Part 11

Put three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar in a stew pan with nearly half a pint of water, and the peel of a lemon cut very thin; let it simmer twenty minutes. Beat the yolks of eight eggs, and the whites of four, for ten minutes; then pour in the boiling syrup, and beat it well for half an hour. Have your cake pan well greased and a paper in the bottom. Stir gently into the mixture ⅝ of a pound (which is ten ounces) of sifted flour; pour the batter immediately into the pan, and bake in a rather quick oven about half an hour. Have the oven in baking order before you put the flour in, as sponge cake will be tough if it is not baked immediately the flour is added, and it should not be beaten after the flour is stirred in. This is one secret of having fine light sponge cake.

JENNY’S SPONGE CAKE

Beat ten eggs separately, put the yellow with a pound of sifted fine sugar in a bowl; beat it again very light, and then put in the whites; last of all stir in half a pound of flour, but do not beat the batter after the flour is stirred in. Flavor with lemon or orange-flower water. Pour the mixture into pans lined with buttered paper, and do not place more than one and a half inches of batter in each pan. Bake twenty minutes. If the oven is too hot, be sure and cover the top of the pans with a paper or pasteboard, to prevent scorching.

WHITE SPONGE CAKE

The whites of ten eggs, beaten to a froth; one tumbler of sifted flour, one and a half tumblers of sifted white sugar, half a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt; stir the cream of tartar and salt well into the flour. Add the sugar to the whites first, then last of all stir in the flour very lightly, and flavor with any delicate extract, and bake immediately. No soda required.

SPONGE GINGER BREAD

One cup of sour milk, one cup of molasses, one-half cup of butter, two eggs, one and a half teaspoons of saleratus, one tablespoonful of ginger. Flour to make as thick as pound cake. Warm the butter, molasses and ginger, then add the milk, flour and saleratus, and bake as quickly as you can.

GINGER SNAPS

One cup of butter and lard mixed, one cup of sugar, one cup of molasses, half a cup of water, one tablespoonful of ginger, one teaspoonful of soda in hot water, flour enough to roll the dough soft.

GINGER-NUTS

Take three pounds of flour, one pound of butter, one quart of molasses, four tablespoonfuls of allspice, the same quantity of cinnamon, and eight tablespoonfuls of ground ginger. Roll thin, cut out in the shape of the small ginger-nuts sold at the confectioners’, and bake in a rather quick oven.

ANOTHER RECIPE

Take two cupfuls of butter, the same quantity of molasses, one cupful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of ginger, four of cream, one teaspoonful of soda, one-half an ounce of cinnamon, and about one and a half pounds of flour--or enough to make a stiff dough. Roll, cut, and bake in a moderate oven.

TEA CAKES. CHEAP AND NICE. NO EGGS

One cup of butter or a large spoonful of lard, two cups of sugar, one cup of sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda, some grated orange peel or nutmeg; flour enough to roll out. Roll very thin; cut with fancy cutters, and bake in a quick oven. If you use lard, add a pinch of salt.

PORTUGAL CAKE

Make a batter with half a pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of flour, and six eggs, two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice or white wine. Add one pound of seeded raisins, or citron, dredged with a little of the flour; one and a half pounds of blanched almonds cut fine, and one grated nutmeg.

CHEAP WHITE CAKES. FOR TEA

Take half a pound of sifted flour, rub into it one ounce of butter, and a quarter of a pound of fine sugar; add one egg, half a teaspoonful of caraway seeds, and as much milk as will make it a paste; roll it out to quarter-of-an-inch in thickness, or thinner; cut it in small round cakes, and bake on tin plates, in a quick oven, ten or twelve minutes.

LADY CAKE

One pound of flour; 1 pound of sugar; ⅝ of a pound of butter; whites of 17 eggs; 2 or 3 drops of oil of bitter almonds. Cream the well-washed butter; add the sugar and cream again; alternate the whites with flour; flavor last of all. The confectioners nearly always bake in a square or long pan.

