Herman the German Friendship Cake!

Until the other week I'd never even heard of a German Friendship Cake.. let alone been given one/baked one! So who is Herman?! And why am I posting a picture of my friend's cake and not my own? ... let me explain..

My friend's Herman Cake.. yum!

Herman is a sourdough mix and the other week I was given my very own, complete with a set of instructions..

Day 1 of the instructions said I was to put my 'Herman' mix into a large mixing bowl and cover it loosely with a kitchen towel.. and so I did..

The instructions said that if the mixture stopped bubbling then it had died.. big responsibility!!

Days 2 & 3 instructed me to stir my Herman well.. (and of course check for bubbles!)

it's still alive!

On day 4 my 'Herman' was apparently hungry and I was instructed to add one cup of flour, milk and sugar.. and then to stir it well..

For the days 5, 6, 7 and 8 my Herman sat on the work-top covered with a kitchen towel and each day I just stirred it well..

On day 9 I was told to 'add the same as day 4 and stir well. Divide into 4 equal portions and give three away to friends with a copy of the instructions' .. I gave mine away in little jars with a sticker on the lid saying the date of 'day 1'.

I was to keep the fourth portion.. and on day 10 it was cake making time!

How to make the cake!

1) Add the following to your Herman batter..

1 cup of sugar (8oz or 225g) - I used sweetener
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 - small ones (mine were too big!)
1 cup raisins (7oz or 200g)
2 heaped tsp. cinnamon
2 heaped tsp. baking powder
Optional:
Nuts/seeds - I used poppy seeds
More dried fruit - I used fresh raspberries - BIG MISTAKE

2) Mix!