when half the flour is mixed in; then the remainder of the flour, and
then the saleratus dissolved in the other half of the cream or milk.
Lastly, add the spice, wine, lemon-juice, or fruit.
In summer do not stir cake with the hand; the warmth of it makes it
less light. A wooden spoon, kept on purpose, is the best thing. In
winter, soften, but do not melt the butter, before using it. Cake not
raised with yeast, should be baked _as soon as it is made_, except such
as is hard enough to be rolled. Cookies and sugar gingerbread roll out
more smoothly the next day.
_Firkin_ butter must be cut in small pieces, and washed, to remove
some of the salt. Drain it well, or it will make heavy cake. Never put
strong butter into cake; it renders it disagreeable and unhealthy.[6]
[6] See directions for keeping butter in rose-leaves. Page 216.
Fresh eggs are needed for nice white cake. Those kept in lime-water
will do for raised cake and cookies.
New Orleans, or other good brown sugar, is best for raised, fruit, and
wedding cake, but it should be coarse-grained and clean. It will answer
also for cup cake, especially if fruit is used. White sugar must be
used for sponge and other white cake.
The fruit should be added to raised cake when it is ready for the oven.
Spread it equally over the top, and press it only a little below the
surface, else it will sink to the bottom.
Cask raisins should be washed before being stoned, and box raisins
also, unless fresh. In stoning them, cut them in two or three pieces,
or chop them.
Keep currants ready prepared for use. To do this, wash them in warm
water, rubbing them between the hands, and then pour off the water.
Repeat this till the water is clear, then drain them in a sieve, spread
them on a cloth on a table, and rub them dry with the ends of the
cloth. Then brush the good ones into a dish in your lap, putting aside
the bad ones on the table. Dry them in a gentle warmth, and set them
away for use.
Buttered white paper in the bottom and sides of pans for cake requiring
long baking, is needful; and paper not buttered is good for other kinds
of cake, as it prevents burning. It will readily peel off when the cake
is taken from the pans.
Attention and practice will teach when cake is well baked. When it is
done enough, it settles a little away from the pan. Even well made cake
becomes heavy by being taken out of the oven before it is perfectly
baked. Moving it carelessly while it is baking will also make light
cake fall. If you have occasion to change the position of the pans, do
it gently.
A tin chest or a stone jar is good to keep cake in, and it is a good
way to let that which is not to be kept long, remain in the tins in
which it was baked.
=Directions for beating the Whites of Eggs.=
On breaking eggs, take care that none of the yolk becomes mingled with
the whites. A single particle will sometimes prevent their frothing
well. Put the whites into a large, flat dish, and beat them with an
egg-beater made of doubled wire, with a tin handle; or with a cork
stuck crosswise upon the prongs of a fork. Strike a sharp, quick stroke
through the whole length of the dish. Beat them in a cool place till
they look like snow, and you can turn the dish over without their
slipping off. Never suspend the process nor let them stand, even for
one minute, as they will begin to return to a liquid state, and cannot
be restored, and thus will make heavy cake. After they are beaten to a
stiff froth they will not return to a liquid state.
The above directions are designed to prevent the necessity of
repetition and minuteness in each receipt. The young cook is advised to
refer to them in making cake, that she may know at once how to proceed.
=Frosting.=
A pound of the best of fine white sugar, the whites of three fresh
eggs, a teaspoonful of nice starch, pounded, and sifted through a piece
of muslin or a very fine sieve, the juice of half a lemon, and a few
drops of the essence.
Beat the whites to a stiff froth, then add them to the sugar, and stir
it steadily until it will stay where you put it. It will take nearly
two hours, perhaps more. Dredge a little flour over the cake, and brush
it off with a feather. This is to prevent the frosting from being
discolored by the butter contained in the cake. Lay it on smoothly with
a knife, and return the cake to the oven twelve or fifteen minutes.
=Another (measured).=
To a coffee cup of sifted sugar, the white of one egg, half a
teaspoonful of powdered starch, and a teaspoonful of lemon juice.