YELLOW LADY CAKE

Take a pound of fine white sugar, with half a pound of butter beaten to a cream; the yolks of eight eggs beaten smooth and thick; one cup of sweet milk, a small teaspoonful of powdered volatile salts or saleratus, dissolved in a little hot water; half a nutmeg grated; a teaspoonful of lemon extract, or orange-flower water, and as much sifted flour as will make it as thick as pound-cake batter. Beat it until it is light and creamy; then having taken off the skins, and beaten to a paste, a quarter of a pound of shelled almonds, stir them into the cake, and beat well. Line buttered tin pans, with white paper; put in the mixture an inch deep, and bake half an hour in a quick oven, or forty minutes in a moderate oven. This is a delicious cake.

WHITE LADY CAKE

Beat the whites of eight eggs to a high froth, add gradually a pound of white sugar finely ground; beat a quarter of a pound of butter to a cream; add a teacupful of sweet milk with a small teaspoonful of powdered volatile salts or saleratus dissolved in it; put the eggs to the butter and milk, add as much sifted flour as will make it as thick as pound-cake mixture; add a teaspoonful of orange-flower water or lemon extract, then add a quarter of a pound of shelled almonds, blanched and beaten to a paste with a little white of egg; beat the whole together until light and white; line a square tin pan with buttered paper, put in the mixture an inch deep, and bake half an hour in a quick oven. When done take it from the pan, when cold take the paper off, turn it upside down on the bottom of the pan and ice the side which was down; when the icing is nearly hard, mark it in slices the width of a finger, and two inches and a half long.

ISABELLA CAKE

Two cups of butter, four cups of sugar, sixteen eggs, six cups of sifted flour, two teaspoonfuls of yeast powder. Cream the butter and sugar together; add the beaten yolks, then alternately the flour and the beaten whites. Put the yeast powder in the flour. Flavor with vanilla or lemon. Bake carefully in a four-quart cake mould, the bottom and sides of which you have well oiled. Always lay paper in the bottom before oiling, as it prevents the cake from burning and sticking to the pan. This cake is delicious, finished with a chocolate icing.

A NICE CUP-CAKE RICH ENOUGH FOR ANY COMPANY

Take one cup of butter and three of sugar; work this to a cream. Beat five eggs separately; then stir in five cups of sifted flour; add a cup of sour cream and a teaspoonful of soda; flavor with a glass of wine and a little nutmeg. Bake in a quick oven in round tins, and ice while it is warm.

CUP CAKES

One cup of butter, three cups of sugar, five cups of flour, one cup of milk, three eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, a little brandy.

TEACUP CAKE WITHOUT EGGS

One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of sour cream, or thick milk, a teaspoonful of saleratus dissolved in hot water, a gill of brandy, half a grated nutmeg, a teaspoonful of essence of lemon, or the yellow rind of a grated lemon; stir in flour until the batter is as thick as pound cake, and bake an inch deep in a buttered basin.

LITTLE JESSIE’S CAKE

Two cups of fine sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of sweet milk, four cups of flour, six eggs. Flavor with a glass of wine or brandy, with a nutmeg grated into it. Add a cup of currants.

NICE AND CHEAP JUMBLES. NO EGGS

One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of clabber, a teaspoonful of soda stirred into the clabber, a little grated orange or lemon peel, and a good quart of sifted flour. Roll it, and cut in rounds with a hole in the middle, and bake in a quick oven. If you wish, sprinkle sugar over them, and stick strips of citron in each cake when you place them in the baking pan. They are quite nice. Instead of clabber, you can use sweet milk and yeast powder in the flour.

MARBLE CAKE--WHITE PART

Whites of four eggs, one cup of white sugar, half a cup of butter, half a cup of sweet milk, one teaspoonful of cream tartar, half a teaspoonful of soda.

MARBLE CAKE--BLACK PART.

