Chapter 13

LIGHT CAKE.

2 lbs. of brown breadcrumbs, 1/2 lb. of sultanas, 3 eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately; 2 oz. of butter, as much milk as required to moisten 1/4 lb. of sugar. Rub the butter into the breadcrumbs, add the fruit, sugar, yolks, and lukewarm milk. At the last add the whites beaten to a stiff froth. Put the mixture in a well-greased tin, and bake 1 hour in a moderate oven.

LUNCH CAKE.

A good lunch cake may be made by rubbing 6 oz. of butter into 1-1/4 lbs. of Allinson wholemeal flour, 6 oz. of sugar. Beat up the yolks of 4 eggs with a teacupful of milk, and work into the flour so as to make a stiff batter. Add 2 oz. of mixed peel cut small, and 1/2 lb. of mixed sultanas. Lastly, add the beaten white of the eggs, whisk well, and pour the mixture into a greased cake tin. Bake for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

MACAROON.

1/2 lb. of ground sweet almonds, 1 oz. of ground bitter almonds, a few sliced almonds, the whites of 4 eggs, and 1/2 lb. of castor sugar. Whip the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, add the sugar, then the almond meal, and mix all well; if the mixture seems very stiff add one or two teaspoonfuls of water. Lay sheets of kitchen paper on tins, over this sheets of rice wafers (or, as it is also called, "wafer paper"), which can be obtained from confectioners and large stores; drop little lumps of the mixture on the wafers, allowing room for the spreading of the macaroons, place a couple of pieces of sliced almond on each, and bake them in a quick oven until they are set and don't feel wet to the touch. If the macaroons brown too much, place a sheet of paper lightly over them.

MADEIRA CAKE.

1/2 lb. of fine wheatmeal, 1/2 lb. of castor sugar, 1/2 lb. of butter, 5 eggs, flavouring to taste. Beat the butter to a cream, add the sugar, then the eggs well beaten, the meal and the flavouring. Line a cake tin with buttered paper, and bake the cake in a moderate oven from 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

OATMEAL BANNOCKS.

Cold porridge, Allinson fine wheatmeal. Stir sufficient of the meal into any cold porridge that may be left over to form a dough just firm enough to roll out. Well grease and sprinkle with flour some baking sheets, roll the dough to the thickness of 1/2 an inch, cut into triangular shapes, and bake until brown on both sides. Butter and serve hot.

OATMEAL FINGER-ROLLS.

Use equal parts of medium oatmeal and Allinson fine wheatmeal, and add a good 1/2 pint of milk and water to 1 pound of the mixed meal. Knead into a dough, make it into finger-rolls about 3 inches long, and bake them in a quick oven from 30 to 40 minutes.

ORANGE CAKES.

6 oz. of Allinson wholemeal flour, 3 oz. butter, 4 oz. sugar, grate in the rind of 1 small orange, and mix all well together. Beat 1 egg, and stir in with the juice of the orange and sufficient buttermilk to make a smooth, thick batter. Half fill small greased tins with this mixture, and bake 15 minutes in a moderate oven.

PLAIN CAKE.

2-1/2 lbs. meal, 1 breakfastcupful sultanas, 1 oz. ground bitter almonds, 3 oz. chopped sweet almonds, 2 eggs, 3 oz. butter or 1/2 teacupful of oil, 6 oz. sugar and 1 teaspoonful cinnamon, 1/4 oz. yeast, milk to moisten the cake. Dissolve the yeast in a cup of warm water, 100 degrees Fahrenheit in winter, 85 degrees in summer; make a batter of the yeast and water, with two spoonfuls of the meal, and stand it on a cool place of the stove to rise; do not let it get hot, as this will spoil the yeast. Meanwhile prepare the fruit and almonds, mix the meal, fruit, butter (or oil), sugar, cinnamon and eggs; then add the yeast and as much lukewarm milk as is required to moisten the cake. The dough should be fairly firm and wet. Let the dough rise in front of the fire. Fill into greased cake tins and bake for 1-1/2 hours.

