Part 9

Take two pints of milk, four eggs, and a small teacupful of yeast, or a yeast cake; melt a piece of butter (the size of an egg) in a little of the milk, add a teaspoonful of salt, and thicken with sifted flour until it is like buckwheat batter. Set it to rise for eight or ten hours, and then bake in muffin rings, or pour it like batter cakes, on a hot griddle. Butter them, when cooked this way, just as they come from the griddle. Some like sugar and ground cinnamon, sifted over each crumpet as it is baked.

NICE MUFFINS

To a quart of milk, one quarter of a pound of butter, four eggs, and enough flour to form a very stiff batter, add a cup of yeast; set it to rise three hours, then bake in greased muffin rings. Split, butter, and serve them hot.

GRAHAM MUFFINS FOR DYSPEPTICS

Take a quart of Graham flour, one half cup of brown sugar, one teaspoon of salt, two tablespoonfuls of yeast, warm water or milk enough to soften it sufficiently to stir readily with a spoon. When it is light, stir up again and drop in rings and bake. If made over night, add a little soda in the morning. Bake soft.

POCKET BOOKS, FOR TEA. VERY MUCH LIKED

Take a cup of light and warm yeast, a cup of warm, sweet milk, two eggs beaten, a cup of sugar, a spoonful of grated orange peel and nutmeg; add to this, flour enough to make a thin batter, and set it in a warm place to rise. If you wish it for tea, you must make this batter up about nine o’clock in the morning, and in two hours it ought to be full of bubbles, and light. Then pour this batter into sifted flour, enough to form into a rather stiff dough; add salt and a lump of butter as big as an egg. Work it thoroughly, and set it in a tureen to rise again. When it is risen it is ready to form into shapes, called pocket-books. To do this you must flour the board and roll out the dough half an inch thick, smear the surface with butter, cut into strips about six inches long, and two inches wide, fold them over and over, and lay them within an inch of each other on a warm and greased baking tin, or pan; swab the tops over with warmed butter and a beaten egg; set them now to rise, which will require an hour. Just before you put them in the oven, you must sift some sugar over them.

“PAIN PERDU,” OR LOST BREAD

Take a pint of fresh milk, and sweeten it with a cup of sugar; stir two beaten eggs in it, and season with any flavoring you like. Cut six slices from a loaf of bread, soak each piece of bread a few minutes in the custard of milk and sugar already prepared, take the pieces out one by one, and fry them in butter made hot in a frying pan, pile them up and serve hot.

INDIAN BREAKFAST CAKES

Take a quart of milk or milk and water, make it scalding hot, pour half of it hot, on as much fine corn meal as it will wet; let it cool, then beat up in it two eggs--beat the eggs light; add a little salt and a teaspoonful of saleratus; thin the batter a little with the rest of the milk; butter pan, and pour in the mixture. Bake in a quick oven.

INDIAN-MEAL GRIDDLE CAKES, WITHOUT EGGS

One quart of milk, or milk and water, one pint of corn meal, four tablespoonfuls of flour, one tablespoonful of salt, and a teaspoon of butter; beat up and bake on a griddle or in shallow pans.

HALY’S BUCKWHEAT CAKES

One quart of fresh buckwheat flour, half a cup of yeast, one tablespoonful of salt, one and a half quarts (or a little less) of milk and water warmed. Beat all well with a large spoon, and pour the mixture in a tall jar, as in that it rises better than in a flaring or open crock. In the morning add a teaspoonful of soda or saleratus, just before frying the cakes. Then grease the griddle and fry them brown; eat with syrup or honey.

BUCKWHEAT GRIDDLE CAKES

Put three pints of warm water into a stone jar, add half a gill of baker’s yeast, or an inch square of turnpike cake dissolved in a little warm water; add a heaping teaspoonful of salt, and half a small teaspoonful of saleratus. Have a pudding-stick, and gradually stir in enough buckwheat flour to make a nice batter; beat it perfectly smooth, then cover it and set it in a moderately warm place until morning. A large handful of cornmeal may be put with the flour, and it is by many persons considered an improvement. If the meal is added it will require an egg and a cup of milk.