Yolks of four eggs, one cup of brown sugar, half a cup of molasses, half a cup butter, half a cup of sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda, and plenty of all kinds of spices to suit the taste. Put first black, then white, dough, until all is in; then bake. It is very nice.

FRENCH LOAF CAKE

Five cups of sugar, three of butter, two of milk, ten of sifted flour, six eggs, three small nutmegs, one teaspoonful of saleratus, one pound of raisins, and one-third of a pound of citron. Stir the butter and sugar to a cream, then add part of the flour, the milk and the beaten yolks of the eggs, then add the rest of the flour and the whites of the eggs; add the fruit as you get the cake ready for the oven; season to taste. This will make four loaves. Bake one hour.

LOAF CAKE. PLAIN

Three cups of sweet milk, two of sugar, and one of yeast; stir in flour to make it quite thick, and let it rise over night. In the morning add two eggs well beaten, fruit and spice to taste; let it rise till light. Bake in a slow oven.

EGG KISSES

Four whites of eggs, one-half pound powdered sugar; beat well and bake quickly. Flavor with extract of rose or lemon.

GENOESE CAKES

Half a pound of butter, half a pound of sugar, four eggs, half a pound of flour, a small glass of brandy or wine. Bake in a square sheet; ice it and cut into diamonds; ornament with dots or stripes of any kind of bright jelly or preserves.

FRANCATELLI’S SPANISH CAKE

Put half a pint of milk or water into a stew-pan over the fire, with four ounces of butter and two ounces of sugar. As soon as these begin to boil, withdraw the stew-pan from the fire, and stir in five ounces of flour. Stir well for a few minutes, add essence to taste, and, one by one, three eggs and a small pinch of soda. Drop this paste on a baking-sheet in small round balls (the size of a hickory nut), and bake a light brown in a quick oven. Garnish with preserves.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

Half a pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of flour, four eggs, one half pint of milk, one teaspoonful of soda, and two of cream of tartar sifted into the flour. Mix all these ingredients well together, and bake in two cakes. Beat three whites of eggs with three cups of sifted sugar, and add chocolate to taste. Spread a layer of this icing between the cakes and on the top and sides.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

Take one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of milk or water, three and a half cups of flour, half a teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful cream of tartar, the yolks of five eggs and the whites of two. Bake on jelly cake tins.

CHOCOLATE MIXTURE FOR FILLING THE ABOVE CAKE

One and a half cups of sugar, the whites of three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate. Flavor with vanilla.

RING JUMBLES

One pound of butter, one pound of sugar, four eggs, one and a quarter pounds of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Line a pan with buttered paper, form the dough into rings. Bake quickly and sift sugar over them.

The dough must be kept very soft, or if not wanted in rings, put in more flour, and cut the cakes out with a cutter.

GERMAN LADIES FINGERS

Beat the yolks of five eggs with half a pound of sugar. Add half a pound of blanched almonds, cut fine or pounded. Grate the rind of a lemon, mix well, and add gradually enough sifted flour to make into a dough. Roll out and cut in strips the length and size of the forefinger; wet them with the beaten white of two eggs, and bake.

LADY FINGERS

Four eggs, half a pound of sugar, half a pound of flour. Flavor to taste. Drop by teaspoonfuls, and bake quickly.

CITRON CAKE

One pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of flour, and eight eggs. Add to this batter one pound of blanched almonds, cut small, and half a pound of sliced citron dredged with flour; beat all up well. Beat in a half teaspoonful of soda, moistened with sweet milk, or if preferred, a tablespoonful of yeast powder, rubbed in the flour before mixing. Beat this mixture well, and bake it in a cake-pan; put buttered paper in the bottom of the pan, and cover the top of the cake with something to protect it from the heat of the stove, until the bottom is nearly done. This is the best way to cook all delicate cakes.

