Today I received a German Friendship Cake. "A what?" I asked. "His name is Herman and he is a German Friendship cake", I was told.

Herman arrived in a little Tupperware container along with instructions on how to look after him. Ten days of tender loving care and I have been assured I will be rewarded with a delicious cake and the ability to share Herman with my friends.  He smelt a little strong, but I went ahead and put him into a larger mixing bowl and covered it with a dish cloth.

For the first few days, all you need to do is give him a stir. Halfway through you add milk, sugar and flour followed by more days of just stirring.  On day nine you add more ingredients and then divide it into four servings. Three of them you give away to friends and the fourth you use to bake yourself a Herman.

Instructions for Herman

 You cannot put me in the fridge or I will die. If I stop bubbling, I am dead.
 Days:

• 1 - You get Herman and put him in a large mixing bowl and cover loosely with a tea towel.
• 2 - Stir well
• 3 - Stir well
• 4 - Herman is hungry. Add 1 cup each of plain flour, sugar and milk. Stir well.
• 5 - Stir well
• 6 - Stir well
• 7 - Stir well
• 8 - Stir well
• 9 - Hungry again! Add the same as day 4 and stir well. Divide into 4 equal portions and give away to friends with a copy of the instructions. Keep the 4th one.
• 10 - Herman is ready to be baked.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups plain flour
• 2/3 cups cooking oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 cooking apples cut into chunks
• 2 heaped tsp cinnamon
• 2 heaped tsp baking powder

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170 - 180C
2. Mix everything together.
3. Put into a large greased baking tin.
4. Sprinkle with a quarter of a cup of brown sugar and a quarter cup of melted butter.
5. Bake for 45 minutes or until cooked.
6. When cold, cut into fingers.
7. Cake freezes well and is delicious with cream or ice-cream.

When Herman was brought round to me - he came with a piece of his brother, Herman the first. He was delicious!

The Herman Starter Mix

Instructions:

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 with a clean cloth.
5. Leave in a cool, dry place for 24 hours.
6. Now begin at day one of the 10 day cycle, as per the instructions above.

If you decide to have a go or have had a Herman in the past, let me know how it went and if you added anything different to the recipe above.