POTATO FLOUR CAKES.

A 1/4 lb. of potato flour, the same quantity of very fine wheatmeal (sift the latter through a sieve if not very fine), 4 oz. of castor sugar, 4 oz. of butter, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1 dessertspoonful of ground bitter almonds, and 1 egg. Cream the butter, which is done by beating the butter round the sides of the pan with a wooden spoon until it is quite creamy, add the egg well beaten, the lemon juice, then the sugar, meal, potato flour, and bitter almonds. Beat the mixture from 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour, then drop small lumps of it on floured tins, and bake the little cakes from 10 to 15 minutes.

QUEEN'S SPONGE CAKE.

1/4 lb. cornflour, 1/4 lb. wheatmeal, 1/2 lb. sifted sugar, 10 eggs, rind and juice of a lemon, some vanilla. Separate the yolks of the eggs from the whites; stir the yolks well, then sift in gradually, stirring all the time, the sugar and cornflour; add the lemon juice and rind; beat the whites of the eggs to a firm froth, mix it well with the rest; place the mixture in one or more greased cake tins and bake at once in a quick oven.

RICE CAKES (1).

1 lb. of ground rice, 1/4 lb. of castor sugar, 6 eggs, 2 oz. of sweet and bitter ground almonds mixed. Mix the almonds with the ground rice, adding the sugar, and the eggs, well beaten; beat all together and bake the cake in a buttered mould, in a moderately hot oven.

RICE CAKES (2).

4 eggs, 1/2 lb. sugar, 6 oz. ground rice, lemon or almond flavouring. Beat the eggs a little, add the sugar and flour, and beat well; pour into a tin mould, greased and warmed, only half filling it, and bake in a moderate oven 1 hour.

RICE AND WHEAT BREAD.

Simmer 1 lb. of rice in 2 quarts of water until quite soft. Let it cool sufficiently to handle, and mix it thoroughly with 4 lbs. of wheatmeal; work in also 1/2 oz. of yeast dissolved in a very little lukewarm water or milk. Add a teaspoonful of salt. Knead well and set to rise before the fire 1-1/2 hours. Bake in a good hot oven.

ROCK SEED CAKES.

1 lb. of wholemeal, 4 oz. of sugar, 4 oz. of butter, 1 oz. of ground carraway seeds, about 3/4 of a cupful of milk, and 3 eggs. Rub the butter into the meal, add sugar, seeds, the eggs well beaten, and the milk. Place the mixture in lumps on floured tins, and bake the cakes for half an hour in a hot oven.

SALLY LUNN.

3/4 of lb. of Allinson wholemeal flour, 2 oz. salt butter, 1 egg, 1-1/2 gills of milk, 1/4 an ounce of German yeast. Warm the milk and butter in a pan together, rub the yeast smooth with 1/2 a teaspoonful of sugar, add the milk and butter. Stir this mixture gradually into the flour, add the egg slightly beaten, mix till quite smooth. Divide into two, put into well-greased tins, set these in a warm place for 1 hour to rise. Put into a quick oven, and bake about 15 minutes.

SEED CAKE (1).

1/2 lb. fine wholemeal flour, 6 oz. butter, 6 oz. castor sugar, 2 eggs, 1/4 oz. carraway seeds. Beat the butter and sugar to a cream, add the eggs well beaten, and dredge in the flour, add a little cold water it too dry. Bake for 1/2 an hour.

SEED CAKE (2).

1-1/2 lbs. of wholemeal, 1/2 lb. of butter, 3/4 lb. of castor sugar, 1 oz. of ground carraway seeds, the yolks of 10 eggs, and the whites of 5 beaten to a stiff froth. Cream the butter, mix all the ingredients well together, adding the whites of the eggs last; line one or more tins with buttered paper, turn the mixture into them, and bake the cake or cakes from 1 to 1-1/2 hours, according to the size of the cakes and the heat of the oven. If a bright knitting needle passed through the cake comes out clean, the cake is done.

SEED CAKE (3).

The same as "Madeira Cake," adding 1/2 oz. of carraway seeds, ground fine, as flavouring.

