 tsp cinnamon.
The Pancakes/Waffles Recipe:
Combine in a bowl:
* 1 cup drawn-off starter
* 2 beaten eggs
* 2 tbsp plain flour
* a pinch salt
* a tsp cinnamon
* 1 tbsp sugar
* 2 tbsp vegetable oil
* 1 tsp baking pdr
Mix together thoroughly.
Cook spoonfuls on a heated girdle or frying pan for pancakes, or cook in a heated waffle iron for waffles.
The Bread Recipe:
Combine in a bowl:
* 1 cup drawn-off starter
* 275g cold water
* 200g wholemeal bread flour
* 300g strong white bread flour
* 10g salt
* optional 50g seeds - sunflower, sesame, pumpkin and/or poppy seeds.
Mix thoroughly with a spoon until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Cover bowl with a plastic bag and leave to rise on the counter overnight.
In the morning, shape the dough into a ball by wetting your fingers and pulling the edges over the middle a few times.
Either:
* Bake in a casserole dish as for my Overnight No-Knead Bread.
Or:
*Put dough into a greased and floured Pullman (lidded) loaf tin and let rise again for an hour or so.
* Preheat oven to 220C.
* Put loaf tin into oven and immediately turn it down to 210C.
* Bake for 1 hour at 210C, then tip the loaf out of the tin onto the oven shelf.
* Bake for a further 8 minutes at 180C to crisp up the crust.
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