1 qt. apples
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. water
Peel and quarter the apples. Put them to cook in the water. When soft,
force through a sieve, add the sugar, and return to the fire until the
sugar is dissolved. Cool and use for the cakes.
SOUR-MILK DROP CAKES
(Sufficient for 3 Dozen Cakes)
1/3 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. sour milk
2-1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. nut meats
1/2 c. raisins
Cream the butter and add the sugar, the beaten egg, and the milk. Sift
the flour, soda, and baking powder together and add them. Fold in the
nuts and raisins. Drop by spoonfuls on a greased and floured cake sheet.
Bake rather slowly, remove from the sheet, cool, and serve.
FRUIT DROP CAKES
(Sufficient for 2 Dozen Cakes)
1/3 c. shortening
2/3 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. milk
1-3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. raisins
Cream the shortening and add the sugar, egg, and milk. Sift the flour,
baking powder, and spices together. Sift these dry ingredients into the
mixture and add the raisins. Drop by spoonfuls on a greased and floured
cake sheet and bake in a hot oven until light brown.
OAT-FLAKE DROP CAKES
(Sufficient for 2 Dozen Cakes)
1/2 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 egg
2 c. oat flakes
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. milk
Cream the shortening and add the sugar. Beat the egg and add to the
mixture. Add the oat flakes and vanilla. Sift the flour, salt, baking
powder, and cinnamon together and add alternately with the milk. Drop on
greased pans to bake.
GINGER DROP CAKES
(Sufficient for 2 Dozen Cakes)
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
2-1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 Tb. ginger
1/2 c. sour milk
1/2 c. molasses
Cream the shortening, add the sugar, and mix well. Beat the egg and add
it. Sift the dry ingredients and add alternately with the milk and
molasses. Drop on greased sheets and bake in a moderate oven for about
15 or 20 minutes.
8. APPLYING ORNAMENTAL ICING TO CUP CAKES.--Sometimes it is desired to
put icing on cup cakes in an ornamental way. In such an event, an
uncooked icing is used and it is usually applied by means of a pastry
tube, although certain simple designs can be made with a small paper
cornucopia. When icing is to be used for this purpose, it should be of
the consistency shown in Fig. 4; that is, it should be so heavy that a
large quantity of it will cling to the spoon, and when it drops it will
fall in a mass rather than run off.
[Illustration: FIG. 4]
Have the pastry bag clean and dry, and make it ready for use by slipping
the pastry tube inside of the bag, as shown in Fig. 5. The point of the
tube should protrude from the narrow end of the bag, which is too small
to allow the top of the tube to be pushed through. The cakes to be
decorated with the aid of a pastry tube are usually prepared, as the
cake in the illustration shows, by covering it with a perfectly smooth
coating of uncooked icing of some kind.
With the tube inserted and the cake coated, the work of decorating may
be taken up. Roll the top of the bag down, as shown in Fig. 6, and into
it put as much of the icing as is desired. See that the icing is pushed
as far down into the end of the bag as possible. Then, as in Fig. 7,
hold the top of the bag shut with one hand and with the other grasp it
at the place where the contents end. When the hands have been so placed,
press down on the bag so that the icing will be forced from the point of
the tube. To make the decorations most satisfactorily, have the point of
the tube pressed tightly against the surface of the cake and raise it
very slowly as the icing comes out. Otherwise the shape of the design
will not be good, as a little experimenting will prove. The rosette tube
is used to make the decorations here shown, but if a different form of
decoration is desired, one of the other tubes may be selected.
[Illustration: FIG. 5]
[Illustration: FIG. 6]
9. With cakes of this kind, it is often desired to have a simple
decoration without first applying the foundation icing. This can be
done, as shown in Fig. 8, by pressing icing through a pastry bag
containing the rosette tube and placing the decoration merely on the
center of each cake. This is suggested as an economical use of icing
and a decoration a little out of the ordinary. The points of the pastry
tube should be bent toward the center in order to produce the rosettes
in the manner here shown. In fact, the shape of a rosette can often be
changed to some extent by opening or closing these points a trifle.
[Illustration: Fig. 7]