SEED CAKE (4).

2 lbs. of meal, 6 oz. of sugar, 1 oz. of seed (crushed), 1/4 oz. of yeast, 4 eggs, 3 oz. of butter, and a little milk. Rub the butter into the meal, add the sugar, seed, and eggs; dissolve the yeast in warm milk and add to it the other ingredients. Moisten the dough with sufficient warm milk not to make it stick to your pan. Let the dough rise 1-1/2 hours in a warm place, fill into greased cake tins and bake the cakes 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

SEED CAKE (5).

4 eggs, their weight in sugar, meal and butter, 1/2 oz. of seed. Rub the butter to cream, then stir in gradually the other ingredients, first the eggs well beaten, then the sugar, the seed, and last the flour. Put in a greased tin and bake 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

SEED CAKE (6).

4 eggs, their weight in sugar, 1/2 their weight in butter, twice their weight in meal, 1/2 oz. of seed, a little lukewarm milk. Cream the butter first, then add the yolks of eggs, the sugar, seed, and meal, and enough milk to moisten the mixture; lastly, add the whites of the eggs beaten to a froth, and bake at once in a fairly quick oven.

SLY CAKES.

1 lb. Allinson wholemeal flour, 8 oz. butter, 8 oz. currants, 2 oz. sugar, and 6 drops essence of lemon; mix the flour and sugar, and make it into a smooth paste with water, but do not make it very wet. Roll out 3 times, and spread in the butter as for pastry; roll it very thin, and cut into rounds or square cakes. Spread half of them very thickly with currants, press the others very gently on the top, so as to form a sandwich, and bake in a quick oven till a light brown.

SPONGE CAKE (1).

6 oz. fine wheatmeal, 1/2 lb. castor sugar, 4 eggs, any flavouring to taste. Beat up the eggs, sift in the sugar, then the flour, and bake the mixture in a well-greased cake tin in a moderate oven from 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

SPONGE CAKE (2).

4 eggs, the weight of 3 in fine wheatmeal, and the weight of 4 in castor sugar, any flavouring to taste. Beat the eggs, sift in the sugar and meal, stirring all the time, add the flavouring, and pour the mixture into one or two greased cake tins, only filling them half full. Bake in a moderate oven for about an hour, until a knitting needle comes out clean.

SPONGE CAKE ROLY-POLY.

3 eggs, the weight of 2 in fine wheatmeal, of 8 in castor sugar, some raspberry and currant jam. Mix the ingredients as directed in "Sponge Cake," line a large, square, flat baking tin with buttered paper, pour the mixture into it, and bake it in a fairly hot oven from 7 to 12 minutes, or until baked through. Have a sheet of white kitchen paper on the kitchen table, on which sprinkle some white sugar. Turn the cake out of the tin on to the paper, spread the cake with jam, and roll up. This should be done quickly, for if the cake is allowed to cool it will not roll.

UNFERMENTED BREAD.

This is as sweet and pure a bread as the finger-rolls, and keeps fresh for several days, as it has to be mixed fairly moist. 2 lbs. of Allinson wholemeal, 1-1/2 pints of milk and water; mix these to a thick paste, and put the mixture into some small greased bread tins. Loaves the size of the twopenny loaves will want 1-1/2 hours in a hot oven.

UNFERMENTED FINGER-ROLLS.

These are bread in the simplest and purest form, and liked by most. 1 lb. of Allinson wholemeal, a good 1/2 pint of milk and water mixed; mix the meal and the milk and water into a dough, knead it a few minutes, then make the dough into finger-rolls on a floured pastry-board, rolling the finger-rolls about 3 inches long with the flat hand. Place them on a floured baking-tin, and bake them in a sharp oven from 1/2 an hour to 1 hour. The time will depend on the heat of the oven. In a very hot oven the rolls will be well baked in 1/2 an hour.

VICTORIA SANDWICH.

Proceed the same as in "Sponge Cake Roly-Poly," but bake the mixture in 2 round, flat tins; spread jam on one, and cover with the other cake.

