measuring out the amount required. Use the best granulated white sugar.
Eggs for use in cake are better to have the yolks and whites beaten
separately. Beat the former until they cease to froth and begin to
thicken as if mixed with flour. Beat the whites until stiff enough to
remain in the bowl if inverted. Have the eggs and dishes cool, and if
practicable, beat in a cool room. Use earthen or china bowls to beat
eggs in.
If fruit is to be used, it should be washed and dried according to
directions given on page 298, and then dusted with flour, a
dessertspoonful to the pound of fruit. For use in cup cake or any other
cake which requires a quick baking, raisins should be first steamed. If
you have no patent steamer, place them in a close covered dish within an
ordinary steamer, and cook for an hour over a kettle of boiling water.
This should be done the day before they are to be used.
Use an earthen or granite-ware basin for mixing cake. Be very accurate
in measuring the materials, and have them all at hand and all utensils
ready before beginning to put the cake together. If it is to be baked at
once, see that the oven also is at just the right temperature. It should
be less hot for cake than for bread. Thin cakes require a hotter oven
than those baked in loaves. They require from fifteen to twenty minutes
to bake; thicker loaves, from thirty to sixty minutes. For loaf cakes
the oven should be at such a temperature that during the first half of
the time the cake will have risen to its full height and just begun to
brown.
The recipes given require neither baking powder, soda, nor saleratus.
Yeast and air can be made to supply the necessary lightness, and their
use admits of as great a variety in cakes as will be needed on a
hygienic bill of fare.
In making cake with yeast, do not use very thick cream, as a rich, oily
batter retards fermentation and makes the cake slow in rising. If the
cake browns too quickly, protect it by a covering of paper. If necessary
to move a cake in the oven, do it very gently. Do not slam the oven door
or in any way jar a cake while baking, lest it fall. Line cake tins with
paper to prevent burning the bottom and edges. Oil the paper, not the
tins, very lightly. Cake is done when it shrinks from the pan and stops
hissing, or when a clean straw run into the thickest part comes up
clean.
As soon as possible after baking, remove from the pan, as, if allowed to
remain in the pan, it is apt to become too moist.
_RECIPES._
APPLE CAKE.--Scald a cup of thin cream and cool to blood heat, add
one and a half cups of sifted white flour, one fourth of a cup of sugar,
and a gill of liquid yeast or one half cake of compressed yeast
dissolved in a gill of thin cream. Beat well together, set in a warm
place, and let it rise till perfectly light. When well risen, add one
half cup of sugar mixed with one half cup of warm flour. Beat well and
set in a warm place to rise again. When risen a second time, add two
eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, and about one tablespoonful of
flour. Turn the whole into three round shallow baking tins, which have
been previously oiled and warmed, and place where it will rise again for
an hour, or until it is all of a foam. Bake quickly in a moderately hot
oven. Make this the day before it is needed, and when ready to use
prepare a filling as follows: Beat together the whites of two eggs, one
half cup of sugar, the juice of one lemon, and two large tart apples
well grated. Heat in a farina kettle until all are hot; cool, and
spread between the layers of cake. This should be eaten the day the
filling is prepared.
COCOANUT CUSTARD CAKE.--Make the cake as directed in the preceding
recipe. For the filling, prepare a soft custard by heating just to the
boiling point one pint of rich milk previously flavored with cocoanut;
into which stir A tablespoonful of cornstarch braided with a little
milk, and let it boil until thickened. Beat together an egg and one
third of a cup of sugar, and turn the hot mixture slowly over it,
stirring constantly till the custard thickens. When cold, spread between
the layers of raised cake.
CREAM CAKE.--Prepare the cake as above. Spread between the layers
when cold a cream made as follows: Stir into one half pint of boiling
milk two teaspoonfuls of cornstarch rubbed smooth in a little cold milk.
Take with two tablespoonfuls of sugar; return to the rest of the custard
and cook, stirring constantly until quite thick. Cool and flavor with a
teaspoonful of vanilla or rose water.
DELICATE CUP CAKE.--This cake contains no soda or baking powder,
and to make it light requires the incorporation of as much air as
possible. In order to accomplish this, it should be put together in the
same manner as directed for Batter Breads (page 154). Have all material
measured and everything in readiness before beginning to put the cake
together, then beat together the yolk of one egg, one cup of sugar, and
one cup of very cold sweet cream, until all of a foam; add a little
grated lemon rind for flavoring; stir in slowly, beating briskly all the
time, two cups of granular white flour (sometimes termed gluten flour)
or Graham meal. When all the flour is added, add lastly the beaten
whites of two eggs, stirring just enough to mix them well throughout the
whole; turn at once into slightly heated gem irons which have been
previously oiled, and bake in a moderately quick oven. If made according
to directions, this cake will be very light and delicate. It will not
puff up much above its first proportions, but will be light throughout.
