Sharing the love of Herman - The German Friendship Cake

Just before Christmas I told you all how I had received Herman as a lovely gift. Herman - The German Friendship Cake (or "Chain Letter Cake") is a yeast-based mixture which you lovingly "feed" for ten days before handing out yeast portions to friends (who carry on feeding him) and then you bake your remaining portion.

Well, I said I would let you know how I got on, and the cooked version of Herman went down a treat. Herman was without a doubt the first cake I have ever baked which I did not fancy licking the spoon (or bowl!) once the mixture was in the oven. The smell of fermenting Herman which wafted through the kitchen every day for ten days over Christmas was not exactly appetising, especially when competing with an array of mouthwatering food - he didn't really stand a chance. But once out of the oven filled with cherries, raisins, and apple, he was the moistest cake I had ever tasted.

Feeding him for the last time with flour, sugar and milk

Adding apples and raisins - at this point
it was really difficult to stir

And finally adding bright red cherries

Herman before he goes into the oven - this is where giving a cake a
name and pronoun makes this a little sadistic!

Giving away Herman was more difficult than I thought it would be. The problem is, unlike my neighbour who just turned up and handed my Mum and I a yeast mixture in a Tupperware tub, I tended to chat away about the story of Herman to people days before he was ready to give away. This seemed to put a lot of people off! When I think about it this isn't a surprise considering that I was explaining that he could be YEARS old! Oh dear! But I did manage to find three unsuspecting households to care for Herman's siblings. 

And here is how they got on*:

The Humphreys sisters, Lucy and Grace, successfully nurtured Herman

They chose to add ginger, chocolate,
cherries and walnuts

Here's one of  Herman's siblings baked in a loaf tin.
 Photo sent in from the Owen family on Anglesey.

*More photos of Herman's siblings to be added soon - have you received a Herman? Tell me how you got on by commenting below or send your pics to caroline.backtotheroots@googlemail.com

Herman is a celebrity
And I have to mention that to my horror, I awoke on New Years Day, not only with a fuzzy head, but a shock staring out from the pages of the Daily Mail. My dear Mum who had been involved throughout the whole Herman process, placed the pages of the newspaper under my nose with a huge grin - the story of Herman had made it into the Daily Mail! But noooooooo! I was there first - I had even baked him on New Years Eve! Maybe this is only understandable if your a fellow journalist, but to be pipped by the Mail (who I must say did their research well!) irritated me! But once I realised that I learnt more from the article and that it was spreading the word of Herman, I can't really complain... But you saw him here first - or ten years ago when he circled your neighbourhood for the first time.

Spread the love, spread a Herman!