WHOLEMEAL BREAD (FERMENTED).

This will be found useful where a large family has to be provided for, or where it is desirable to bake bread for several days. 7 lbs. of Allinson wholemeal, 2-1/2 pints of warm water (about 85° Faht.), 1 teaspoonful salt, 1/2 oz. of yeast; dissolve the yeast in the water, add the salt, put the meal into a pan, make a hole in the centre of the meal, pour in the water with the yeast and salt, and mix the whole into a dough. Allow it to stand, covered with a cloth, 1-1/2 hours in front of the fire, turning the pan sometimes, so that the dough may get warm evenly. Then knead the dough well through, and if necessary add a little more warm water. Make the dough into round loaves, or fill it into greased tins, and bake it for 1-1/2 hours. The oven should be fairly hot. To know whether the bread is done, a clean skewer or knife should be passed through a loaf. It it comes out clean the bread is done; if it sticks it not sufficiently baked. When it is desired to have a soft crust, the loaves may be baked under tins in the oven.

WHOLEMEAL CAKE.

1 lb. of wholemeal, 4 oz. of sugar, 1 teaspoonful of cinnamon, 1 breakfastcupful of currants and sultanas mixed, well-washed and picked over, 3 oz. of chopped sweet almonds, 1 dozen ground bitter almonds, 3 eggs, 1/4 oz. of German yeast, 1/4 lb. Vegebutter, and some warm milk. Rub the butter into the meal, add the fruit, cinnamon, almonds and sugar, and the eggs well beaten. Dissolve the yeast in a cupful of warm milk (not hot milk) add it to the other ingredients, and make all into a moist dough, adding as much more milk as is required to make the dough sufficiently moist for the spoon to beat all together. Cover the pan in which you mix the cake with a cloth, place it in front of the fire, and allow the dough to rise 1-1/2 hours, turning the pan round occasionally that the dough may be equally warm. Then fill the dough into one or several well-greased tins, and bake the cake or cakes from 1 to 1-1/2 hours (according to the size) in a hot oven. If the cake browns too soon, cover it over with a sheet of paper.

WHOLEMEAL GEMS.

Mix Allinson wholemeal flour with cold water into a batter, pouring this into greased and hot gem pans, and baking for 3/4 of an hour. All bread should be left for a day or two to set before it is eaten, otherwise it is apt to lie heavy on the stomach and cause a feeling of weight and uncomfortableness.

WHOLEMEAL ROCK CAKES.

1 lb. of meal, 3 oz. of butter or vege-butter, 1/4 lb. of sugar, a cupful of currants and sultanas mixed, 3 oz. of blanched almonds, chopped fine, 1 teaspoonful of cinnamon, or the grated rind of half a lemon, 3 eggs, and very little milk (about 3/4 of a teacup). Rub the butter into the meal, add the fruit, almonds, sugar, and cinnamon, beat up the eggs with the milk, and mix the whole to a stiff paste. Flour 1 or 2 flat tins, place little lumps of the paste on them, and bake the cakes in a quick oven 25 to 35 minutes. Particular care must be taken that the paste should not be too moist, as in that case the cakes would run. Vege-butter is a vegetable butter, made from the oil which is extracted from cocoanuts and clarified. It can be obtained from some of the larger stores, also from several depôts of food specialities. It is much cheaper than butter, and being very rich, goes further.

MISCELLANEOUS

A DISH OF SNOW.

1 pint of thick apple sauce, sweetened and flavoured to taste (orange or rosewater is preferable), the whites of 3 eggs, beaten to a stiff froth. Mix both together, and serve.

CAULIFLOWER AU GRATIN.

