Herman the German Friendship Cake

[Amy :-)]

Amy this would be a great cake for the stall 

I was thinking the same thing Uni...
I will have to practice with Herman first though. I have never made a cake like this.

[Cornish Cream]

I have been meaning to try my own Herman since I first read this thread a month ago! But has been getting very cold here and I am worried Herman might not like the cold

If you do try Herman Amy you will have to keep him warm.

[Amy :-)]

If he had an actual body I could buy him woolly boots and a beanie
But since he has more of a "free-form" body shape, maybe I could just try wrapping a couple of tea towels around the dish I put him in? Do you think that would keep him warm enough CC?

[stacelee]

Touch wood, Herman seems pretty forgiving.  I have Herman sitting in a tupperware lettuce container in the corner of my kitchen bench.  He is surviving pretty well.  I have noticed that he is more active on days when I have the dehydrator running next to him, but that is the only external heat he is getting.  I do live in Queensland so we don't get very low temperatures although we have had a few very cold days lately by my standards .

Herman did very well yesterday in my banana choc chip muffins and as a reward got an extra feeding yesterday....actually he got it because I want to make bread today with him and I'm running out!

[Cornish Cream]

If he had an actual body I could buy him woolly boots and a beanie
But since he has more of a "free-form" body shape, maybe I could just try wrapping a couple of tea towels around the dish I put him in? Do you think that would keep him warm enough CC?

If you house is cold Amy you may need to keep Herman wrapped up but if you are lucky enough like stacelee to have the climate for Herman to sit on the bench do that.We have central heating with radiators,so my Herman was kept near one.

[Amy :-)]

We are having renovations done at the moment so there are a few holes in walls where cold air (and spiders!) get in It is a cold house anyway though, apparently something to do with the fact that it faces south. I don't know how that works, but thats what I was told
So I think Herman would need to be wrapped up. At least until the holes in the walls are patched up anyway

Is central heating an English thing? I have heard people talk about it on English TV shows. We just have a reverse-cycle air conditioner, but we don't have it on all the time.

[Cornish Cream]

Is central heating an English thing? I have heard people talk about it on English TV shows. We just have a reverse-cycle air conditioner, but we don't have it on all the time.

Most people who live in the UK have central heating in the house Amy.Bloody freezing in winter without it We probably run our heating system about eight months of the year.

[Amy :-)]

Bloody freezing in winter without it We probably run our heating system about eight months of the year.

I have heard rumours that it gets a bit chilly over there....
  Eight months?! Doesn't that get expensive?

[stacelee]

How cold is it at the moment...my son is about to head over there (London, York, Dublin and Cardiff) and I know I am going to have an argument with him to get warm clothes into his bag.....almost 17 year olds who have never been to England know soooooooo much more than their mother who has been there!

[Cornish Cream]

Bloody freezing in winter without it We probably run our heating system about eight months of the year.

I have heard rumours that it gets a bit chilly over there....
  Eight months?! Doesn't that get expensive?

Heating bills are probably one of our highest expenditure we have Amy.

[Cornish Cream]

How cold is it at the moment...my son is about to head over there (London, York, Dublin and Cardiff) and I know I am going to have an argument with him to get warm clothes into his bag.....almost 17 year olds who have never been to England know soooooooo much more than their mother who has been there!

Had a quick look on the long range weather forecast stacelee and it's going to be cool for him.Not much above 20c Unfortunately I sympathize with you,you can't tell teenagers anything He's going to feel the cold Just stuff that jumper in his bag when he's not looking

[meganjane]

I started Herman in our little town in April. He is still going and I'm getting one back this Saturday!! How's that?

[Cornish Cream]

I started Herman in our little town in April. He is still going and I'm getting one back this Saturday!! How's that?

That's great news MJ

[droverjess]

I failed Herman.
He came to stay last year and got going well, but in the end composted him instead of baking because we were moving house.

Has anyone else failed Herman?

What are Herman pancakes? They sound better actually.

DH is going to start a ginger beer plant soon.

[stacelee]

Herman is still going strong around here but he is definately on a sugar free diet.  My family found the cakes too sweet so he has morphed into a starter made on flour and milk.  I use him in everything from bread to pancakes to muffins to cakes.  By trial and error I have worked out that I can replace 125ml liquid and 75g flour (give or take) with 1 cup of Herman.  My normal pikelet/pancake mixture pre herman was


Pikelets
Ingredients:
   * 1 cup sr flour
   * 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of flour
   * pinch salt
   * 2 tbs sugar
   * 1 egg
   * 3/4 cup milk
   * 1 tsp vinegar
   * 2 tsp softened butter (or 2 tsp olive oil)

Directions:Combine flour, bicarb, salt and sugar in a food processor (or TM or just a bowl with a whisk). Add the egg, milk, vinegar and butter, blend until smooth.  Drop tablespoons of batter into hot butter and cook on both sides until well browned. Served warm with butter and jam.

Herman:
Can substitute 1 cup (250g approx) of sourdough starter for 1/2 cup milk and 75g flour (1/2 cup).