Herman is real!

Hello there

This is my third posting about the sourdough cake, which I'm to call Herman according to the instructions. This is quite a feat, as when I first heard about the concept from my friend Melanie, I laughed it off as a joke of hers.
As I type, he's in the oven with about 15 minutes of cooking left, so I best type quickly.

This is how frothy he was before adding cake ingredients

In many respects there isn't alot to say as you just put all the ingredients in the same bowl as you've had your mix in for the last 10 days. I kept my mix in my Kenwood mixer as it has a clear plastic cover for it, so ideal for covering him yet allowing air to get in. So every day I had to stir 'him', I just switched it on. Before you ask, yes I did wash the K-mixer each time.

                                                                                                    It's not the best looking mix in the world, it has to be said.





There's also rather alot of it:

That's clearly nowhere near big enough, so into the cupboard I went to get my only other bigger one. I expect you could use several smaller ones if necessary but don't forget that will affect how much space you have in your oven.

Now this was a much better fit.

                         

This was it after 20 minutes- looks much better now

....I just need to nip downstairs to check up on it..... house smells gorgeous of cinnamon :-)

It's huge!!

I did enjoy washing up a few pieces (why do I always seem to create so much washing up?!!) and then sitting on the sofa in the kitchen area with a cup of tea, a Cadbury's cream egg and some favourite tunes playing including 'when you say nothing at all' (Ronan Keating), 'don't love me for fun' (Boyzone) and 'inside out' (Bryan Adams). Yes ok, I'm showing my age and these are oldies but they made me feel good and relaxed.

The result of my labours, which seems an extreme word when it's so easy to do:

I had the oven at 175c (as original instructions said to have it between 170 and 180) and it was in there for over 45 minutes but I still think it looks rather moist but hopefully by the time it's cooled down, it'll be fine. It's a good job it freezes well though as that's alot of cake, unless I decide to invite half the street round for coffee :-) I think I will invite my friend over though, as she was unable to do this little bit of fun, due to having rather alot on her plate at the moment. She might appreciate the break, the chat and perhaps a smile or two.

Go on, have a go and spread the joy!

Take care out there
p.s it wasn't ok after cooling down. After having a couple of pieces for dessert, I had to put it back in the oven and guess what?! Yes, of course, I left it in rather long. It's not burnt thankfully but much browner than this, which suits me fine as I prefer it that way.

Herman has been split in four

Hello there

Well Herman has done very well, if bubbling along like a good 'un is anything to go by. Yesterday was the day to split him up into four equal parts. My total mixture came to about 1 litre, so of course each portion was 250ml. I handed out two of my portions to different friends and the third one goes to Nathalie tomorrow. I also printed out my copy of the instructions from the version I did on here for a post but added a pretty butterfly border - had to be done :-)

I'm now off to make my portion into a cake- wish me luck!

Take care out there

Herman

Hello there

Last week my friend sent me a text asking if I wanted to take part in a sour dough cake sharing exercise. My first thought was "is this a joke?" as she often sends me funny jokes by text. I was rather busy so I thought it best not to answer straight away, so as to give myself a chance to figure out whether she was being serious or not. Of course, I forgot and then Mel asked me again and I saw her that evening and she gave me Herman. That's right, the mixture is even given a name. When I had first seen the words sour dough, I had imagined a bread mixture as I remember seeing a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall programme where his dough chef was teaching a local lady how to make it for the kids in her nursery school where she worked. This isn't bread though, it's made into a cake. Mel gave me a taste of hers and it was lovely; a bit like fruit loaf.It takes 10 days to prepare but only a tiny bit of effort as the mixture itself does most of the work by filling itself with air basically.

That's Herman after his first day with me - pretty good going.
These are the instructions you get along with your bowl of goop.

'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 - After receiving Herman put him in a mixing bowl and cover with a loose tea towel.
Day 2- Stir well
Day 3- Stir well
Day 4- I am hungry. Add 5oz plain flour, 8oz sugar and a cup of milk and stir well.
Day 5- Stir well
Day 6- Stir well
Day 7- Stir well
Day 8- Stir well
Day 9- I'm hungry again. Add the same as you did on day 4, stir well and then divide into 4 portions and give 3 away to friends. You keep the 4th portion. Copy these instructions for them.
Day 10- I'm now very hungry. Stir well and add the following:
8oz sugar
1/2 tsp salt
10oz plain flour
2/3rd's of a cup of cooking oil
2 eggs
2tsp vanilla essence
2 cooking apples cut into chunks
1 cup raisins
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder

Mix it all up and put into a large greased baking tin. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of brown sugar and a 1/4 cup of melted butter.
Bake for 45 minutes at 180c.
When cold, cut into pieces. The cake freezes well and is good served with ice cream or cream ..... I prefer it just with some spread on it, helped down with a cup of tea.'

I'm only up to day 7 at the minute with mine, so I'll let you know what my one actually tastes like and if I managed to get three friends to take up the challenge.




Take care out there