By now you've probably heard of Herman, perhaps you even dread hearing his name at your front door. For those who haven't Herman is a German Sourdough cake who takes days of preparation but results in 3 mixtures to pass on to friends and 1 bowl of cake batter to bake and eat yourself.

Here's the instructions that Herman takes everywhere:

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

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.

Herman featured on Radio 4 Woman's Hour (listen again here) and they pretty much summed him up. He's a bit of a guilt ridden nuisance. Ten days of stirring and adding ingredients for a fairly tasty apple and ginger cake. Followed by the hassle of trying to innocently pass him on to three other friends.

Well our reward day is here- its time for a final stir, add ingredients, leave to rise then bake and eat. Let's see how it goes.