A fair-sized cauliflower, 1 pint of milk, 1-1/2 oz. of dried Allinson breadcrumbs, 3 oz. of cheese, 1-1/2 oz. of butter, 1 heaped-up tablespoonful of Allinson wholemeal flour, a little nutmeg, and pepper and salt to taste. Boil the cauliflower until half cooked, cut it into pieces, and place them in a pie-dish. Boil the milk, adding the seasoning, 1/2 oz. of the butter, and 1/2 a saltspoonful of the nutmeg. Thicken with the wholemeal smoothed in a little cold milk or water. Stir in the cheese and pour the sauce over the cauliflower. Shake the breadcrumbs over the top, cut the rest of the butter in bits, and place them over the breadcrumbs. Bake for 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour, or until the cauliflower is soft.

COMPÔTE OF ORANGES AND APPLES.

6 oranges, 8 fine sweet apples, 1 oz. of ground sweet almonds, syrup as in "Orange Syrup." Peel the oranges and the apples, cut them across in thin slices, coring the apples and removing the pips from the oranges. Arrange the fruit into alternate circles in a glass dish, sprinkling the ground almonds between the layers. Pour over the whole the syrup. Serve when cold.

CRUST FOR MINCE PIES.

1/2 lb. of Allinson fine wheatmeal, 1/2 lb. of medium oatmeal, 6 oz. of butter or vege-butter, 1 cupful of cold water. Rub the butter into the flour, add the water, and mix all into a paste with a knife. Roll the paste out thin on a floured board, cut pieces out with a tumbler or biscuit cutter. Line with them small patty pans, and fill them with mincemeat; cover with paste, moisten the edges and press them together, and bake the mince pies in a quick oven; they will be done in 15 to 20 minutes.

GROUND RICE PANCAKES.

4 oz. of ground rice, 4 eggs, 1 pint of milk, jam, some sifted sugar, and powdered cinnamon; butter or oil for frying. Make a batter of the milk, eggs, and ground rice. Fry thin pancakes of the mixture, sprinkle them with sugar and cinnamon, place a dessertspoonful of jam on each, fold up, sprinkle with a little more sugar; keep hot until all the pancakes are fried, and serve them very hot. When the pancakes are golden brown on one side, they should be slipped on a plate, turned back into the frying-pan, and fried brown on the other side.

MACARONI PANCAKES.

2 oz. of macaroni, 1/2 pint of milk, 3 eggs, 3 oz. of Allinson fine wheatmeal, sugar to taste, the grated rind of a lemon, butter, and 1 whole lemon. Throw the macaroni into boiling water and boil until quite soft; drain it and cut it into pieces 1 inch long. Make a batter of the eggs, meal, and milk, add the lemon rind, sugar, and the macaroni; fry pancakes of the mixture, using a small piece of butter not bigger than a walnut for each pancake. Sift sugar over the pancakes and serve them very hot with slices of lemon.

MINCEMEAT.

1 lb. of apples, 1 lb. of stoned raisins, 1 lb. of currants, 6 oz. of citron peel, 3 oz. of blanched almonds, 1/2 lb. butter. Chop the fruit up very finely, add the almonds cut up fine, oil the butter and mix well with the fruit. Turn the mincemeat into little jars, cover tightly, and keep in a dry and cool place.

MINCEMEAT (another).

1 lb. each of raisins, apples, and currants, 1/2 lb. of butter, 1/2 lb. of blanched and chopped almonds, 1/2 lb. of moist sugar, the juice of 4 lemons, and 1/2 lb. of mixed peel. Wash and pick the currants, wash and stone the raisins, peel, core, and quarter the apples, and cut up the mixed peel; then mince all up together, and add the chopped almonds. Melt the butter, mix it thoroughly with the fruit, fill it into one or more jars, cover with paper, and tie down tightly.

ORANGE FLOWER PUFF.

1/2 pint of milk, 3 eggs, 4 ozs. of Allinson fine wheatmeal, and 2 tablespoonfuls of orange water, some butter or oil for frying. Make a batter of the milk, eggs (well beaten), and meal, add the orange water, and fry the batter in thin pancakes, powder with castor sugar, and serve.

ORANGE SYRUP.

The rind of 3 oranges, 1/2 pint of water, 4 oz. of sugar. Boil the ingredients until the syrup is clear, then strain it and pour over the fruit.

ORANGES IN SYRUP.