A nice cake may be prepared in the same manner with Graham meal or even
white flour, by the addition of a heaping tablespoonful of cornstarch
sifted into the flour, in the way in which baking powder is ordinarily
mixed with flour before using.
FIG LAYER CAKE.--Prepare the cake as directed for Apple Cake. Chop
one half pound of figs very fine, add one half cup of sugar, one cup of
water and boil in a farina kettle until soft and homogeneous. Cool, and
spread between the cakes. Or chop steamed figs very fine, mix with an
equal quantity of almondine, and use.
FRUIT JELLY CAKE.--Prepare the cake as in the foregoing, using
fruit jelly between the layers.
GOLD AND SILVER CAKE.--Prepare the cake as for Apple Cake. When it
has risen the second time, measure out one third of it, and add the
yolks of the eggs to that portion with a little grated lemon rind for
flavoring; add the whites with some very finely pulverized desiccated
cocoanut to the other two thirds. Make two sheets of the white and one
of the yellow. Allow them to become perfectly light before baking. When
baked, place the yellow portion between the two white sheets, binding
them together with a little frosting or white currant jelly.
ICING FOR CAKES.--Since icing adds to the excess of sugar contained
in cakes, it is preferable to use them without it except when especially
desired for ornament. An icing without eggs may be prepared by boiling a
cup of granulated sugar in five tablespoonfuls of sweet milk for five
minutes, then beating until cool enough to spread. One with egg may be
easily made of six tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, the white of one
egg, and one teaspoonful of boiling water mixed without beating. A
colored icing may be made by using a teaspoonful of boiling cranberry
juice or other red fruit juice instead of water. The top of the icing
may be ornamented with roasted almonds, bits of colored sugar or frosted
fruits, directions for the preparation of all of which have already been
given.
ORANGE CAKE.--Prepare the cake as for Apple Cake, and bake in two
layers. For the filling, take two good-sized, juicy oranges. Flavor two
tablespoonfuls of sugar by rubbing it over the skin of the oranges, then
peel, remove the white rind, and cut into small pieces, discarding the
seeds and the central pith. Put the orange pulp in a china bowl, and set
in a dish of boiling water. When it is hot, stir in a heaping
teaspoonful of cornstarch which has been braided smooth in two spoonfuls
of water. Stir constantly until the starch has cooked, and the whole
becomes thickened. Beat the yolk of one egg to a cream with two
tablespoonfuls of sugar. Stir this very gradually, so as not to lump,
into the orange mixture, and cook two or three minutes longer. Remove
from the fire, and when cool, spread between the cakes. If the oranges
are not very tart, a little lemon juice is an improvement. Meringue the
top of the cake with the white of the egg beaten up with the two
tablespoonfuls of sugar flavored with orange.
FRUIT CAKE.--Make a sponge of one pint of thin cream which has been
scalded and cooled to lukewarm, one gill of liquid yeast or one half
cake of compressed yeast dissolved in a gill of cream, one half cup of
sugar, and two and one half cups of flour. Beat all together very
thoroughly and let rise until light. When light, add another half cup of
sugar, one half cup of rather thick cream which has been scalded and
cooled, one cup of warm flour, and after beating well together, set away
to rise again. When well risen, add one cup of seeded raisins, one
fourth cup of citron chopped fine, one half cup of Zante currants, two
well-beaten eggs, and about one and one third cups of flour. Turn into a
brick loaf bread pan, let it rise until very light, and bake. When done,
remove from the pan and set away until at least twenty-four hours old
before using.
LOAF CAKE.--Scald a cup of rather thin cream, and cool to blood
heat. Add one and one half cups of warm flour, one half a cup of sugar,
and one fourth cake of compressed yeast dissolved in two tablespoonfuls
of thin cream or as much of liquid yeast. Beat well, and let rise until
perfectly light; then add one half cup more of sugar mixed with one half
cup of warm flour. Beat well, and set away to rise a second time. When
again well risen, add the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth,
one half cup of warm flour, and a little grated lemon rind, or two
teaspoonfuls of rose water to flavor. Turn into a brick loaf bread pan
lined with oiled paper, allow it to become perfectly light again, and
bake. This cake, like other articles made with yeast, should not be
eaten within at least twenty-four hours after baking.