Observe the directions for making it, in the previous receipt. This
will frost two small pans or one large one.
=Another way.=
A pound of the best crushed or loaf sugar, the whites of three eggs,
the juice of a lemon, and a teaspoonful of finely powdered starch. To
mix it, put the sugar into a deep bowl, and pour upon it just cold
water enough to soften the lumps, then beat the whites of eggs about
half as much as for nice cake--not to a stiff froth; add them to the
melted sugar, and set the bowl into a kettle of boiling water, and
stir the mixture steadily. It will soon become thin and clear, and
afterwards thicken. When it has become quite thick, take it from the
fire and stir it till it is cold, and thick enough to spread with a
knife. This is enough for a large loaf.
FRUIT CAKES.
=Wedding.=
Five pounds each of flour, butter, and sugar, six of raisins, twelve of
currants, two of citron, fifty eggs, half a pint of good Malaga wine,
three ounces of nutmegs, three of cinnamon, one and a half of mace.
Bake in three large pans four hours.
=Another.=
Three pounds each of flour, butter, and sugar, six of currants, six of
raisins, an ounce each of nutmegs and cinnamon, half an ounce of clove,
a pound of citron, the grated peel of two lemons, half a gill each of
brandy and rose-water, or a small teaspoonful of the essence of rose,
and thirty eggs.
To mix either of these two receipts, stir the sugar and butter to a
cream, beat the yolks and whites of the eggs separately, and add them
to the butter and sugar, then by degrees put in two thirds of the
flour, then the spice and brandy or wine, and last the fruit, mixed
with the remaining third of the flour. Have the citron ready cut up,
and when you have put a little of the cake into the pan, put in a layer
of citron, then more cake, and again citron and cake alternately. This
quantity will bake in one cake in five hours, in two cakes, three
hours. Each of these two kinds will keep years, if frosted.
=Maine Plumb.=
A pound each of butter, sugar, and flour, ten eggs, a pound of raisins,
two of currants, half a pound of citron, a teaspoonful of powdered
clove, half as much mace, a nutmeg, the juice of a lemon and the grated
peel, and a half a teacup of good molasses. Before you proceed to mix
it, scatter one teaspoonful of cream of tartar into the flour; and the
last thing, before you put in the fruit, dissolve a half a teaspoonful
of saleratus in a spoonful of boiling water, and add it, stirring the
cake fast two or three minutes. Mix this in the same way as directed
in the two previous receipts. If baked in a brick oven, bake it three
hours in one pan; if in a stove, an hour and a half, in two.
Although this cake has no wine or brandy, it will keep fresh (if
frosted) almost any length of time.
=One Loaf (plainer).=
A pound each of flour and sugar, ten ounces of butter, five eggs, a
pint of milk, two pounds and a half of raisins and currants, a gill of
wine, a nutmeg, a large spoonful of cinnamon, half a teaspoonful of
clove. Add the same measure of cream of tartar and saleratus as in the
last receipt, and in the same way, and bake the same length of time.
_To make just frosting enough for either of these two last cakes_, take
the whites of four eggs, if the weather is cold, three, if it is warm,
cut them to a stiff froth, add a pound of finest sugar, and beat it two
hours. Add lemon, rose, or any essence you prefer, and a teaspoonful of
sifted starch. When the loaf is baked, lay on the icing with a knife,
and return it to the oven fifteen minutes.
=Washington.=
To one pound of flour, put one pound of sugar, three quarters of a
pound of butter, eight eggs, two nutmegs, one pound of raisins, and one
of currants.
RAISED CAKES.
=Commencement.=
Four pounds of flour, two and a half of sugar, two of butter, a small
quart of milk, half a pint of wine, eight eggs, two gills of yeast, two
nutmegs, two teaspoonfuls of cinnamon, one of clove, or a little mace.