NOODLES

There are few things nicer than “noodles” when they are properly made. Make a stiff dough with two eggs, a little salt, and sufficient flour. Roll this out very thin, shake on a little flour and rub it in; fold the dough over, and roll it up, after which cut it fine with a knife. Have ready a pot almost full of boiling water into which you have put a little salt. Drop the noodles in, and boil them for five or six hours. Pour the water off, and fry the noodles in plenty of butter, and they will be splendid.

RUSKS, DOUGHNUTS AND WAFFLES

MISS LESTER’S TEA RUSK

One quart of flour, one half pint of milk, one quarter of a pound of butter, two eggs; add mace, nutmeg and a cup of yeast. Set it to rise, and then make up into rusks; bake on buttered tins when light, and serve hot.

DOUGHNUTS WITHOUT YEAST

Half a pound of butter, a pint of sour milk or buttermilk, three quarters of a pound of sugar, a small teaspoonful of saleratus dissolved in a little hot water, two well beaten eggs, and as much flour as will make a smooth dough; flavor with half a teaspoonful of lemon extract and half a nutmeg grated; rub a little flour over a breadboard or table, roll the dough to a quarter of an inch in thickness, cut it in squares, or diamonds, or round cakes, and fry in boiling lard as directed. These cakes may be made in rings and fried.

SOUR-MILK DOUGHNUTS WITHOUT YEAST

Take a quart of flour, three eggs, three-fourths of a pound of sugar, and half a cup of shortening; add a teaspoonful of soda, and mix to a soft dough with buttermilk. Roll out, cut them, and fry in boiling lard.

DOUGHNUTS WITH HOP YEAST

Take two quarts of light hop or potato yeast sponge, mix in it a pint of new warm milk, three beaten eggs, a cup of butter or lard, one large cup of sugar, a large spoonful of cinnamon, and a little salt; beat this well, and sift in flour to make a soft dough. Set this in a warm place to rise, and when it is light roll it out on the board a little thicker than pie crust, and cut with a knife in squares of about three inches. Let them stand a little and fry them in plenty of boiling lard. If fried in a little lard they will soak the fat, which will spoil them. Throw them, or any other kind of cakes you wish to fry, into a pot half full of boiling lard, and it insures their being light and nicely browned.

PLAIN DOUGHNUTS

Take two pounds, or pint cups, full of light risen dough; add to it half a pound of butter, one half pound of sugar, one half pint of milk, three eggs, a little cinnamon and nutmeg. Cover it and set it to rise; when light, cut it into shapes and fry in boiling lard. Add a little flour to stiffen the dough.

CREAM DOUGHNUTS WITHOUT YEAST

A quart of cream, sweet or sour, five eggs, and a cup of sugar. If the cream be sour, add soda to sweeten it; if sweet, put in two tablespoonfuls of yeast powder, or any good baking powder, and flour to mix, then roll out and fry in boiling lard.

WAFFLES. ECONOMICAL WAY

Take two eggs, a cup of sweet milk, one cup of water and three cups of flour, with two tablespoonfuls of yeast powder mixed in it before sifting; add a tablespoonful of melted lard or butter, and a teaspoonful of sugar. Mix all well, and bake in waffle irons. This is a nice cheap waffle.

CRULLERS

Two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, three eggs, one cup of sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda. Flavor to taste, and fry in boiling lard, or bake lightly in the stove.

CRULLERS

One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three eggs, half a pint of sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda, half a nutmeg, flour to roll thin. Cut in fancy shapes. Sprinkle sugar over them when done. Put two pounds of lard in a deep skillet, and when it is very hot, begin to fry the crullers. You will have to replenish once or twice with lard, as it will become brown and scorched if you do not. The crullers should be a light brown, of uniform color. One-half this quantity makes a large dishful of crullers.

CAKE AND CONFECTIONS

ICING

Take one pound of powdered or flour sugar (not the common pulverized) and the whites of four eggs. Put the sugar to the eggs before you beat it at all; then beat till it is stiff. Spread it on the cake with a wet knife, wetting it in cold water each time you use it. Set it in front of the stove to dry, or in an oven with the least particle of heat. The cake must be nearly cold. You can flavor the icing with rose, orange, or lemon; if the latter, add a very small portion of grated rind. It is much nicer to add sugar to eggs before beating than afterward.