LOUISIANA HARD-TIMES CAKE

Cream half a pound of butter, with one pound of sifted sugar. Add to this the beaten yolks of six eggs. Beat this again, and set it by until you beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth. Sift a pound of flour, and put into it two teaspoonfuls of yeast powder. Then pour in alternately a little flour and beaten eggs until all is used. Then mix in a cup of cold water and two teaspoonfuls of brandy, wine or extract of lemon. Butter a four-quart cake-pan or mould, have the oven ready, and pour in the mixture, and bake immediately. Cover the top of the cake while baking. When done you will have a nice cake, and one that is very inexpensive.

INDIAN BREAKFAST CAKES

Take a quart of milk scalding hot; stir into it as much corn-meal as will make a thick batter, add of salt and saleratus in fine powder, each a teaspoonful, and when a little cooled, two well-beaten eggs; bake in buttered pans, in a quick oven. This is a nice breakfast cake.

DELICATE CAKE OF CORN STARCH

Take half a pound of sugar, one-fourth of a pound of butter, the whites of eight eggs, and a quarter of a pound of corn starch mixed with quarter of a pound of common flour. Beat all very light, add to the flour a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and a half-spoon of fine soda (not saleratus). Flavor with lemon or rose.

SODA TEACAKES WITHOUT EGGS

Take half a pound of sugar, and half a pound of butter; beat it to a cream. Dissolve a teaspoonful of fine soda in a cup of milk, and pour it into the batter, half a nutmeg and flour to make a staff batter. Bake in tin squares or a shallow pan, cook twenty minutes.

A VERY GOOD CHEAP CAKE

One cup of butter, one and a half cups of brown sugar, one cup of milk, sweet or sour, yeast powder or soda--if yeast powder is used, put two teaspoonfuls; if soda, put one heaping teaspoonful--one cup of molasses, four eggs, one nutmeg, one pound of raisins, five cups of flour.

TRIFLES

Beat two or three fresh eggs a few minutes, add a saltspoonful of salt, and enough of sifted flour to make into a stiff paste; roll very thin; cut into small round cakes; fry in boiling lard, and sprinkle sugar over them. They are a delicious dish for tea.

A NICE MOLASSES CAKE

One cup of molasses, one and a half cups of sugar, one cup of butter, four eggs, a cup of sour milk and heaping-spoonful of soda. If desirable, you may add one pound of seeded and chopped raisins, or the same of currants; grease the pan carefully as molasses cake is liable to stick, and is always more difficult to get out of the pan than sugar cakes. You may add flour to roll it out like biscuit if you wish, or it is _better_ made only as thick as pound-cake batter, and baked in a pan like that cake. Make the batter stiff with flour, as it turns out better than when soft.

SILVER CAKE

Cream two coffee-cups of butter with two pints of fine white sugar; add the beaten whites of eighteen eggs, and four pints of flour--one of these pints must be maizena or corn starch flour, as that gives a delicacy which common wheat flour cannot. You must thin this mixture gradually as you beat in the flour and eggs, by pouring in two coffee-cups of water. Flavor with almond, and bake in a large pan. When you sift the flour you must add to it two teaspoonfuls of yeast powder.

SILVER CAKE

Two pints of sugar and two cups of butter; cream the butter and sugar together. Add two cups of cold water; beat to a froth the whites of eighteen eggs, mix them with the butter and sugar, four pints of flour, and two teaspoonfuls of yeast powder; mix flour and yeast powder together, and stir gently into the batter. Flavor with almond. For a small cake take half the quantity of ingredients. It makes a nicer cake to allow one of the pints of flour to be corn starch, instead of common flour.

SUPERIOR GOLD CAKE

Take half a pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of flour, the yolks of ten eggs, one teaspoonful of soda mixed with a little hot water. Cream the butter and sugar together; beat the eggs light, and add them to the butter and sugar. Then stir in the flour and soda.