Peel 6 oranges, carefully removing all the white pith. Put the rinds of these into 1/2 pint of cold water; boil it gently for 10 minutes. Strain, and add to the water 6 oz, of loaf sugar. Boil it until it is a thick syrup, then drop into it the oranges, divided in sections, without breaking the skins. Only a few minutes cooking will be needed. The oranges are nicest served cold.

RASPBERRY FROTH.

The whites of 5 eggs, 3 tablespoonfuls of raspberry jam. Beat the whites of the eggs to a very stiff froth, then beat the jam up with it and serve at once in custard glasses. This recipe can be varied by using various kinds of jam.

RICE FRITTERS.

6 oz. of rice, 1 pint of milk, 8 oz. of sugar, 1 oz. of fresh butter, 6 oz. of apricot marmalade, 3 eggs. Let the rice swell in the milk with the butter and the sugar over a slow fire until it is tender--this will take about 1/2 of an hour; when the rice is done, strain off any milk there may be left. Mix in the apricot marmalade and the beaten eggs, stir it well over the fire until the eggs are set; then spread the mixture on a dish, about 1/2 an inch thick. When it is quite cold, cut it in long strips, dip them in a batter, and fry them a nice brown. Strew sifted sugar over them, and serve.

SNOWBALLS.

1-1/2 pints of milk, 4 eggs, sugar and vanilla to taste, and 1 tablespoonful of cornflour. Boil the milk with sugar and a piece of vanilla or with 1 dessertspoonful of vanilla essence. Smooth the cornflour with a little cold milk, and thicken the milk with it. Whip the whites of the eggs to a very stiff froth with 1 spoonful of castor sugar, and drop spoonfuls of the froth into the boiling milk. Allow to boil until the balls are well set, turning them over that both sides may get done. Lift the balls out with a slice, and place them in a glass dish. Beat up the yolks of the eggs, stir them carefully in the hot milk; let the custard cool, and pour it into the glass dish, but not over the snowballs, which should remain white.

SPONGE MOULD.

9 stale sponge cakes, some raspberry jam, 2 pints of milk, 8 oz. of Allinson cornflour, sugar to taste, a few drops of almond essence. Halve the sponge cakes, spread them with jam, arrange them in a buttered mould, and soak them with 1/2 pint of the milk boiling hot. Boil the rest of the milk and thicken it with the cornflour as for blancmange; flavour with the essence and sugar; pour the mixture over the sponge cakes, and turn all out when cold.

STEWED PEARS AND VANILLA CREAM.

Get 1 tin of pears, open it, and turn the contents into an enamelled stewpan, add some sugar and liquid cochineal to colour the fruit, and let them stew a few minutes. Take out the pears carefully without breaking them, and let the syrup cook until it is thick. When the pears are cold lay them on a dish with the cores upwards, and with a spoon scoop out the core, and fill the space left with whipped cream flavoured with vanilla and sweetened; sprinkle them with finely shredded blanched almonds or pistachios, and pour the syrup round them.

SWISS CREAMS.

4 oz. of macaroons, a little raisin wine and 1 pint of custard, made with Allinson custard powder; lay the macaroons in a glass dish and pour over enough raisin wine to soak them, make the custard in the usual way, let it cool and then pour over the cakes; when quite cold garnish with pieces of bright coloured jelly.

TAPIOCA ICE.

1 teacupful of tapioca, 1/2 teacupful of sifted sugar, 1 tinned pineapple. Soak the tapioca over night in cold water; in the morning boil it in 1 quart of water until perfectly clear, and add the sugar and pineapple syrup. Chop up the pineapple and mix it with the boiling hot tapioca; turn the mixture into a wet mould. When cold turn it out and serve with cream and sugar.

TIPSY CAKE.

12 small sponge cakes, 1/2 lb. jam, 1 pint of custard made with Allinson custard powder. Soak the sponge cakes in a little raisin wine, arrange them on a deep glass dish in four layers, spread a little jam on each layer and pour the custard round, decorate the top with candid cherries and almonds blanched and split.

A WEEK'S MENU