...Part 2 of "The Herman Adventure"...using the portion of the original Herman the German Friendship Cake starter that I popped in the fridge whilst we were away for a long weekend...
...the fridge seemed to do Herman no harm whatsoever...in fact, once he was back up to room temperature, he was bubbling away quite happily...
I knew I wanted to try this recipe as soon as I found it online...for a couple of reasons really, 1 - because the Smallish Ones would like it, due to the chocolate content, and 2 - because I had been warned that the Chocolate Hermans tended to be quite dry, so had a tweak to try out!!!
...this Herman is more like your traditional sponge cake...you start by creaming the butter and sugars together...I chose to do this cake all by hand...but you could easily do it in a free-standing mixer...
...then add in the eggs, I use large eggs...mix well, and although mine didn't look curdled this time, it often does once the eggs go in...but that's fine, as it will look 'normal' again once the flour is mixed in (in fact lots of recipes suggest adding a Tablespoon of flour for each egg to prevent the curdled effect - I don't bother much as I know it rectifies itself)...
...then in with the flour, cocoa, Herman starter, salt and vanilla (I used salted butter, so only put a pinch of salt in)...mix well, not forgetting to scrape the base and sides of the bowl to get everything well combined...then I added about 2 Tbsp milk to ensure my cake wasn't going to be dry...
...pour into the prepared (I greased and lined) tin (I used a 9x13inch roasting tin...these Hermans seem to be rather large tray bakes!!!)...
...sprinkle with your choice of chocolate chips...I used a few more than the recipe said...and put into the oven Gas 4/180c for about 40 minutes...I started checking after 30 minutes...didn't want a burnt Herman!!!
...He looked fab...and smelled great too...
...and he definitely wasn't dry...we all tried him whilst still a bit warm...we couldn't wait any longer!!! But today when cold he was still moist and tasty...so that makes 2 great Herman Bakes so far...the next starter will be ready on Monday...am still thinking about either lemon or pear and ginger...
...hmmmm decisions decisions...
Mmm... yummy cake. It has risen very well too!
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