A while ago I was given a container of bubbling batter with an accompanying one page letter. 

The letter opened by saying 

Hello my name is Herman. I am a sourdough cake

The rest of the letter contains specific instructions on how to look after, and ultimately bake, Herman The German Friendship Cake. The bubbling brew is a type of sourdough starter, used to make the cake rise.  The letter sets out daily instructions on how to feed Herman and cultivate him over the course of ten days. 

This is the chain part - on the ninth day, you are instructed to divide the starter into four segments. Keep one and give the remaining three segments of Herman away, together with a copy of the letter.  

On day 10, use your remaining portion and follow the recipe to bake a delicious warm spicy apple and cinnamon sourdough cake. 

What is so special about Herman?

If you are not familiar with sourdough starter, this whole chain cake concept would seem a little off-putting.  Rest assured, Herman is perfect for this sort of culinary sharing. Sourdough starter is designed to multiply and can do so for generations (if looked after properly). It does not require refrigeration and multiplies off wild yeasts that naturally exist in the air.  It is a combination of how the bacteria, wild yeasts and acids produced from the bacteria react together.  Some of the worlds best sourdough bakeries use starter that has been nurtured for over one hundred years.  If you are cultivating your own starter, it is necessary every so often to remove some of it, and feed it more flour and water to keep it healthy. This is why dividing up your “Herman” and passing it on to others is actually what keeps Herman alive. Herman can keep multiplying and growing, provided he is continually divided and fed. 

I must admit I was skeptical about the hygiene of baking a cake using a starter that I was given.  But curiosity got the better of me and for 10 days, I welcomed Herman into my kitchen. I followed the instructions through to completion. I baked the cake. I ate the cake and it was good.

Does Herman Travel the World?

I told my mum (who lives on the other side of Australia) about Herman and she was surprised Herman was still doing the rounds. She remembers coming across Herman years ago. I started to wonder how many people around the country, even the world have come in contact with Herman? How many people before me, contributed to 'my' Herman The German Friendship Cake? How many countries has Herman visited? I had no way to answer these questions.  I wrote about the chain letter, recipe and my baking experience on my personal blog. The readership on my blog is relatively small and mostly Australian. 

I still am curious - how universal is this culinary chain letter? 

Then boom!  Enter Steemit and suddenly I have a platform on which to ask that question again, and this time maybe get some answers. 

So, have you seen Herman The German Friendship Cake? 

If so, in which country and in what year? Did you bake the cake and pass on the instructions to keep the chain cake alive? 

I truly would love to know.   

Until next time, long live Herman.   

xx Isabella