This is the story of Herman. One of the most popular chaps in Skye for quite some time. Herman is a yeast based cake starter that is shared throughout communities and by friends. You recieve a present, you look after Herman for 10 days or so, you bake a delicious cake, and you have enough cake starter left to give to 3 more friends. What’s not to like? Here is the recipe for Herman and the story of our first Herman!
Herman The German Friendship Cake
Hello, my name is Herman.
I am a sourdough cake. I’m supposed to sit on your worktop for 10 days without a lid on.
You CANNOT put me in the fridge or I will die. If I stop bubbling, I am dead.
Day1: Put me in a large mixing bowl and cover loosely with a tea towel.
Day 2: Stir well
Day 3: Stir well
Day 4: Herman is hungry. Add 1 cup each of plain flour, sugar and milk. Stir well.
Day 5: Stir well
Day 6: Stir well
Day 7: Stir well
Day 8: Stir well
Day 9: Add the same as day 4 and stir well. Divide into 4 equal portions and give away to
friends with a copy of these instructions. Keep the fourth portion.
Day 10: Now you are ready to make the cake. Stir well and add the following
1 cup of sugar(8oz or 225g)
2 cups plain flour (10oz or 300g)
half tsp. (teaspoon) salt
2/3 (two thirds) cup of cooking oil (5.3oz or 160ml)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla essence
2 cooking apples cut into chunks
1 cup raisins (7oz or 200g)
2 heaped tsp. cinnamon
2 heaped tsp. baking powder
Optional:
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup melted butter
Mix everything together and put into a large greased baking tin. Sprinkle with a quarter of a
cup of brown sugar and a quarter of a cup of melted butter. Bake for 45 minutes at 170‐
180C. Test the middle with a clean knife; you may need to cover in tin foil and bake for a
further 20 minutes to make sure your Herman is cooked properly in the middle.
When baked, Herman can be frozen
Instructions for making the starter dough can be found here www.hermanthegermanfriendshipcake.com
Here’s the story of our cake!
11 days ago a lovely schoolfriend, Mairi, left some Herman in my car (that’s the way we roll in Skye, we don’t lock houses and we tend to leave our car keys in the ignition) Herman was met with utter delight by my two little people and he has been nurtured, peeked at, prodded, stirred and generally looked after in the way that only an enthusiastic 6 year old and 4 year old can. Last night was his big moment and he became a delicious apple and cherry cake (thanks to neighbour Jessane for the emergency egg supply). Today he was demolished and new starters are off to friends Morag, Jackie and Jessanne. A true friendship cake:)
Give it a go!
Rosie -x-