CHEAP AND RELIABLE GOLD AND SILVER CAKE

Two cups of butter and four of sugar creamed together, two cups of sweet milk, or water, if you have no milk; eight cups of sifted flour well mixed with four teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, and two of soda; beat separately the yolks and whites of eight eggs. Take half the batter; use the yolks for the gold cake, and the whites for the silver cake. Flavor differently, as with rose and lemon.

SUPERIOR SILVER CAKE

Take half a pound of butter, one pound of sugar, three-quarters of a pound of flour, the whites of ten eggs beaten to a froth. Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, and lastly, stir in the flour.

COCOANUT SILVER CAKE

Cream one cup of butter and two cups of sugar, add a cup of milk, the whites of six eggs, and three cups of sifted flour with one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and half a teaspoonful of soda mixed in the flour. Grate a small cocoanut, dry it in a skillet over the fire by stirring it about ten minutes. Stir the cocoanut into the batter. Bake in a moderate oven about three-quarters of an hour.

COCOANUT CAKES

Grate a cocoanut, place it in a skillet over the fire, and stir until it is as dry as flour. Beat one cup of sugar and the white of an egg to a froth. Mix well, and make into small cakes; put them on buttered paper and bake. The oven should not be very hot.

COCOANUT CAKES

Take a cocoanut, pare it and grate half a pound; allow the same quantity of loaf sugar. Dissolve the sugar in two tablespoonfuls of water, place it on the fire; when the syrup is boiling hot, stir in the cocoanut. Continue to stir it until it is thick like candy, then pour it out on a buttered pan, and cut it across in shapes, or use a round cake cutter.

COCOANUT POUND CAKE

Take three coffee-cupfuls of flour, one of butter, and two of white sugar; one cupful of milk; the whites of six eggs; one teaspoonful of cream of tartar; one-half teaspoonful of carbonate of soda; grated cocoanut--a small one. The cocoanut should be laid in water as soon as the shell is broken; take out a piece at a time to pare it; lay it in a dry cloth as soon as pared, and cover it up, that the air may be kept out and the moisture absorbed. If the cocoanut goes in wet it will make the cake heavy. Cream the butter; add the sugar, and beat well; then put in the milk, slowly; the whites of the eggs, well beaten, alternately with flour; the cocoanut last of all. One-half of this quantity makes a good-sized cake. Bake in a moderate oven; increase the heat at the last. It takes about one-half or three-quarters of an hour to bake.

COCOANUT CAKE

Make a batter of one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour and four eggs. Bake in jelly cake pans. Spread a layer of icing between each cake with grated cocoanut on top of the icing; finally, ornament the top with a thick layer of cocoanut.

COCOANUT DROPS

Take a grated cocoanut, the beaten whites of four eggs, and half a pound of white sugar; flavor, mix, and bake on paper in drops.

PECAN CAKE

Half a cup of butter, one and one-half cups of sugar, two eggs, three-quarters of a cup of sweet milk, two cups of sifted flour, one and one-half teaspoonfuls of soda, and one teaspoonful of cream of tartar in the flour, one cup of pecans picked out and cut fine. Bake in a small cake pan.

WINE CAKES

One-quarter pound of butter, one-half pound of sugar, one egg, a few drops of essence of lemon, and a good half pound of flour. Mix, roll thin, and cut out in round cakes. They are very nice with wine.

NAPLES BISCUIT

Beat four eggs light; add half a pound of fine white sugar, and half a pound of sifted flour. Flavor with essence of lemon.

SHREWSBURY CAKE

Beat to a cream half a pound of butter, and three-quarters of a pound of sugar; add five well beaten eggs, a nutmeg, some essence, and about a quart of flour. Sift the flour, mix it well, and drop the mixture with a spoon on buttered tins. Add currants if you wish.

COFFEE CAKE

One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of molasses, one cup of strong coffee, two eggs, five cups of flour, one teaspoonful of soda, one cup of currants, one cup of raisins. Spice to taste.

NICE DROP CAKES