PINEAPPLE CAKE.--Prepare as for orange cake, using grated pineapple
in place of oranges.
PLAIN BUNS.--These are the simplest of all cakes. Dissolve half a
small cake of compressed yeast in a cup of thin cream which has been
previously warmed to blood heat, add two cups of warm flour, and beat
thoroughly together. Put in a warm place, and let it rise till very
light. Add three tablespoonfuls of sugar mixed well with a half cup of
warm flour, one half cup of Zante currants, and sufficient flour to make
of the consistency of dough. Buns should be kneaded just as soft as
possible, and from fifteen to twenty minutes. Shape into biscuits a
little larger than an English walnut, place them on tins far enough
apart so they will not touch each other when risen. Put in a warm place
till they have risen to twice their first size, then bake in a
moderately quick oven. If desired, the currants may be omitted and a
little grated lemon rind for flavoring added with the sugar, or a bit of
citron may be placed in the top of each bun when shaping. When taken
from the oven, sprinkle the top of each with moist sugar if desired, or
glace by brushing with milk while baking.
SPONGE CAKE.--For this will be required four eggs, one cup of
sugar, one tablespoonful of lemon juice with a little of the grated
rind, and one cup of white flour. Success in the making of sponge cake
depends almost wholly upon the manner in which it is put together. Beat
the yolks of the eggs until very light and thick, then add the sugar
little by little, beating it in thoroughly; add the lemon juice and the
grated rind. Beat the whites of the eggs until perfectly stiff and firm,
and fold or chop them very lightly into the yolk mixture. Sift the flour
with a sifter little by little over the mixture and fold it carefully
in. On no account stir either the white of the eggs or the flour in,
since stirring will drive out the air which has been beaten into the
eggs. Do not beat after the flour is added. The cake, when the flour is
all in, should be stiff and spongy. If it is liquid in character, it
will be apt to be tough and may be considered a failure. Bake in a
shallow pan in a rather hot oven fifteen or twenty minutes.
SUGAR CRISPS.--Make a soft dough of two and one fourth cups of
Graham flour, one half cup of granulated white sugar, and one cup of
rather thick sweet cream. Knead as little as possible, roll out very
thinly, cut in rounds or squares, and bake in a quick oven.
VARIETY CAKE.--Make the same as Gold and Silver Cake, and mix a
half cup of Zante currants and chopped raisins with the yellow portion.
The white portion may be flavored by adding a very little chopped citron
instead of the cocoanut, if preferred.
TABLE TOPICS.
If families could be induced to substitute the apple--sound, ripe,
and luscious--for the pies, cakes, candies, and other sweetmeats
with which children are too often stuffed, there would be a
diminution of doctors' bills, sufficient in a single year to lay up
a stock of this delicious fruit for a season's use.--_Prof.
Faraday._
Food for repentance--mince pie eaten late at night.
_Young Student_--"This cook book says that pie crust needs plenty of
shortening. Do you know what that means, pa?"
_Father_--"It means lard."
"But why is lard called shortening, pa?"
"Because it shortens life."
The health journals and the doctors all agree that the best and most
wholesome part of the New England country doughnut is the hole. The
larger the hole, they say, the better the doughnut.
An old gentleman who was in the habit of eating a liberal slice of
pie or cake just before retiring, came home late one evening after
his wife had gone to bed. After an unsuccessful search in the
pantry, he called to his wife, "Mary, where is the pie?" His good
wife timidly acknowledged that there was no pie in the house. Said
her husband, "Then where is the cake?" The poor woman meekly
confessed that the supply of cake was also exhausted; at which the
disappointed husband cried out in a sharp, censorious tone, "Why,
what would you do if somebody should be sick in the night?"
_Woman_ (to tramp)--"I can give you some cold buckwheat cakes and a
piece of mince pie." _Tramp_--(frightened) "What ye say?"
_Woman_--"Cold buckwheat cakes and mince pie." _Tramp_--(heroically)
"Throw in a small bottle of pepsin, Madam, and I'll take the
chances."