CHOCOLATE ICING

To one pound of fine loaf sugar add half a pint of cold water; boil over a brisk fire until the sugar, when pressed with the fingers, presents the appearance of strong glue; add six ounces of grated chocolate; flavor with vanilla.

TO MAKE ICING FOR CAKES

Beat the whites of two eggs to a froth, then add to them a quarter of a pound of white sugar, ground fine like flour; flavor with extract of lemon or vanilla; beat it until it is light and very white, the longer it is beaten the firmer it will become. No more sugar must be added to make it so. Beat the frosting until it may be spread smoothly on the cake. This quantity will ice quite a large cake over the top and the sides.

FROSTING FOR CAKE

To each egg used take ten teaspoonfuls of finest powdered sugar, and a teaspoonful of lemon extract. Beat quickly, and allow at least five minutes for each spoonful of sugar. The excellence of icing depends on the purity of the powdered sugar and the rapidity of beating given the eggs; it is much to be regretted that the most of powdered sugar is adulterated with foreign materials, especially with the white earth called “Terra Alba,” which causes the sugar to harden like stone, and prevents the cake and frosting from being, as it should be, light and good.

BOILED ICING. VERY NICE

Boil until very thick, a pound of white sugar in a cup of water. It should be as thick as for candy; when boiled, pour it gently on the beaten whites of three eggs. Beat this rapidly until well mixed with the eggs, then flour the cake with flour or corn starch, and ice it with a knife in the usual way. You must use flavoring to suit your taste. Much of the perfection of icing depends on the quality of the sugar, which should be pure and ground, not pulverized, as that sugar is now often adulterated.

HOT BOILED ICING FOR CAKE

Dissolve one pint of powdered sugar in two large tablespoonfuls of water (or three if the spoon is small); set it on the fire to boil. While this syrup is heating on the stove, beat the whites of four eggs to a strong froth, take off the boiling syrup, and beat it to the white of eggs, holding it high over the pans, and pouring it in a stream on the eggs; then flavor with lemon, or vanilla, and spread it on the cake, while the icing is warm; set the cake for a few moments in the oven to harden the icing, it is then ready for the table.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE

Boil one ounce of isinglass or gelatine, in one and a half pints of milk, sweeten it with half a pound of white sugar, and beat in the yolks of six eggs; flavor it with vanilla. When this mixture begins to stiffen as it grows cold, stir into it one pint of cream whipped to a froth. Ornament the glass dish it is to be served in, with strips of sponge cake, and pour the Charlotte Russe in. Set it in a cool place until wanted.

SPLENDID FRUIT CAKE

One pound of butter washed and creamed, one and one-fourth pounds of white sifted sugar, creamed with the butter; add the yolks, beaten lightly, alternately, with the whites beaten to a stiff froth, of twelve eggs; stir in carefully a pound of sifted flour. The day before, wash and dry two pounds of currants, pick and seed two pounds of large raisins, and slice one pound of citron. Pour all this fruit into a large pan, and dredge it well with a quarter of a pound of sifted flour; stir all well into the butter, add a grated nutmeg, a glass of wine, and the same of brandy. Bake in a large cake mould very carefully, four hours. It is safer to have it baked by a confectioner, if it is convenient to do so.

NICE FAMILY CAKE WITH FRUIT

Three cups of fine sugar, two cups of butter, five cups of sifted flour, half a pound of chopped raisins, and half a pound of dried currants; flavor with brandy, and nutmeg, or extract of nutmeg, or lemon. Put the same flavor in the frosting, if the cake is to be used for special occasions.

CHEAP FRUIT CAKE

To one quart of sifted flour, add a teacupful of sugar, half a cup of butter, one cupful of raisins, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, and one of soda, two tablespoonfuls of mixed spices; rub thoroughly together the flour, cream of tartar, soda and butter, stir in sufficient cold water to make a stiff batter, then add the spices and raisins; pour it into a small tin pan, bake one hour.

WISCONSIN FRUIT CAKE

Take three quarters of a pound of raw salt, fat pork, chopped very fine; then pour on a pint of boiling water, one cup of sugar, two cups of molasses, two teaspoonfuls of cloves, one of cinnamon, one nutmeg, two teaspoonfuls of saleratus, one pound and a half of raisins, also a pound of citron and currants if liked, and flour as stiff as can be stirred; bake very slowly an hour, or longer if necessary, as it will burn without great care. This will make three loaves, and will keep well. This is convenient in the winter when eggs are scarce.

