Ten days ago my friend Sarah handed me a tupperware box and a sheet of instructions. In the tupperware box was a living and breathing Herman. Let me explain, Herman is a starter for a cake, a bit like a sourdough starter. You sit him on the sideboard in a large bowl and stir him daily, (talking to him is optional), and feed him occasionally.  After ten days of love, care and chatting you add more delicious things to him, pour him into a cake tin, put him in a hot oven and then eat him. Poor old Herman.  There is still some of the original starter though for you and two of your friends, so don’t feel too bad for Herman, he lives on.

I love the concept of Herman and I wonder how old my starter is and where it originated and how many people have lovingly tended to him in their kitchens and enjoyed his cakey loveliness.

My spare Hermans are going to my friend Nichola and my niece (the latter doesn’t know about it yet, so I hope she is ready for some Herman love).

If you would like to start your very own Herman so that you can spread cake happiness this is how:

460g plain white (all purpose flour)
500ml warm milk
230g sugar
90ml warm water
2 tbsp easy bake yeast

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, cover loosely with a clean tea towel (it will need the wild yeasts in the air to stay alive), and place in a warm place.

Once you have your starter, either your own or one from a kind friend then you need to follow these instructions.

Day One
Make sure Herman is in a large bowl, loosely covered with a clean cloth and in a warm place
Day two and three
Give Herman a good stir with a wooden spoon
Day Four
Herman needs feeding.  Add the following ingredients:
1 cup (120g) plain (all purpose) flour
1 cup (225g) caster sugar
1 cup (225ml) milk
Stir Herman well and cover again with his cloth.
Day five, six, seven and eight
Each day give Herman a good stir with a wooden spoon
Day nine
Herman needs to be fed again so repeat the ingredients from day four and give him a good stir.

Divide the mixture into four portions, save one portion for making the cake on Day 10, give two portions away to friends and save one portion so you can make Herman again in ten days time.

Day 10
Make Herman into a delicious cake.

You will need to add:

1 cup (225g) caster sugar
2 cups (240g) plain (all purpose) flour
2 eggs
two-thirds cup (150ml) cooking oil (I used groundnut)
2 heaped tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped

Then you can add any of the following:

2 tsp cinnamon (I did)
2 tsp mixed spice
¼ cup (40g) nuts (I added hazelnuts)
1 cup (150g) raisins or sultanas
½ cup (60g) chopped chocolate (I did but won’t next time, it just isn’t to my taste with the apples and the cinnamon)
pineapple chunks, cherries, or anything else that takes your fancy.

Mix everything together well, pour into a large greased tin (my instructions say a large roasting tin, I used my cake tin that measures 26cm x 26cm)

Sprinkle ¼ cup (80g) melted butter and ¼ cup (3 tbsp) soft brown sugar over the top of the cake and place in a preheated oven at 180°c, gas mark 4 of the middle shelf of the baking oven of the Aga for 35-45 mins until it feels springy to the touch.

Leave to cool in the tin for ten minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack.  Taste the love in every bite.

Thank you Sarah for giving me Herman.

These are my favourite type of macaroons, wonderfully old fashioned in comparison to the fancy ones available now.  They are so easy to make and deliciously almondy with just the right amount of chewiness.

They are perfect for using up any egg whites you may have lurking in the fridge. If you have a food processor then it takes just a few minutes, and even if you haven’t it is not much more work.

They are best made on rice paper but my girls like rice paper so much they eat it before I have chance to use it.    If you don’t have rice paper then a silicone lining sheet works really well, but they also don’t stick too much to a non-stick tray as long as you lift them within a minute or two of them coming out of the oven, but be warned they are very fragile at that point.

The only problem with these is that they are completely irresistible and no good for the New Year diet.

Makes 15-18 biscuits

200g ground almonds
200g granulated sugar
40g icing sugar
3 egg whites
flaked almonds

Method

Preheat the oven to 180ºc, gas mark  4.

If you have a food processor place the almonds, sugar and icing sugar in the bowl of the processor and whizz for a few seconds.  Add the egg whites and whizz until combined.

If you don’t have a food processor them place all of the ingredients into a large bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or an electric whisk until well combined.

Line a tray with silicone paper or rice paper and place dessertspoonfuls of the mixture onto the tray.  Place a flaked almond on top of each one.

Place in the preheated oven or on the middle shelf of the baking oven of the Aga for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned all over.  Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes and then place onto a wire rack to cool completely.

