Part 11 (1/2)

Rub together, till very white, a pound of sugar, three quarters of a pound of b.u.t.ter. Mix a wine gla.s.s of wine, one of brandy, one of milk, and if you wish to have the cake look dark, put in a tea-spoonful of saleratus. Stir them into the b.u.t.ter and sugar, together with a pound of flour, a tea-spoonful of rosewater, or essence of lemon, a quarter of an ounce of mace. Beat the whites and yelks separately of six eggs--if no saleratus is used, two more eggs will be necessary. When beaten to a froth, mix them with the cake. Stir the whole well together, then add, just before baking it, half a pound of seeded raisins, the same weight of Zante currants, a quarter of a pound of citron, or almonds blanched, and pounded fine in rosewater. The fruit should be stirred in gradually, a handful of each alternately. Line a couple of three pint tin pans with b.u.t.tered white paper, put in the cake, and bake it directly. If it browns too fast, cover it with paper. It takes from an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half to bake it, according to the heat of the oven.

208. _Delicate Cake._

Stir to a cream a pound of powdered white sugar, seven ounces of b.u.t.ter--then add the whites of sixteen eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, half a nutmeg, or a tea-spoonful of rosewater. Stir in gradually a pound of sifted flour, and bake the cake immediately. The yelks of the eggs can be used for custards.

209. _Jelly Cake._

Rub together, till white, half a pound of sugar, six ounces of b.u.t.ter.

Beat eight eggs to a froth, and stir into the b.u.t.ter and sugar, together with a pound of sifted flour. Add the juice and grated rind of a fresh lemon, and turn this mixture on to scolloped tin plates, that have been well b.u.t.tered. The cake should not be more than a quarter of an inch thick on each of the plates. Bake them directly, in a quick oven, till a light brown. Pile them on a plate with a layer of jelly or marmalade between each of the cakes, and a layer on the top.

210. _Strawberry Cake._

Mix a quart of flour with a tea-spoonful of salt, four beaten eggs, and a tea-cup of thick cream, or melted b.u.t.ter. Add sufficient milk to enable you to roll it out--roll it out thin, line a shallow cake pan with part of it, then put in a thick layer of nice ripe strawberries, strew on sufficient white sugar to sweeten the strawberries, cover them with a thin layer of the crust, then add another layer of strawberries and sugar--cover the whole with another layer of crust, and bake it in a quick oven about twenty-five minutes.

211. _Superior Sponge Cake._

Take the weight of ten eggs in powdered loaf sugar, beat it to a froth with the yelks of twelve eggs, put in the grated rind of a fresh lemon, leaving out the white part--add half the juice. Beat the whites of twelve eggs to a stiff froth, and mix them with the sugar and b.u.t.ter.

Stir the whole without any cessation for fifteen minutes, then stir in gradually the weight of six eggs in sifted flour. As soon as the flour is well mixed in, turn the cake into pans lined with b.u.t.tered paper--bake it immediately in a quick, but not a furiously hot oven. It will bake in the course of twenty minutes. If it bakes too fast, cover it with thick paper.

212. _Good Sponge Cake._

Beat together the yelks of ten eggs, with a pound of powdered white sugar--beat to a stiff froth the whites of the eggs, and stir them into the yelks and sugar. Beat the whole ten or fifteen minutes, then stir in gradually three-quarters of a pound of sifted flour. Flavor it with a nutmeg, or the grated rind of a lemon. Bake it as soon as the flour and spices are well mixed in.

213. _Almond Cake._

Beat the yelks of twelve eggs to a froth, with a pound of powdered white sugar. Beat the whites of nine eggs to a stiff froth, and stir them into the yelks and sugar. When the whole has been stirred together for ten minutes, add gradually a pound of sifted flour, and half a pound of almonds, blanched and pounded fine, then stir in three table-spoonsful of thick cream. As soon as the ingredients are well mixed in, turn the cake into b.u.t.tered pans, and bake it immediately. Frost the cake with the reserved whites of the eggs as soon as it is baked.

214. _Fruit Cake._

One pound of flour, one of sugar, three-quarters of a pound of b.u.t.ter, two pounds of seeded raisins, two of currants, one of citron, a quarter of a pound of almonds, half an ounce of mace, a tea-spoonful of rosewater, a wine gla.s.s of brandy, one of wine, and ten eggs. Stir the sugar and b.u.t.ter to a cream, then add the whites and yelks of the eggs, beaten separately to a froth--stir in the flour gradually, then the wine, brandy, and spice. Add the fruit just before it is put into the pans. It takes over two hours to bake it if the loaves are thick--if the loaves are thin, it will bake in less time. This kind of cake is the best after it has been made three or four weeks, and it will keep good five or six months.

215. _Black Cake._

One pound of flour, one of sugar, fourteen ounces of b.u.t.ter, ten eggs, three pounds of seeded raisins, three pounds of Zante currants, and one pound of citron, a wine gla.s.s of wine, one of brandy, and one of milk, a tea-spoonful of saleratus, a table-spoonful of mola.s.ses, a table-spoonful of cinnamon, a tea-spoonful of cloves, a quarter of an ounce of mace, or one nutmeg. The sugar should be the brown kind, and stirred a few minutes with the b.u.t.ter, then the eggs beaten to a froth, and stirred in. Brown the flour in a pan, over a few coals--stir it constantly to prevent its burning. It should be done before you commence making the cake, so as to have it get cold. Stir it into the b.u.t.ter and sugar gradually, then add the mola.s.ses and spice. Dissolve the saleratus in the milk, then strain it, and mix it with the brandy and wine, to curdle them--stir the whole into the cake. Just before you put it into the cake pans, stir in the fruit gradually, a handful of each alternately. When well mixed in, put it into cake pans, and bake it immediately. If baked in thick loaves, it takes from two hours and a half to three hours to bake it sufficiently. The oven should not be of a furious heat. Black cake cuts the best when three or four weeks old.

216. _Maccaroons._

Soak half a pound of sweet almonds in boiling hot water, till the skins will rub off easily--wipe them dry. When you have rubbed off the skins, pound them fine with rosewater. Beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth, then stir in gradually half a pound of powdered white sugar, then add the almonds. When the almonds are well mixed in, drop the mixture in small parcels on b.u.t.tered baking plates, several inches apart, sift sugar over them, and bake them in a slow oven.

217. _Cocoanut Cakes._