Make up the flour, yeast, and milk, exactly like bread, and when fully
light, add the other ingredients, and put it into deep pans. If the
weather is cool, let it stand till the next day. When it is again very
light, add one pound of currants and two of raisins; and bake two hours.
This is excellent cake, and will keep good many weeks.
=Loaf.=
Three pounds of flour, two of sugar, one and a half of butter, two of
fruit, six eggs, half a pint of yeast, a gill of wine, two nutmegs, a
teaspoonful each of cinnamon and clove, and a little mace. Make up the
flour and yeast with milk, just like bread; when it is very light add
all the other ingredients, except the fruit. Put in the eggs without
beating, warm the wine, and mix the whole very thoroughly. Then put it
in pans and set it to rise till the next day, and when light enough to
bake, put in the fruit as directed in the general observations at the
beginning of this chapter.
=Another.=
A pound and a half of flour, one of sugar, three quarters of a pound
of butter, a pound of raisins and currants, four eggs, a nutmeg, a
glass of wine, a teaspoonful of cinnamon, half a one of clove. Make up
the flour like bread, with a gill of yeast and new milk warmed. When
it is perfectly light, add the eggs without beating, and stir all the
ingredients together thoroughly. Put it into pans, and when it has
risen again, add the fruit, and bake it.
=Bread Cake.=
Five teacups of very light bread dough, that is wet with milk; three
of sugar, two of butter, three or four eggs; or if they are scarce,
two. Mix it thoroughly, using both hands. Flavor it with such spice, or
essence as you prefer, and then put it into three pans such as you use
for cup cake, and let it stand till perfectly light before you bake it.
In winter let it stand in a warm closet, or some place where it will
not become very cold, and remain till the next day.
By the addition of spice, fruit, more sugar, &c., you can make it as
rich as you please.
=Another.=
Take two cups of light dough, a small cup of butter, a cup and a half
of sugar, one of sour milk, two and a half of flour, two eggs, and a
teaspoonful of saleratus. Flavor it with nutmeg and cinnamon, or lemon.
Let it rise in the pans.
=Another (plainer).=
To three cups of light dough, one of butter, one and a half of sugar,
one of sour milk, a heaping cup of flour, a teaspoonful of saleratus,
and some spice. Put the materials together as directed in the last
receipt.
CUP CAKES.
[The _cup_ used as a measure for the receipts in this book
is not the tea-table china cup, but the common large earthen teacup,
except where a small one is specified; and the teaspoon used is neither
the largest or smallest, but the medium sized.]
=Howard.=
To ten cups of flour, put six of sugar, three of butter, three of sour
milk (a little warm), eight eggs, a glass of wine, a large teaspoonful
of saleratus, a nutmeg, a pound of currants, a pound of raisins.
=Tunbridge.=
Four cups and a half of flour, three of sugar, one of butter, one of
cream, one teaspoonful of saleratus, six eggs, spice, currants, citron,
and a little wine.
=Bridgeport.=
To one teacup of butter, put two of sugar, three and a half of flour,
four eggs, one cup of sour milk, the juice and part of the rind of a
lemon, a small teaspoonful of saleratus and two cups of currants. Bake
in small pans.
=Superior.=
One very heaping cup butter, two and a half of sugar, four eggs, four
cups of flour, and one and a half of ground rice, one and a half of
sweet milk, a nutmeg, a little grated lemon-rind, the juice of a lemon
squeezed into the milk, and a teaspoonful of saleratus.
=Barnard.=
One cup of butter, three of sugar, four and a half of flour, four eggs,
a cup of sour milk, the juice, and a little of the rind of a lemon, a
teaspoonful of saleratus.
It is a good way to use butter that has been kept a few days in a jar
of rose leaves, for these cup cakes, and then very little spice is
necessary.
All delicate soft cake is improved in appearance by sifting a little
fine sugar over the top, just as it goes into the oven.
=Mount Pleasant.=
Five teacups of flour, one heaping cup of butter, two cups and a half
of sugar, one cup of sour milk, four eggs, a teaspoonful of saleratus,
one nutmeg.
