Recipe swap: Seeking Lemon Sweat Cake; offering Amish Friendship Bread

WHAT READERS WANT

Lemon Sweat Cake Kenneth Klinger of Virginia Beach is looking for this cake. "The last one I tasted was made by Jean Coder from Great Bridge," he wrote.

WHAT READERS HAVE

Squash Casserole

Lois Mignano of Virginia Beach sent us this recipe using butternut squash. She says it's a delicious family favorite.

1 butternut squash

1 onion, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, grated

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 pint sour cream

1/2 cup margarine

Small bag Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix, not cubed

Cook and drain squash. Mash. Add onion, grated carrots, soup and sour cream.

Melt margarine and combine with stuffing mix. Line shallow baking dish with 3/4 of stuffing mix. Add the squash mixture and top with the rest of the stuffing mix. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes.

Amish Friendship Bread

Bonnie Evans of Chesapeake answered a recent request for Friendship Cake. "I received 'bread' and the attached recipe from my sister-in-law several Christmases ago," she wrote. "I have shared it many times. The bread is delicious. Be sure to have three friends with whom to share, or you will be making (and eating) a lot of bread. My sister-in-law (Joanne Evans) died of cancer several years ago, so the recipe is very special to our family." Evans warns: Do not use a metal spoon or bowl for mixing, and do not refrigerate. If air gets into bag, let it out. It is normal for batter to thicken, bubble and ferment.

DAY 1:

Put 1 cup each, all-purpose flour, sugar and milk into a plastic zipper bag

DAY 1-5:

Squeeze the bag

DAY 6:

Add 1 cup each, all-purpose flour, sugar and milk to the bag

DAY 7-9:

Squeeze the bag

DAY 10:

1 cup each, all-purpose flour, sugar and milk

1 cup oil

1 cup additional sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 cups additional all-purpose flour

1/2 cup additional milk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 large box instant vanilla pudding

Put the 1-cup amounts of flour, sugar and milk in a large glass bowl. Add batter from the bag. Mix with wooden spoon. Get out four 1-gallon zipper bags and pour 1 cup of this starter mixture into each. Keep 1 for yourself; give 3 away with copy of recipe.

To your remaining starter mixture, add oil, the additional sugar, vanilla, eggs, salt, cinnamon, additional flour, additional milk, baking soda, baking powder and pudding mix. Blend.

Pour into 2 large loaf pans, well greased with butter and dusted lightly with cinnamon and sugar. Dust top of batter in pan with cinnamon and sugar (optional). Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour (or until done).

Variations:

Mash 1/2 can apple pie filling and add to batter before baking.

Omit vanilla pudding and use chocolate pudding and mini chocolate chips. Delete cinnamon.

Use banana pudding and mash 3 bananas.

Use lemon pudding, lemon extract, poppy seeds and lemon zest.

- Melinda Forbes, food editor