I accepted because I like coffee and I like the idea behind this company, a locally grown independent coffee company that wants to compete with Starbucks and Costa. They currently have two cafes (they prefer the word emporiums) in Birmingham. I haven’t visited their emporiums yet as it is a rare event for me to visit Birmingham these days ( I used to spend a vast amount of time there before I stopped work to look after the children), but I like the idea of their knit and natter events on a saturday very much.

I like the idea of a coffee tasting club too.  There are chocolate tasting clubs, but this is the first time I have heard of a coffee tasting club.

The box arrived and the smell emanating from it was intoxicating. One coffee is from Nicaragua and the other from Mexico, both have use by dates of one month and by two weeks from the date opened.

The tasting notes give details of the coffee farms including their sea level and a little general information about Nicaraguan and Mexican coffee. I like this bit very much.  It is interesting to know exactly where your coffee comes from. The Head Barista then gives you his take on the coffee. The Nicaraguan has “a caramelised sugar, nuts and chocolate taste, with a cinnamon stick spice note. It’s quite balanced, not overly acidic, with very pleasant bitter-sweet qualities”.  There is also advice about the best way to make and store the coffee.

Both coffees are good, but my favourite was the Nicaraguan.

The coffee comes ready ground, unless you request beans at the point of ordering.  The beans have been ground to medium/coarse which they state makes them perfect for most types of home brewing, although they recommend a coffee press, drip brewer or siphon. I have used my Gaggia and a cafetière  with these coffees and I found that the Gaggia worked OK but the grind was too fine for my cafetière, leaving grinds in my coffee, which I could taste throughout the cup.  I would prefer beans that I could grind myself to the grind that suited either my Gaggia or my cafetière. Having beans would also mean that the coffee would stay fresher for longer than the two weeks they recommend.

If I was stuck for buying a present for a coffee lover then I think this would be a good gift. Although, depending on the length of subscription each bag will cost you between £5.00 and £4.25, which is on the expensive side for a 125g bag.  The tasting club concept is a good one though.  It gives you the opportunity to sample coffees that you probably wouldn’t otherwise try.  I understand that you also receive a scorecard, but I didn’t have one of those in my free sample.  So, if you are that way inclined you could give a score for each coffee and submit your score back to the Urban Coffee Company.  I think they could develop this aspect with tasting club members giving their feedback via social media.  This would give a greater value to the members of the tasting club as you could see whether you agree with other members and would benefit the company giving their tasting club greater PR visibility.  Perhaps they should employ me as an ideas person?

I was not paid to do this review, but I did receive a free sample of 2 x 125ml bags of coffee. I have included links to my Amazon store, which if you purchase the items after clicking from my site I will receive a referral fee at no cost to you.

Herman is a friendship cake – well actually it’s the starter for a cake. A bit like a sour dough starter but sweet.

Herman was handed to me at the school gates today by my friend Sarah.  When she sent me a text last week asking if I would like to try doing a Herman Friendship Cake I wondered if she had spent the afternoon drinking and whether I should pick her children up from school for her. But then I googled it and it turns out that this is a cake with its origins in the Amish community when a starter would be handed around the community to feed others (and Sarah hadn’t been drinking).

I love the idea of the starter making its way through the community, friend by friend by friend.

My Herman has been decanted from his lunch box and is sitting in a large bowl covered with a tea towel.  I have to stir him and feed him a couple of times in the next ten days and then I get to make the cake and spread the love that is Herman.

I will keep you posted.

I make three or four loaves a week these days.  It is usually a white loaf or a spelt loaf.  Sometimes , if time is short, then it’s soda bread.  I felt like making something a bit different this week.  I had cashews loitering and apple juice open in the fridge and so this loaf was born.  You could make it with normal wholemeal flour and omit the yeast and make a soda bread if you are short of time.

I liked it so much that I have made it twice, once with the addition of ground almonds, replacing some of the flour, which makes it really lovely and nutty.

It’s a tasty and easy loaf to make.  It’s good with cheese (grilled or not, it’s up to you), with strawberry jam and with honey, or dipped into soup. It’s a substantial loaf that you can really get your teeth into.

400g strong wholemeal flour (or 300g flour and 100g ground almonds)
100g porridge oats
50g cashew nuts, bashed in a food bag with a rolling pin until nubbly
2 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp easy bake yeast
1 tsp runny honey
150ml apple juice
150ml water

Method

Butter a 2lb loaf tin.

Place the flour, ground almonds (if using), oats and cashews in a large bowl or freestanding mixer.  Add the yeast, the salt and the honey. Warm the apple juice and water until hand hot. Pour into the flour and mix well until combined.  You may need a spot more water, as it will depend on the flour you are using.  The dough wants to be slightly sticky. Roughly shape into the size of the tin and place in the tin.  Cover with a large plastic bag, making a tent shape so that the loaf has room to rise.  Leave in a warm place for about an hour until the loaf has risen almost to the top of the tin. Wholemeal loaves do not rise as much as white loaves.