=Provence.=
Four cups of flour, one of sugar, one of butter, one of sour milk, one
of molasses, four eggs, one nutmeg, one small teaspoonful of saleratus,
and a pound and a half of raisins.
=Composition.=
A coffee cup of butter (small measure), two of sugar, three of flour,
one and a half of good ground rice, one of sour milk, half a nutmeg, a
little essence of lemon, and a large teaspoonful of saleratus. If you
have sour cream, instead of the milk, use half a cup of butter.
=Diet Bread.=
Two cups of sugar, three and a half of flour, one of milk, four eggs,
half a teaspoonful of soda, a teaspoonful of cream of tartar in the
juice of half a lemon. Beat the eggs and sugar together, then add half
the milk and flour; when these are mixed, the rest of the milk with the
half teaspoonful of soda dissolved in it, the remainder of the flour,
the lemon-juice and cream of tartar; and last, a little essence of rose.
SPONGE CAKES.
The goodness of all delicate cake, but specially of sponge, depends
very much upon its being made with fresh eggs. There are several ways
of making this cake which all result well. For those who choose not
to be cheated of eggs by the use of cream of tartar, two excellent
receipts, and two different methods of mixing, are given.
Two receipts for making it by measure are added, each of them perfect,
if made right, and the last one requiring the least possible time and
labor.
For the old-fashioned sponge cake, beat the yolks thoroughly, and the
whites to a very stiff froth, and mix the ingredients thus: Stir the
sugar and whites together, then add the yolks, next the flour, and
last, the lemon or spice, or,
Mix the yolks and whites after they are beaten, and having stirred the
flour and sugar together, add them, and the spice. It should then be
stirred fast two minutes, and baked in rather a quick oven. It is made
_sticky_, and less light by being stirred long. There is no other cake,
the goodness of which depends so much upon care, and good judgment in
baking.
=Lyman.=
To one pound of flour, put one and a half of sugar, fifteen eggs, the
rind of two lemons, and juice of one, and a little salt.
=Brooklyn.=
To three quarters of a pound of flour, put one and a quarter of sugar,
twelve eggs, and one lemon, juice and rind. A little salt.
=Measure.=
Twelve fresh eggs, three cups of flour, three of sugar, a little salt,
and spice or lemon as you prefer. Break the eggs together, and put them
without beating into the sugar, then beat steadily with a smart stroke
half an hour, then stir in the flour, and bake in rather thick loaves
three quarters of an hour.
No one but a person having a very strong arm can make this kind of
sponge cake well. It is elegant when well made.
=Another. (Berwick Sponge.)=
Beat six eggs, yolks and whites together, two minutes; add three
cups of sugar, and beat five minutes; two cups of flour with two
teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, and beat two minutes; one cup of cold
water, with one teaspoonful of saleratus dissolved in it, and beat one
minute; the grated rind, and half the juice of a lemon, a little salt
and two more cups of flour, and beat another minute. Observe the time
exactly, and bake in rather deep cup cake pans.
VARIOUS KINDS OF CAKE.
=Queen's.=
One pound of flour, one of sugar, half a pound of butter (that which
has lain in a jar of rose-leaves is best), five eggs, a gill of wine, a
gill of cream, a nutmeg, half a teaspoonful of saleratus, two pounds of
currants, or chopped raisins.
Stir the butter and sugar to a cream, beat the whites and yolks of the
eggs separately, and after they and the flour are also mixed with it,
warm the cream and wine together, and add them, then the saleratus, and
last the fruit. Frost it, or sift fine sugar over the top just before
it is put into the oven.
=Snow, or Bride's.=
A pound each of flour and sugar, half a pound of butter, and the whites
of sixteen eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Flavor it with rose.
