Hello! Long time, no blogging eh? It has been so long, even my sister was asking about my lack of blogging! Having a blog break wasn’t something I planned. The run up to Christmas was much busier than I’d planned for and ran out of time to do any end of year round ups. Then, over Christmas, I was enjoying the return of my crafting mojo (more on that later this week) and didn’t want to spoil it all by looking at a computer. I had quite the digital detox, with the exception of working quite a bit. And I guess it’s taking me quite a while to get back into the swing of things. Work is busy, which is good, and Januray is quite a busy birthday month, especially with not one, but two 60th birthday celebrations occuring. So it’s taken me a little longer to get back to normal.
As I worked quite a bit over Christmas and New Year, I don’t really feel like I’ve had a massive break, but my email accounts were much quieter, which was nice. I’ve not really had much of a chance to think about resolutions, so I haven’t really made any, though this week, I have been thinking about things I want to change and improvements I want to make around the house, finances willing. While I don’t really like change, (who does?) I do get itchy feet from time to time, especially working from home. I see all the things that I don’t like about the house, all the things that annoy me, that I point out to guests whenever we have any. How about you? Any resolutions, goals or big plans for the year ahead? Or are just looking forward to getting through the year unscathed?!
Hermann did come with instructions, which was very helpful. When he was bubbling away it was good to know that that was normal & I shouldn’t worry about it!
Hermann lived on the worktop for the time that he was with us. He was simply covered with a towel to keep him protected. I checked that he was bubbling away throughout his duration and stirred him daily. This was all that Hermann needed for the majority of the time – until Day 9 when he had to be divided into four.
The aim here is that you keep one portion for yourself to bake and eat and you give the other three away. This is why it used to be called a friendship cake. I asked for some willing recipients at work & promptly poured the mixture into four bowls, photocopied the instructions & gave Hermann I, II & III away. If you wanted to keep your original Hermann going you could keep one of the portions for yourself and start over.
On Day 10 I had to add more flour, milk & sugar to Hermann, along with any other bits and pieces I wanted in my cake. A lot of people seem to put dried fruit in but my OH requested chocolate chips. In they all went. I had enough mixture for two cake tins as mine are quite small.
Anyway, a while later, when Hermann had cooled down enough I got him out of the tins. He had a lovely golden top, was moist but cooked. He was delicious! I took one cake to work & it was devoured in minutes! Nothing says baking success more than an empty plate.