In making cakes it is particularly necessary that the eggs should
be well beaten. They are not sufficiently light till the surface
looks smooth and level, and till they get so thick as to be of the
consistence of boiled custard.
White of egg should always be beaten till it becomes a heap of
stiff froth, without any liquid at the bottom; and till it hangs
from the rods or fork without dropping.
Eggs, become light soonest when new-laid, and when beaten near the
fire or in warm dry weather.
Butter and sugar should be stirred till it looks like thick cream,
and till it stands up in the pan.
It should be kept cool. If too warm, it will make the cakes heavy.
Large cakes should be baked in tin or earthen pans with straight
sides, that are as nearly perpendicular as possible. They cut into
handsomer slices, and if they are to be iced, it will be found
very inconvenient to put on the icing, if the cake slopes in
towards the bottom.
Before you ice a cake dredge it all over with flour, and then wipe
the flour off. This will enable you to spread on the icing more
evenly.
Before you cut an ice cake, cut the icing by itself with a small
sharp penknife. The large knife with which you divide the cake,
will crack and break the icing.
Large Gingerbread, as it burns very easily, may be baked in an
earthen pan. So also may Black Cake or Pound Cake. Tin pans or
moulds, with a hollow tube in the middle, are best for cakes.
If large cakes are baked in tin pans, the bottom and sides should
be covered with sheets of paper, before the mixture is put in. The
paper must be well buttered.
Sponge cakes, and Almond cakes should be baked in pans that are as
thin as possible.
If the cakes should get burnt, scrape them with a knife or grater,
as soon as they are cool.
Always be careful to butter your pans well. Should the cakes
stick, they cannot be got out without breaking.
For queen-cakes, &c. the small tins of a round or oval shape are
most convenient. Fill them but little more than half.
After the mixture is completed, set it in a cool place till all
the cakes are baked,
In rolling out cakes made of dough, use as little flour as
possible. When you lay them in the pans, do not place them too
close together, lest they run into each other.
When you are cutting them out, dip the cutter frequently in flour,
to prevent its slicking.