=Federal=
A pound each of butter and sugar, a pound and two ounces of flour, a
pound of raisins, five eggs, a cup of sour cream (or, if milk is used
instead of cream, add a quarter of a pound more of butter), half a
nutmeg, a wineglass of brandy, and a teaspoonful of saleratus. Stir
the butter, sugar, and nutmeg to a cream, then add the eggs, then the
cream and saleratus mixed, next the flour (a little at a time), except
a handful in which to mix the raisins, and last, the brandy and fruit.
Very delicious for persons who like rich cake.
=Gold.=
A pound each of flour and sugar, three quarters of a pound of
butter, the yolks of fourteen eggs, and the juice and grated rind of
two lemons. Stir the sugar and butter to a cream, and add the yolks
well beaten, and strained. Then put in the lemon peel, and the flour
(dried), and a teaspoonful of saleratus dissolved in a spoonful of hot
water. Beat it fifteen minutes, and just before it goes into the oven,
stir in the lemon juice very thoroughly. Bake it in a square, flat pan,
ice it thickly, and cut it into square pieces.
=Silver.=
One pound of sugar, three quarters of a pound of dried flour, six
ounces of butter, the whites of fourteen eggs. Add mace and citron.
Beat the sugar and butter to a cream, and add the whites, cut to a
stiff froth, next the flour, and then the mace and citron. Bake in a
pan of the same size as for the golden cake. They are not difficult to
make, and are very beautiful together.
=Jelly-Cake, or Washington Pie.=
Make cup cake, and when the ingredients are well mixed, spread it upon
round shallow tins, three table-spoonfuls to each tin. It will bake
in ten or fifteen minutes; then turn it upon a hair sieve, the under
surface uppermost. While it is warm spread upon it raspberry jam,
currant, or other jelly; then lay the second sheet of cake upon it, the
under side next to the jelly. If you wish to make several alternate
layers of cake and jelly make the sheets of cake very thin; one large
spoonful of the batter will be enough for each tin.
=White Mountain.=
Six eggs, six cups of flour, three of sugar, two of butter, one of
milk, one nutmeg, one teaspoon of saleratus. To mix it, stir the butter
and sugar to a cream, beat the whites and yolks of the eggs separately;
add the yolks to the butter and sugar, next part of the milk and half
of the flour, and the whites, then the rest of the milk with the
saleratus dissolved in it, and then the remainder of the flour, and
last the grated nutmeg.
=Lemon.=
A pound each of flour and sugar, half a pound of butter, eight eggs,
the rind of one lemon, and the juice of half of one.
=Rice.=
Weigh nine eggs, and their weight in sugar, and the weight of six in
ground rice. Add a lemon, and a little salt. A very delicate cake.
=Another.=
One pound of sugar, three quarters of a pound of ground rice, thirteen
eggs with the whites of four taken out, a small teaspoonful of salt.
Flavor as above, or with the essence of lemon.
=Pound.=
A pound each of flour, sugar, and butter, ten eggs, half a nutmeg, the
juice and part of the rind of a lemon. Some persons use only fourteen
ounces of butter, and add a quarter of a teaspoonful of saleratus.
=Cream.=
Stir one teacup of cream, and two of sugar till well mixed, add two
eggs beaten to a froth, and a little salt. Dissolve a teaspoonful of
saleratus in a spoonful or two of milk, and add it. Then, immediately
put in a cup or two of flour, and some essence of lemon, or other
spice, and stir it a little. Then add flour enough to make it as thick
as cup cake; stir it well eight or ten minutes, and bake in common
cup-cake pans.
=Harrison.=
To two cups of molasses, put one of brown sugar, one of butter, one
of sour cream, or milk, a cup of raisins, and one of currants, a
teaspoonful of powdered clove, and two (rather small) of saleratus.
To mix it, cut the butter in little pieces, and put into a saucepan
with the molasses, to melt. When the molasses boils up pour it
immediately upon three or four cups of flour, and add the sugar, and
half the cream. Stir it well, then add the saleratus, the rest of the
cream, the spice, and flour enough to make it of the consistence of cup
cake, and last, the fruit. Bake in cup-cake pans, rather slowly. All
cake containing molasses is more liable to burn than that which has
none.
