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Friendship Cake starts with a gift

 
Published June 13, 1991|Updated Oct. 13, 2005

Friendship cake begins with a "starter," the result of a 30-day process of combining canned fruit, juice and sugar. This mixture is stirred once daily and replenished every 10 days with additional fruit, juice and sugar. At the end of 30 days, the fruit is drained and divided into portions to be used in several cakes. The reserved juice is divided and used as a "starter" to begin the 30-day cycle again.

Give a cake, a portion of the "starter" and the recipe to a friend and reinforce the name Friendship Cake. Alice Nikodem of St. Petersburg and Winnebago, Ill., sent a copy of a very informative column from the Rockford Register Star that supplied most of this paragraph and a portion of the following information.

There is also a brandied version, but that will be included in a subsequent column, as will the recipe for Friendship Bread.

For: Ester Ahnert of Port Richey, Lu Robinson of South Pasadena, Irene Ulm of Pinellas Park, Mary Nuebel and Dorothy Peterson of St. Petersburg, and Laurel Hays, Helen Matejba, E.

S. Mann and Mildred Gilman of Largo.

From: Alice Nikodem of St. Petersburg and Winnebago, Ill., Kitty Davidson of Oldsmar, Martha Kuebler of Pinellas Park, Margaret Palozzolo of Spring Hill, Clara Mary Huff of Dunedin and Amy Keele and Sandra Homko of St. Petersburg.

Recipe: Friendship Cake.

Friendship Cake Starter

} cup canned sliced peaches with syrup

} cup canned pineapple chunks with syrup

1 4-ounce jar red maraschino cherries, drained and halved

1{ cups sugar

1 package active dry yeast

For later addition:

{ cup canned sliced peaches with syrup

{ cup canned pineapple chunks with syrup

To replenish starter:

Day 1:

1{ cups starter juice

2{ cups sugar

1 2-pound can sliced peaches with syrup

Day 10:

2{ cups sugar

2 1-pound cans pineapple chunks with juice (or 1 can pineapple chunks and 1 can fruit cocktail)

Day 20:

2{ cups sugar

2 4-ounce jars maraschino cherries, drained and halved (may use 1 jar red and 1 jar green or use 1 10-ounce jar)

In a 1-gallon jar with wide mouth and lid, combine and mix thoroughly first five ingredients. Stir twice the first day and one time each subsequent day. Do not refrigerate. Cover loosely.

On Day 14, add { cup peaches with syrup and { cup pineapple with syrup. Stir daily for several days. Drain 2 cups of mixed fruit and use to make Friendship Fruitcake (recipe follows). Leave 1{ cups starter juice in gallon jar. Count this as Day 1 and begin process for renewing starter and making cake.

Day 1: To reserved 1{ cups starter juice, add Day 1 ingredients. Stir daily. Keep loosely covered. Do not refrigerate.

Day 10: Add Day 10 ingredients. Stir daily. Keep loosely covered. Do not refrigerate.

Day 20: Add Day 20 ingredients. Stir daily. Keep loosely covered. Do not refrigerate.

Day 30: Drain fruit, reserving 1{ cups juice for renewing starter. Use drained fruit to make three cakes (recipe below). Use 1} cups fruit in each cake. Cakes can be frozen. Cakes do not have to be baked on same day, but stir remaining fruit mixture every day until used. Fruit mixture can be refrigerated until used. Drained fruit can be frozen until ready to use. Give excess starter to four friends and start new batch of fruit.