Notes on running a cake plant (aka Hermann or Amish Friendship Cake)

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.

Marzipan Cake

This is a rich almondy cake made with marzipan.

It is moist enough to not need any further icing or filling, and makes a good alternative to a traditional Christmas Cake if you are not into dried fruit.

I originally came across the recipe years ago on Amateur Gourmet.

Coconut, Almond and Courgette Cake

This is another cake based on one from Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache. I believe I may have already mentioned that whilst the recipes are good, I have a distinct antipathy towards the style of the book.

This is a minor variation on the Coconut Cake recipe, mainly inspired by not having quite enough dessicated coconut left in the cupboard.

Basboosa

I found a bottle of rose flavoured syrup for a few pence in the reduced to clear section in Tesco just before Xmas. It was perfect for this Lebanese cake, made with semolina and yoghurt, and soaked in a flavoured syrup.

It was quick and easy to make - but also quick and easy to eat! I didn't manage to get pictures before it was scoffed! The picture is of a later batch made another day.

Empty Jar Generating Lemon Loaf Cake

If you have been making much in the way of homemade jam or pickles, you may well have hit the point where you have things you could jam or pickle, but a shortage of jars.

Once you have already hit on all your neighbours, co-workers, friends and family for their empty jars, then there are places that will happily sell you empty jamjars and lids - prices vary from over a quid each (!) down to about 37p if you are prepared to buy by the hundred.

Alternatively, you can wander into any branch of Tesco/Sainsburys/Asda and pick up jam jars with lids for a mere 22p or so each. The catch is that they come filled with a free helping of cheap lemon curd, which you will need to empty out first.

Just scooping it out and throwing it away just seems like ... an unnecessary waste. So some way of using up lots of lemon curd is needed.

Lemon Curd wine would seem a little ill-advised due to the egg content (though at least one person seems to have tried to do that).

And then I found this recipe for a Lemon Loaf Cake on a forum post.

Using up lemon curd at the rate of 1 jarful per loaf, this quick to mix loaf cake is perfect for when you need a few more empty jars in a hurry. The cake freezes well, perfect for later use as trifle sponge, or just to have a cake in the freezer for emergencies.

• 100g softened butter
• 75g sugar
• 175g Plain Flour
• 3 tsp Baking Powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 jar of cheap lemon curd

Grease a 2lb loaf tin and line with a strip of greaseproof paper.
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Measure all ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together with an electric whisk until it forms a light and fluffy cake batter.
Pour the mixture into the loaf tin, smooth out the top, and bake for 40-45 minutes until the loaf is golden on top and a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for a minute before turning out onto a wire rack and peeling off the paper. Let cool completely before slicing.

Update:

I have also tried making this as a lemon and ginger cake, adding 2 tsp ginger and 1tsp cinnamon to the mixture.

Update 2:

Replacing the jar of lemon curd with a jar of value marmalade, and replacing a couple of tbsp of flour with cocoa powder makes a decent chocolate orange loaf.

Update 3:

Though not quite in the original spirit of emptying a jar of cheap jam... I found Korean Honey Ginger Tea in the local Chinese Supermarket - it consists of finely grated candied root ginger in a sugar/honey syrup flavoured with cinnamon and yet more ginger. Substituting 450g for the jar of lemon curd yields a deliciously moist and fierily gingery cake!

Chocolate Cucumber Cake

In today's exciting episode of "Argh! Not MORE Cucumbers!" we resort to baking them into cakes.

Courgette / zucchini cakes are widely-known-to-exist, and there are a few Cucumber cake recipes out there to be found. The similarity of ingredient proportions suggests that you can directly substitute cucumber for courgette / zucchini in a recipe and it should work.

Time to find a suitable recipe to try.