Place in a preheated oven at 200°c, gas mark 6 or on the floor of the roasting oven of the Aga for about 35-40 minutes until the loaf is well browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.  You may want to return it to the oven for another five minutes out of its tin to let the base crisp up. When cooked place it on a wire rack to cool completely.

Well, now we have got Christmas and New Year out of the way, I thought I would share a recipe that would be very good for Burns’ Night.  Burns Night is a Scottish celebration on January 25th to mark the contribution of Robert Burns to Scottish culture.

We are not Scottish, we don’t live anywhere near Scotland, but any excuse for a party. My parents are having a Burns’ Night bash on the Saturday after the 25th and I came up with this cheesecake for that night. Obviously, I had to have a test-run first.

It is a celebration of Scottish food. The Scots are famed for their whisky, their honey and their raspberries. I have also used Scottish oatcakes in the base, as a Scot needs their oats.

It’s a lovely combination, and obviously at this time of year you will need to use frozen raspberries if you are in the same hemisphere as me, but I am going to try it in the summer with a layer of fresh raspberries in the place of the raspberry sauce.  Even if you aren’t celebrating Burns’ Night, I urge you to give this a go. But, it is perfect after your haggis and tatties and neeps.

For the biscuit base:
150g Scottish Oatcakes
100g digestives
150g unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp runny honey (local or Scottish)

For the cheesecake filling:
250g mascarpone (at room temperature)
250g cream cheese (at room temperature)
300ml double cream
3tsp runny honey
5-7 tbsp Scottish whisky (amount needed will depend on your taste)

For the raspberry sauce:
250g raspberries (frozen at this time of year)
3 tsp runny honey
2 tsp raspberry vinegar (optional)
½ tsp arrowroot powder mixed with 1 tsp cold water

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C, or gas mark 4

To make the base, place the oatcakes and digestives into a food bag and bash with a rolling pin until they are fine crumbs (or you could use a food processor).  Place into a bowl and add the honey and the melted butter and mix well.  Press into a 23cm springform cake tin using a metal spoon until firmly levelled.  Place in the oven for 6 minutes until golden. Leave to cool thoroughly.

To make the cheesecake filling, place the mascarpone, cream cheese and honey into a large bowl and mix well together.  Softly whip the cream in another bowl.  Then carefully fold the cream into the cheese mixture.  Add the whisky to your taste. To do this begin by  adding four tablespoons of whisky and taste, then add a tablespoon at a time until it tastes right to you. Spoon the mixture onto the cool base and level the top with a metal spoon.  Place in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Make the sauce by placing the frozen raspberries into a saucepan over a medium heat.  Add the honey and the raspberry vinegar (if you are using it) and cook the raspberries until they have become pulpy (about five minutes of cooking).  Sieve over a large bowl, pressing the raspberries through with a spoon so that you only have seeds left in the sieve and a seedless sauce in the bowl. Pour the sauce back into the pan and add the arrowroot and water mixture.  Bring to the boil and cook until slightly thickened. Pour into a jug and cool completely.  Place in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Just before serving, remove the sides of the cake tin and place the cheesecake onto a serving plate.  Pour the sauce over the top of the cheesecake, spreading evenly.  Serve in thick slices with extra cream.

Wishing all my lovely readers a very happy Christmas. I hope that you all get to share some lovely time with friends and family, or some lovely peaceful time, whichever you are lucky enough to get this year.

Merry Christmas,

lots of love,

Kath

(Image of holly from karenswhimsy.com)

I made vanilla bundt cakes immediately but today was time for a bundt cake that can be shared with We Should Cocoa, this month hosted by Choclette.  She chose orange for this month’s challenge and I love the combination of chocolate and orange.

The chocolate bundt cakes have orange zest and juice added and are beautiful drizzled with the orange flavoured icing. Delicious.

110g butter, softened
150g caster sugar
3 eggs
150g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tablespoons of yoghurt ( I use Total 2%)
Zest of a large orange
Juice of half a large orange

For the icing
75g icing sugar
juice of half a large orange

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°c, gas mark 4 or use the Baking Oven of the Aga. Butter or oil the bundt pan.  Although, I did run a test on mine and the non stick coating worked a treat without greasing beforehand.

Making sure that the butter is really soft (I left mine out of the fridge for two days and it still wasn’t soft enough – a testament to our chilly kitchen), place all of the ingredients into a large bowl and whisk with an electric whisk until you have a smooth batter.

