Herman Coffee Cake (or the 16 day friendship bread).

If you don't have a starter, it is made by stirring 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of milk into a non metallic container. Let mixture sit for five days stirring once each day.

On the 6th day feed Herman with: 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk.

Stir once a day for five more days. On the eleventh day, feed Herman again: 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk.

Stir once a day for five more days. On the sixteenth day, you have five cups of Herman. Use 2 cups for baking, keep 1 cup to restart and give 1 cup each to two friends. (Or make two large loaves and keep the one cup for yourself to restart.) To restart, I usually add 1 cup of each (sugar, flour and milk) to the starter and do the 16 day process all over again. When the process is over, you will have 6 cups of starter. If you do the 11 day process to the starter adding 1/2 cup of sugar each along with the rest of the process, then you may want to add the toppings to give it the sweet-sourdough taste that you want.

Prepare to bake. Mix all cake ingredients. Pour into greased 9x13 pan or use 2 7+1/4 x 7+1/4 pans for freezing.

Topping #1: Mix and sprinkle on unbaked cake mix.

Bake 60 minutes for large loaf pan or 25 to 30 minutes for smaller loafs at 350 degrees F.

Topping #2: Mix and bring to boil. Drizzle topping on hot cake. Cool and cover - eat or freeze. If reheating after freezing, put foil on top.

(The two separate toppings are optional. I make the loaves without the toppings and the cakes still taste excellent to me. Of course I always follow the 16 day process. Without the toppings, I sometimes put cream cheese on my slices; it brings out more of the sweet/sourdough taste.) Enjoy.

Starter Takes 16 Days!