German Friendship Cake

Makes 1 large loaf.. To make the starter, put the flour in a large non-metallic mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Crumble the fresh yeast into the well, then pour in 445ml (16fl oz) water and stir, using a wooden spoon, until the liquid is smooth. Stir in the flour to make a sticky batter. Cover with a damp cloth and leave on the kitchen table or work surface so the batter absorbs the yeasts naturally present in the air. Stir once a day for each of the next 3 days, re-damping the cloth each day. The starter will then be ready to use. To make the dough, stir the starter you have made, or any starter you have been given. Proceed as follows: DAY 1: Add the sugar, flour and milk to the starter. Stir well, cover with a damp cloth and leave overnight. DAY 2: Stir well and re-cover with a damp cloth. DAY 3 and 4: Do nothing but re-dampen the cloth each day. DAY 5: Stir well and add the same quantities of sugar, flour and milk as for Day 1. Stir well again, cover with a damp cloth and leave overnight. DAY 6: Stir well and re-cover with a damp cloth. DAY 7, 8 and 9: Do nothing but re-dampen the cloth each day. DAY 10: Stir well and divide the mixture into 4 portions. Give 2 portions to friends with instructions, keep 1 potion for your next batch (see below) and use 1 portion to make the loaf. To make the loaf, preheat the oven to 180C (350F, Gas 4). Put your portion of starter mixture in a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, sultanas, flour, vegetable oil, nuts, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, vanilla essence, eggs and apples. Thoroughly combine, put into the tin and level the surface. Sprinkle over the muscovado sugar, then drizzle over the melted butter. Bake for 30-40 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Turn out and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. TO KEEP THE STARTER: Add 1 teaspoon sugar to the portion of starter you are going to keep for your next loaf. Stir well, then store in a covered container in the fridge for up to 1 week. To make a fresh loaf, begin at Day 1, using this starter. Hope this is of help.