Pour a teaspoon of the batter into each hole of the bundt pan and place in the oven. Cook for about twenty minutes until they look cooked and if you lightly touch them the cake will spring back.

Leave them in the tin for a few minutes and then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the icing by mixing the icing sugar with the orange juice.  If you think it’s too runny then add a little more icing sugar as it will depend on the juiciness of your orange.

Place the little cakes on a serving plate and drizzle with the icing.

You could make this in a large bundt pan, in which case you will need to double the recipe and cook for about 45 minutes. Test the cake with a skewer which should come out clean after being pushed to the centre of the cake.

This cake was born during a night out with friends.  It was one of those nights when we threw caution to the wind and drank cocktails!  Crazy, I know! (We don’t get out much these days).

I indulged in an Amaretto and Ginger Ale.  Goodness, it was good.  My friend, let’s call her Tallulah, (that’s the name she wanted to be known by if I ever wrote this post) said it would make a good cake.  Ginger topped with a layer of marzipan.

I got to it that very week. The ginger cake topped with marzipan was good but not great.  A couple of weeks later and I felt inspired enough to try again.  Adding the marzipan into the batter makes for a deliciously moist cake and the combination of pieces of chewy, zingy crystallised ginger and soft, comforting marzipan is a winner.

This cake is perfect for this time of year because it just shouts Christmas to you. It’s also a good way to use up your marzipan trimmings from the Christmas cake.   This cake will last at least a week.  So it’s a good cake to have around at Christmas to share with visitors. Thank you Tallulah, for the inspiration (and for a great night out).

150g butter
125g dark muscovado sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
200g black treacle
200g golden syrup
250ml milk
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
300g plain flour
60g crystallised ginger, chopped into small chunks
150g marzipan (made like the recipe here with 1 tbsp Amaretto added in place of the lemon juice and almond extract, or shop bought), chopped into chunks

Method
Preheat the oven to 170°c, gas mark 3 or use the baking oven of the Aga. Line a tray that measures 30cm x 20cm x 5 cm (the Aga half roaster) with foil or silicon liner. If you are using foil, butter well.

Place the butter, sugar, spices, syrup and treacle in a pan and heat until melted.  Take off the heat and stir to combine.  Beat the eggs lightly.  Add the eggs and the milk to the syrup mixture and stir well to combine. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and add the liquid to the flour. Mix well.  Add the chopped crystallised ginger and the marzipan and pour the mixture into the tin.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour until lightly springy to the touch.  Be careful not to overcook it. Leave to cool in the tin.  Wrap in fresh foil and eat a slice whenever you feel the need to indulge.

My girls both love our local library.  They get very excited.  The eldest chooses her books very quickly.  The youngest can never make a decision.  In the end, the only way she that will reluctantly make a decision is if you tell her (for the fifth time) that you (really) are leaving in five seconds. Anyway, the eldest chose The Usborne Little Book of Christmas Cooking (the youngest chose a story about Christmas Unicorns, eventually).  This book is really lovely.  It is full of biscuit and cake recipes with a Christmas theme.  Each step of the recipe is illustrated with a drawing to help children understand each stage.

On our first read-through both girls were taken with the Painted Biscuits recipe. They each wanted to make them for everyone in their class.  That is sixty biscuits, yes, sixty biscuits. All of which need stamping out, and all of which need painting.

Actually, it wasn’t as stressful as I thought it would be.  The girls helped stamp out half the dough and then (even more helpfully) painted those whilst I stamped out the rest.  We got a bit of a production line going.

They were appreciated by everyone in their class I understand, and why not? They are light and buttery and they look lovely with their festive shapes and colours.

This recipe makes enough to make 60 small biscuits.  It can easily be halved if you don’t have two classes of children to feed.

150g softened butter
100g icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour

To decorate:
1 egg white
food colouring
clean new paintbrushes

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°c, gas mark 4.

Cream the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well between each addition.  Add the vanilla extract and mix well. Sift the flour into the bowl and mix until it comes together in a ball of dough. Place in the fridge to chill for twenty minutes.

To make the paint, lightly whisk the egg white and divide between as many cups as you want colours.  Add a few drops of your chosen food colour to each cup.

Grease baking trays with butter ( I needed four to make 60 biscuits, but you could do this is rotation, cooking one batch at a time).

Lightly flour the work surface and roll out the dough to about 5mm thick. Stamp out shapes and place them onto the greased tray.  Paint away to your heart’s content with the coloured egg white.

Bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes until lightly golden.

Use a palette knife to place them onto a wire rack to cool.