I love making cakes, especially those associated with the Amish culture. Amish women truly know their way around the kitchen. I love following their recipes for treats, bread, and casseroles. The following recipe is for a yummy chocolate cherry almond friendship cake. The method is similar to the popular Amish friendship bread starter. If you haven’t ever heard of this you should look it up because it’s a fun gift to give to a loved one.
Check out what my pals over at Oh Taste And See had to say about this recipe:
The taste of a Frienship Bread Cake is unique and has a yeasty taste and flavor to it, due to the fermentation of the dough. I found this recipe in the Friendship Bread Kitchen and have tweaked it to suit what I had on hand. I have also substituted whole wheat flour for part of the all purpose flour to make it a bit healthy. It results in a tender airy and not so sweet cake which is perfect with a cup of coffee for breakfast, or as a snack.
A tender, airy cake? Seriously, that description makes my mouth water.
Ingredients
For the pudding Mix:
1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp nonfat dry milk
1 1/4 cup Domino sugar
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
To add to Starter:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
For the Chocolate Cherry Almond Amish Friendship bread Cake:
1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter
3 eggs
1 cup Wesson oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp McCormick vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup of above chocolate pudding mix
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup sliced almonds
1 tbsp instant coffee powder
1 cup hot water
butter, for greasing a pan.
Instructions
First make the pudding mix by whisking together the non fat dry milk, cornstarch, sugar, salt and cocoa.
Add the ingredients to the bag of starter and mash to combine. Measure out 1 cup of the mixture. You can continue feeding the starter and multiplying it if you wish, or give away the remaining to your friends.
Add the tbsp of coffee powder to the hot water. Stir to combine. Soak the cherries in the warm coffee. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9 X 13 pan with butter. You can also use two loaf pans for the same quantity as well.
In a medium bowl, beat together the sugar and oil using an electric mixer. Add in the eggs one by one and beat to combine. Add vanilla and almond extracts. Stir in the starter to the mix.
In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and the pudding mix. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix to combine. Stir in the soaked cherries and the almonds, reserving a couple of tablespoons of almonds for topping the cake.
Scoop the batter into the prepared pans and bake for one hour until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Slice and serve.
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Quick Tip: This cake goes well with ice cream.
Thank you to Oh Taste And See for this amazing recipe.