Meet Herman

A few weeks ago, our church hosted an event featuring Kate Bracks - the MasterChef winner of 2011.

Aside from a cooking demonstration of a lovely 3 course meal, Kate also shared with us why she believes in God.  I was captivated by her, she has such an engaging manner and such a lovely lady. She had time for every person who wanted to have a natter. Do check out Kate's website.

As part of the goodie bag that we received with that evening, was a recipe card and an introduction to Herman - a sourdough starter.

I'd never met Herman till now, but in the last few weeks , Herman the German(as he is affectionately known) Friendship Cake has become a dear friend who's found a permanent spot in my kitchen. I've made the starter twice now.

So what is Herman the German Friendship cake. The whole premise around Herman is that you make his starter and  share it with others; or share the love as some would say. The others make it and share it with their friends and so on it continues to multiply.

What I love about this is that you make the starter and give it away. And to do that requires you to actually see a friend. It's so easy these days to text or instant message, we don't actually make the effort to see them. This gives us a reason to drop in, and cultivate our relationships in person. 

When did you last cultivate a friendship? I seldom do it, but when I do make the effort, organise a time to meet and actually execute, I find myself wishing that I had done it sooner. I say go share the love!

This is what Herman the German looked like when cooked. Word of warning though - Herman is deliciously moorish! 

Here's the recipe for Herman's starter, you can also find a pdf from the Herman website.

Starter

Day 1   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 with a copy of the instructions. Keep one portion.

Day 10 Now you are ready to make the cake

To make the cake

1 cup sugar

1 cup of flour

1/2 tsp sals

2/3 cup cooking oil

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla essence

2 apples cut into chunks

1 cup raisins

2 heaped tsp cinnamon

2 heaped tsp baking powder

Topping

1⁄4 cup brown sugar

1⁄4 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.

Linking up with Jess today on I blog on Tuesdays.