GRAVIES AND SAUCES
Gravies for vegetables, sauces for desserts, and similar foods thickened
with flour or cornstarch, are among the most common of the poorly
prepared articles of the _cuisine_, although their proper preparation is
a matter of considerable importance, since neither a thin, watery sauce
nor a stiff, paste-like mixture is at all palatable. The preparation of
gravies and sauces is a very simple matter when governed by that
accuracy of measurement and carefulness of detail which should be
exercised in the preparation of all foods. In consistency, a properly
made sauce should mask the back of the spoon; that is to say, when
dipped into the mixture and lifted out, the metal of the spoon should
not be visible through it as it runs off. The proportion of material
necessary to secure this requisite is one tablespoonful of flour,
slightly rounded, for each half pint of water or stock. If the sauce be
made of milk or fruit juice, a little less flour will be needed. If
cornstarch be used, a scant instead of a full tablespoonful will be
required. The flour, or cornstarch should be first braided or rubbed
perfectly smooth in a very small amount of the liquid reserved for the
purpose (salt or sugar, if any is to be used, being added to the flour
before braiding with the liquid), and then carefully added to the
remaining liquid, which should be actively boiling. It should then be
continuously stirred until it has thickened, when it should be allowed
to cook slowly for five or ten minutes until the starch or flour is well
done. If through any negligence to observe carefully these simple
details, there should be lumps in the sauce, they must be removed before
serving by turning the whole through a fine colander or wire strainer.
The double boiler is the best utensil for the preparation of sauces and
gravies, since it facilitates even cooking and renders them less liable
to become scorched. The inner cup should be placed on the top of the
range until the sauce has become thickened, as in the cooking of grains,
and afterwards placed in the outer boiler to continue the cooking as
long as needed.
Cream gravies for vegetables may be delicately flavored with celery, by
steeping a few bits of celery in the milk for a few minutes, and
removing with a fork before adding the thickening. Sauces for puddings
may be similarly flavored, by steeping cocoanut or bits of orange or
lemon rind in the milk.
GRAVIES AND SAUCES FOR VEGETABLES.
_RECIPES._
BROWN SAUCE.--Heat a pint of thin cream, and when boiling, add half
a teaspoonful of salt and a tablespoonful of flour browned in the oven
as directed on page 274, and rubbed to a smooth paste with a little cold
milk. Allow it to boil rapidly, stirring constantly until thickened;
then cook more slowly, in a double boiler, for five or ten minutes. If
desired, the milk may be flavored with onion before adding the flour.
This makes a good dressing for potatoes.
CREAM OR WHITE SAUCE.--Heat a pint of rich milk, part cream if it
can be afforded, to boiling, and stir into it one tablespoonful of flour
previously rubbed smooth in a little milk. Season with salt, and cook in
a double boiler five or ten minutes, stirring frequently that no lumps
be formed. If lumps are found in the sauce, turn it quickly through a
fine, hot colander into the dish in which it is to be served.
CELERY SAUCE.--Cut half a dozen stalks of celery into
finger-lengths, and simmer in milk for ten or fifteen minutes. Skim out
the celery, add a little cream to the milk, salt to taste, and thicken
with flour as for white sauce. This is very nice for potatoes and for
toast.
EGG SAUCE.--Heat a pint of milk to boiling, and stir in a
dessertspoonful of flour rubbed smooth in a little milk. Stir constantly
until the sauce is well thickened; add the well-beaten yolk of an egg,
turning it in very slowly and stirring rapidly so that it shall be well
mingled. Boil up once only, add a very little salt, and serve. The egg
makes an excellent substitute for cream.
PEASE GRAVY.--A gravy prepared either of dried or green peas as
directed for Lentil Gravy on page 226, makes a suitable dressing for
baked potatoes. Lentil gravy is also good for the same purpose. The
addition of a little lemon juice to the lentil gravy makes another
variety.
TOMATO GRAVY.--A gravy made of tomatoes as directed on page 261, is
excellent to use on baked or boiled sweet potatoes.
TOMATO CREAM GRAVY.--Prepare a gravy as for Cream Sauce, using a
slightly heaping measure of flour. When done, add, just before serving,
for each quart of the cream sauce, one cup of hot, stewed tomato which
has been put through a fine colander to remove all seeds. Beat it
thoroughly into the sauce and serve on boiled or baked potato.
SAUCES FOR DESSERTS AND PUDDINGS.
_RECIPES._
ALMOND SAUCE.--Heat a pint of rich milk in the inner cup of a
double boiler, placed directly upon the stove. When the milk is boiling,
stir into it a heaping tablespoonful of flour which has been rubbed to a
cream in a little cold milk. Boil rapidly until thickened, stirring
constantly; then add three tablespoonfuls of almondine; place in the
outer boiler, and cook for five or ten minutes longer.
