Sift into a large pan a pound and a half of flour, and rub into it
half a pound of butter. Mix in three-quarters of a pound of
powdered white sugar and melt a small tea-spoonful of sal-aratus
or pearl-ash in a pint of the best cider. Pour the cider into the
other ingredients while it is foaming, and stir the whole very
hard. Have ready a buttered square pan, put in the mixture, and
set It immediately in a rather brisk oven. Bake it an hour or
more, according to its thickness. This is a tea cake, and should
be eaten fresh. Cut it into squares, split and butter them.