NOUGAT FRUIT CAKE

Make the batter the same as for fruit cake, but instead of the same quantity of fruit, add two pounds of seedless raisins, one pound of citron, one of blanched and cut almonds, and one pound of grated cocoanut. Pour over the cocoanut a cup of sweet milk. Add the wine, brandy and nutmeg. This is much admired. It is an experiment of my own, and has been very much in request.

RICH WEDDING CAKE, OR BLACK CAKE

One pound of flour, nine eggs, the whites and yolks beaten separately, one pound of butter beaten to a cream, one pound of brown sugar, one teacupful of molasses, one ounce of grated nutmeg or ground mace, one teaspoonful of ground allspice, one teaspoonful of cinnamon, and a gill of brandy; beat this mixture well. Having picked, washed, and dried three pounds of currants, stone and cut three pounds of raisins, strew half a pound of flour over them, mix it well through, and stir them with a pound of citron, cut in slips, into the cake. Line tin pans with buttered paper, put the mixture in, an inch and a half or two inches deep, and bake in a moderate oven an hour and a half or two hours. Ice according to directions.

BRIDE’S CAKE. A SPLENDID RECIPE

Take three-fourths of a pound of butter, wash and cream it, add one pound of white sugar; beat them well together, then add the beaten whites of seventeen eggs, alternately with a pound of sifted flour. Flavor with lemon or rose, and bake. This is a most delicious and delicate cake.

RICH BRIDE’S CAKE

Take four pounds of sifted flour, four pounds of sweet fresh butter, beaten to a cream, and two pounds of white powdered sugar; take six eggs for every pound of flour, an ounce of ground mace or nutmeg, and a tablespoonful of lemon extract or orange-flower water. Wash through several waters, and pick clean from grit, four pounds of currants, and spread them on a folded cloth to dry; stone and cut in two, four pounds of raisins, cut two pounds of citron in slips, and chop or slice one pound of blanched almonds.

Beat the yolks of the eggs with the sugar to a smooth paste; beat the butter and flour together, and add them to the yolks and sugar; then add the spice and half a pint of brandy, and the whites of the eggs beaten to a froth; stir all together for some time; strew half a pound of flour over the fruit, mix it through, then, by degrees stir it into the cake.

Butter large tin basins, line them with white paper, and put in the mixture two inches deep, and bake in a moderate oven two hours. The fruit should be prepared the day before making the cake.

CHEAP JELLY CAKE

One cup of fine white sugar, one cup of milk or water, two tablespoonfuls of butter, one egg, two cups of flour, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar and one-half teaspoonful of carbonate soda; flavor with nutmeg or lemon. It is best with plum or currant jelly.

DELICIOUS POUND CAKE

Cream three quarters of a pound of butter, sift a pound of flour gradually into it, and cream them together. Beat the yolks of nine eggs light in another pan; stir into the eggs a pound of sifted sugar, mix well; beat the whites of twelve eggs to a froth, add them to the yolks and sugar, then pour this into the pan containing the butter and flour; beat all well together; add a little brandy or wine, and nutmeg. Bake carefully in a large pan. Do not have the oven hotter on the top than at the bottom, for the cake must be allowed to rise. Then bake from the bottom. This is a superior way of making cake, and if properly baked is delicious.

MAIZENA CAKE

Half a pound of butter rubbed to a cream with one pound of powdered sugar, six eggs beaten lightly and one pound of corn starch. Flavor and bake in small patty pans.

A GENERAL RULE FOR MAKING SPONGE CAKE

Take of sugar the weight of the eggs used, and half the weight of flour; beat the yolks and sugar together, then add the flour, and, lastly, the whites, having first beaten them to a high froth; then stir them thoroughly together, put into a paper-lined basin, or pan, and bake in a quick oven. The cake may be flavored with lemon, rose, or vanilla extracts, and a little nutmeg, or with a little brandy. Pounded almonds or grated cocoanut, may be added to sponge cake mixture.

BOILED SPONGE CAKE

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