CARAMEL SAUCE.--Stir a cup of sugar in a saucepan over the fire
until melted and lightly browned. Add one cup of boiling water, and
simmer ten minutes.
COCOANUT SAUCE.--Flavor a pint of new milk with cocoanut, as
directed on page 298. Skim out the cocoanut, and add enough fresh milk
to make one pint. Heat the milk to boiling, add two tablespoonfuls of
sugar, thicken with two even spoonfuls of cornstarch, and proceed in the
same manner as for Mock Cream.
CREAM SAUCE.--Beat together two thirds of a cup of sugar, one
tablespoonful of thick, sweet cream, and one egg. Wet half a teaspoonful
of cornstarch with a little milk, and stir in with the mixture; then
add five tablespoonfuls of boiling milk, stirring rapidly all the time.
Pour into the inner cup of a double boiler; have the water in the outer
cup boiling, and cook five minutes. Flavor to taste.
CRANBERRY PUDDING SAUCE.--To a quart of boiling water add two cups
of sugar, and when well dissolved, one quart of carefully sorted
cranberries. Mash the berries as much as possible with a silver spoon,
and boil just seven minutes. Turn through a colander to remove skins,
cool and serve.
CUSTARD SAUCE.--Rub two teaspoonfuls of flour to a smooth paste
with half a cup of new milk. Heat two and a half cups of fresh milk in a
double boiler to scalding, then stir in the braided flour; heat again,
stirring constantly till just to the boiling point, but no longer;
remove from the stove and cool a little. Beat together one egg, three
tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a little lemon rind for flavoring. Turn the
hot milk over this, a little at a time, stirring briskly meanwhile.
Return the whole to the double boiler, and cook, stirring frequently,
until when a spoon is dipped into the custard a coating remains upon it.
Then remove at once from the fire. If the spoon comes out clean, the
custard is not sufficiently cooked.
EGG SAUCE.--Separate the yolks and whites of three eggs. Beat the
whites to a stiff froth, and stir in very gently, so as not to let the
air out of the beaten whites, one cup of powdered sugar and a
teaspoonful of vanilla or lemon flavoring powder. Lastly, stir in
carefully the beaten yolks of the eggs, and serve at once.
EGG SAUCE NO. 2.--Beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth
with one half cup of sugar. Add three tablespoonfuls of lemon juice and
one of water. Serve at once.
FOAMY SAUCE.--Beat one egg or the whites of two very thoroughly
with one half cup of sugar and a little grated lemon rind. Pour on this
very slowly, stirring constantly to make it smooth, one cup of boiling
milk, part cream if it can be afforded. If the whites alone are used,
they should not be beaten stiff. If preferred, the lemon may be omitted
and a tablespoonful or two of currant juice or quince jelly added last
as flavoring.
FRUIT CREAM.--Take the juice pressed from a cupful of fresh
strawberries, red raspberries, or black caps, add to it one third of a
cup of sugar, and place in the ice chest till chilled. Set a cup of
sweet cream also on ice till very cold. When thoroughly cold, whip with
an egg beater till the froth begins to rise, then add to it the cold
fruit juice and beat again. Have ready the white of one egg beaten to a
stiff froth, which add to the fruit cream, and whip till no more froth
will rise. This makes a delicious dressing for simple grain molds and
blancmanges, but is so rich it should be used rather sparingly. Serve as
soon as possible after being prepared. Fruit syrup, in the proportion of
two or three tablespoonfuls to the pint of cream, may be used in the
same manner when the fresh juice is not available. The juice of orange,
quince, and pineapple may also be used in the same manner as that of
berries.
FRUIT SAUCE.--Heat a pint of red raspberry, currant, grape,
strawberry, apricot, or any other fruit juice to scalding, and stir in a
tablespoonful of cornstarch previously rubbed to a cream with a little
cold water. Cook till it thickens; then add sugar according to the
acidity of the fruit. Strain and cool before using. If fruit juice is
not available, two or three tablespoonfuls of pure fruit jelly may be
dissolved in a pint of hot water and used instead of the juice. A
mixture of red and black raspberry juice, or currant and raspberry, will
be found acceptable for variety.
FRUIT SAUCE NO. 2.--Mash a quart of fresh berries, add one cup of
sugar, beat very thoroughly together, and set away until needed. Just
before it is wanted for serving, turn into a granite fruit kettle and
heat nearly to boiling, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Serve hot
with hot or cold puddings, or molded desserts.