CREAM CAKES, COOKIES, WAFERS, KISSES, JUMBLES, GINGERBREAD, ETC.
[The eggs for these articles, except for the wafers, need not be
broken separately, but yolks and whites may be added without beating,
after the sugar and butter have been stirred. When all has been well
beaten together eight or ten minutes, add part of the flour, then the
saleratus and spice or ginger; and then place the pan upon a table, and
work in flour enough to enable you to handle it without its sticking.
Dough for cookies or gingerbread, is much more easily and neatly rolled
out and stamped the day after it is made, than on the same day. In
cold weather, set it when made where it will not become hard, or else
bring it into a warm room an hour or two before it is to be rolled out.
Cookies should be about as thick as the end of your little finger;
gingerbread half as thick. These things bake very quickly, and should
be carefully attended to. Sugar gingerbread should be cut up as it
lies in the pan, before it has time to cool, and laid upon a sieve. It
cannot be cut after it is cold without being very much broken.]
=Cream Cakes.=
A pint of water, half a pound of butter, three quarters of a pound of
flour, and ten eggs. Boil the water, melt the butter in it, stir in
the flour dry while it boils; when it is cool, add a teaspoonful of
saleratus, and the eggs well beaten. Drop the mixture on buttered tins
with a table-spoon, and bake twenty minutes.
To make the inside, take one cup of flour, two cups of sugar, one quart
of milk, and four eggs. Beat the flour, sugar, and eggs together, and
stir into the boiling milk. When the mixture is sufficiently scalded,
season it with lemon.
When the cakes are cool, cut them open and add the cream.
=Cookies.=
To one teacup of butter, three of sugar, half a cup of milk or cream,
three eggs, one small teaspoonful of saleratus, and flour to make it
rather stiff.
=Another.=
Seven teacups of flour, three of sugar, two of butter, one of milk or
cream, one nutmeg, three eggs, one large teaspoonful of saleratus.
=Wafers.=
One cup of butter, two of sugar, six of flour, half a cup of new milk,
three eggs, half a nutmeg, a few drops of essence of lemon, and one
teaspoonful of saleratus. Roll the dough thin, then take it up and sift
a little white sugar upon the board, and lay it down upon the sugar and
make it _very_ thin. Then cut it in rounds, and with a wide knife take
them from the board and turn them over upon the baking pan, so that the
sugared side will be uppermost. Bake five or six minutes.
=Kisses.=
Beat the whites of nine fresh eggs to a stiff froth, then mix with
it fifteen spoonfuls of finest white sugar, and five or six drops of
essence of lemon. Drop them on paper with a teaspoon, sift sugar over
them, and bake them in a slow oven.
=Cocoanut Drops.=
Grate a cocoanut, and weigh it, then add half the weight of powdered
sugar, and the white of one egg cut to a stiff froth. Stir the
ingredients together, then drop the mixture with a dessert spoon upon
buttered white paper, or tin sheets, and sift sugar over them. Bake in
a slow oven fifteen minutes.
=Fruit Jumbles.=
A pound and a quarter of flour, a pound of sugar, three quarters of
a pound of butter, five eggs, a quarter of a pound of currants, a
gill or small teacup of milk, half a teaspoonful of saleratus, half a
wine-glass of wine. Drop them on tins with a spoon, and bake in rather
a quick oven.
=Hard Sugar Gingerbread.=
Two cups of butter, four of sugar, two eggs, a cup and a half of milk,
two teaspoonfuls of ginger, and two of saleratus. Flour to make rather
a stiff dough.
=Another (very plain).=
Ten ounces of butter, twenty ounces of sugar, a cup and a half of milk,
four teaspoonfuls of ginger, one large teaspoonful of saleratus, a few
drops of essence of rose, or half a cup of rose-water; in which case
omit the half cup of milk.
=Soft Sugar Gingerbread.=