Friendship cake (Herman cake) Air fryer

Ever since CH gave me some sourdough starter, I was intrigue by this fermentation world.  It seems endless of stuff that we can do with fermentation.  Each day I discovered more and more.  Thanks to friends who are so willing to share their knowledge.

FK also gave me some water kefir grains and Kombucha scoby.  I did have a big challenge for that journey and finally I have success brewing my own Kombucha and water kefir where I will document my learning later on.  

For this time, I will introduce you to Herman Starter.  A sweet tasting dough starter for those who does not like the sour taste in sourdough bread.  

Thanks to CT for sorting out my fizzy brain.  For a moment, I though I fed my Herman wrongly.    Thanks for ensuring me the ratio 1:1:1:1 is the right combination and not needing it to bin after 10 days of effort.

Thanks also to JA for sharing with me this starter.

So for a start, I shall begin with the famous Friendship Cake using Herman Starter.  Since I have not used my air fryer for quite some time, I decided to use it to bake as well.  

If you are keen, feel free to take a portion of this Herman Starter from me too.

Findings: The batter texture is really thick and it reminded me of my Hampton fruit mixture.  It is an extremely fuss free recipe to attempt.   

I made the mistake of foil wrap the cake as I was worried that it will rise too much.  When I extended another 15 mins without the foil, I had a little burnt top from it.  Should have foil wrap after that 30 mins.

I baked it for 45 mins at 170°C but my cake wasn't done by then, I have to increased it by another 15 mins.  

The cake has a nice crust when freshly bake and the texture is moist too.

Now my whole house smell so good due to the high dose of cinnamon.

What you need:

220g Herman Starter

225g sugar (I reduced to 200g)

300g plain flour

½ tsp salt

2/3 cup of cooking oil

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla essence

2 cooking apples cut into chunks

200g raisins

2 heaped tsp cinnamon

2 heaped tsp baking powder

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup melted butter, adding this helps to moisten the cake.

Method:

Preheat air fryer to 170°C.  Greased and lined a 8" round pan.

Mix all the above ingredients together until well combined.

Pour into prepared tin.

Sprinkle with brown sugar and melted butter.

Bake for 45 minutes or to test the middle with a clean knife

Noted: you may need to cover in tin foil and bake for a further 20 minutes to make sure your Herman is cooked properly in the middle.


Cheers