[Closed] Hello, my name is Herman.....

Just tried this and it's lush, cakey for brekkie 😀
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.

Day 1

You get Herman and put him in a large mixing bowl and cover loosely with a tea towel.
Stir well
Stir well
Herman is hungry. Add 1 cup each of plain flour, sugar and milk. Stir well.
Stir well
Stir well
Stir well
Stir well
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 these instructions. Keep the 4th one.
Herman is very hungry. Stir well and add the following:
1 cup sugar
half tsp (teaspoon) salt
2 cups plain flour
2/3 (two thirds) cup of cooking oil
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 cooking apples cut into chunks
1 cup raisins
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. When cold cut into finger pieces. Cake freezes well and is also delicious warm with cream or ice-cream.

Although some of the measures are in ‘cups’ (a baking measure used in the USA) you can find conversions here. Converted quantities are also listed on the instructions that you can find here.

The Finished Article
This is how my Herman turned out. Although I followed the instructions that state 45 minutes in the oven, I recommend adding another 15 – 20 minutes using tin foil to cover the cake. This will help ensure Herman is cooked well enough all the way through.

If you have baked cakes before you will no doubt know about sticking a knife into the middle of a cake. This is a good idea to make sure the cake is cooked in the middle. If the knife comes out with wet mix on it you need more baking time; the idea is that the knife will come out clean as the inside of the cake is cooked sufficiently. With the apple content of this Herman I think he will always be a little bit moist inside.

When it came to sharing Herman out to others I chose my neighbours who all have young children. Straight away they were so excited about Herman and loved the thought of having to care for him until he was ready to be baked. This is a great way of getting kids involved in the kitchen.