Recipes

Herman the German Friendship cake

This is a fun cake bake you can share with your friends, with lots of different varieties to choose from so you can go round and round again...

   What You Need

     Firstly, make sure you have the following:

• 5oz plain flour
• 8oz castor sugar
• 1 packet of active dry yeast
• Half a pint of warm milk
• 2 fl oz. of warm water

    What You Do

1. Dissolve the yeast in warm water for 10 minutes then stir.
2. Add the flour and sugar then mix thoroughly.
3. Slowly stir in the warm milk.
4. Cover the bowl in a clean cloth.
5. Leave in a cool dry place for 24 hours
6. Now proceed from day one of the 10 day cycle.

this is where the fun begins and once you get to divide your mixture these are the instructions you should pass on to your friends

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

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. You may need to cover in tin foil and bake for a further 20 minutes to make you’re your Herman is done in the middle.

When cold cut into finger pieces. The cake freezes well and is also delicious warm

with cream or ice‐cream.

PLEASE NOTE ONLY USE SCREW TOP JARS FOR TRANSPORTATION! THE MIXTURE WILL TRY AND ESCAPE IF YOU LEAVE THE LIDS ON TOO LONG!!!!

However if you don't want to make this basic apple and cinnamon version there are lots of other versions you can make. Just let your imagination run riot, and if your stuck Google will help you. I used 

100gm Blueberries

100gm white chocolate chopped randomly

200gm raspberries.

My mix took just over an hour to bake though because of its size.

Enjoy

Blueberry Sour Cream Cake

175gm/6 oz Butter plus extra for the tin
175 gm/ 6 oz caster sugar
3 large eggs
225gm /8 ox self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp sour cream ( or creme fraiche if you prefer as its lower in calories!)
350 gm/ 12 oz  Blueberries

for the topping
1 tub Philadelphia cream cheese ( 200gm tub)
100gm/ 4 oz icing sugar

Heat the oven to 180 degrees( gas mark 4) and prepare loose bottom  22 cm round tin with baking parchment.

Combine all the ingredients except the blue berries and sour cream in a bowl and mix well with an electric whisk for 3 or 4 minutes.  Then whisk in the sour cream. Add about half the blueberries and stir gently through the mixture before transferring to the tin.

Bake for around 50 minutes till bouncy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin for around 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling try.

To finish mix together the cream cheese and the icing sugar them spread evenly on top before scattering with the remaining blueberries.

This cake keeps well in the fridge, but needs to return to room temperature to taste its yummiest.   Enjoy.