Sift fourteen ounces of the finest flour, being two ounces less
than a pound. Cakes baked in little tins, should have a smaller
proportion of flour than those that are done in large loaves.
Prepare a table-spoonful of beaten cinnamon, a tea-spoonful of
mace, and two beaten nutmegs; and mix them all together when
powdered. Mix in a tumbler, half a glass of white wine, half a
glass of brandy, and half a glass of rose water. Powder a pound of
loaf-sugar, and sift it into a deep pan; cut up in it a pound of
fresh butter; warm them by the fire, and stir them to a cream. Add
gradually the spice and the liquor. Beat ten eggs very light, and
stir them into the mixture in turn with the flour. Stir in twelve
drops of essence of lemon, and beat the whole very hard. Butter
some little tins; half fill them with the mixture; set them into a
brisk oven, and cake them about a quarter of an hour. When done,
they will shrink from the sides of the tins. After you turn them
out, spread them on an inverted sieve to cool. If you have
occasion to fill your tins a second time, scrape and wipe them
well before they are used again.
Make an icing flavoured with oil of lemon, or with extract of
roses; and spread two coats of it on the queen cakes. Set them to
dry in a warm place, but not near enough the fire to discolour the
icing and cause it to crack.
Queen cakes are best the day they are baked.