Part 1
_The New Cookery Books_
II The Cake and Biscuit Book
THE
NEW COOKERY BOOKS.
By ELIZABETH DOUGLAS.
Fcap. 8vo, cloth, 2s. each.
I.
THE SOUP AND SAUCE BOOK.
II.
THE CAKE AND BISCUIT BOOK.
III.
THE PASTRY AND SWEET BOOK.
The Cake and Biscuit Book
By Elizabeth Douglas
London Grant Richards 48 Leicester Square 1903
Preface
The recipes in this book are English, French, Portuguese and Dutch; while some of the best come from America, which is the true land of cakes. All are good: the best I have starred.
Amateur cooks should know that for cakes to be successful it is almost imperative that they are made and baked by the same person. Delegation too often means ruin, the bond of sympathy between maker and baker being only in very rare instances sufficiently close to defeat the imp of mischief that lurks in every oven.
Lastly, I might say that the eggs cannot be too fresh, nor the butter too pure; and molasses is better than treacle.
E. D.
Table of Contents
PAGES
General Directions 1-7
Sponge Cakes 11-14
White Cakes 16-26
Layer Cakes 29-40
Various Cakes 41-47
Fruit Cakes 51-62
Icings 65-69
Gingerbread 72-76
Cakes made with Yeast 78-82
Fried Cakes 83-88
Little Cakes and Sweet Biscuits 91-110
Breakfast and Tea Cakes 111-124
Schoolroom Cakes 126-128
INDEX 129-130
General Directions for Cake-Making
_Utensils._--Use earthenware bowls and wooden spoons for mixing.
Several sets of tins are necessary if cake is to be made often. One or two ordinary round tins, a tin with a hollow tube in the centre, square tins, and shallow round tins about 8 inches in diameter for jam sandwich and layer cakes, should be kept. A small dripping-pan is very good to bake gingerbread in, and for very light cakes the German tin with a loose bottom should be used. These tins are excellent, for the bottom can be pushed up, away from the sides, and there is no danger of the cake being broken in taking it out of the tin. They can be bought at Harrod’s Stores, Brompton Road.
_Measuring._--Flour, sugar, salt, ground spices, soda, must always be sifted before measuring. This is of the utmost importance in making good cakes.
A cup is a breakfast-cup holding half a pint. The spoons are the silver ones in general use.
A spoonful of dry material is one in which the convexity at the top corresponds to the concavity of the spoon. A scant spoonful should be made level with the edges of the spoon.
In measuring half a tea-spoon of dry material, fill it first, and then divide it with a knife long-ways down the spoon.
A “heaping cupful” is a cup filled as full as it will hold. A “cupful” should be levelled. A “scant cupful” should not be filled above about quarter of an inch from the top.
It is necessary to remember in measuring half or quarter cups that a cup is smaller at the bottom than the top. It is more satisfactory measuring to have half-pint measures marked into quarters.
_Table of Measures_
4 cups flour = 1 quart or 1 lb. 2 cups of butter (solid) = 1 lb. 2¹⁄₂ cups powdered sugar = 1 lb. 1 cup = ¹⁄₂ pint 1 glass = ¹⁄₂ pint 1 pint milk or water = 1 lb. 9 large eggs = 1 lb. 1 table-spoon butter = 1 oz. 1 heaping table-spoon butter = 2 ozs. Butter the size of an egg = 2 ozs.
_Baking Powder._--Baking powder can be used in the making of most cakes. In some however the proportion of carbonate of soda and cream of tartar of which it consists is not right, in which case the two ingredients should be used separately according to the directions. Almost invariably soda should be mixed with milk or water, which should then be strained in order to keep back any dregs. Cream of tartar should be mixed with the flour, which should then be sifted. Both cream of tartar and soda should be pulverized before they are measured or used.
Baking powder can be bought, or made as follows:--
1 part carbonate of soda 2 parts cream of tartar
It should be kept in an air-tight tin.
In nearly all cases baking powder is best mixed with the flour, which should then be sifted through a fine sieve.
_To clean currants._--Sprinkle the currants with flour, put them on a coarse sieve and rub them until the stems and grit are separated and go through the sieve. Then wash thoroughly in water, changing it until clear. Drain on a towel and pick over. Dry, if the weather permits, in the _sun_, not in an oven.
_To stone raisins._--Pour boiling water over the raisins, and let them stand in it for ten minutes. Drain and rub each raisin between finger and thumb till the seeds come out. Cut open or chop.
_Sultanas._--Pick over sultanas carefully, removing the little stems.
_To blanch almonds._--Put the almonds into boiling water and let them soak in it until the skins rub off easily between the finger and thumb. Drain and spread out to dry.
_To pound almonds._--After blanching let them soak for an hour in cold water, then pound in a good sized mortar until reduced to a soft pulp. Whilst pounding add a few drops of orange-flower water or lemon juice.
_Mixing._--There are three ways of mixing. Stirring, Beating, Cutting (or Folding).
_To stir._--Let the spoon touch the bottom and sides of the basin and move it round quickly in circles of various sizes. Do not lift it out of the mixture, and work well against the sides.
_To beat._--Tip the bowl to one side. Bring the spoon or fork quickly down into the mixture and through it, take it out the other side and bring it over and down again, scraping the sides well each time it goes in.
It is important to keep the bowl of the spoon well scraped out during mixing.
Beat quickly and hard.
_To cut or fold._--Turn over the mixture with a spoon and lift it up, folding in the white of egg as lightly as possible. Do not stir or beat but mix very gently until quite blended.
_To beat eggs._--It is generally best to beat the yolks and whites separately. For beating them there is nothing better than a Dover egg beater, although a fork can be used for the yolks and a steel knife for the whites.
Beat the yolks in a bowl until they thicken and become light and creamy.
Beat the whites on a platter until they are stiff and absolutely dry.
_To beat butter._--In beating butter to a cream, if very hard it can be slightly warmed in the oven or put into a hot bowl, but it must on no account be melted. It should just be softened in order to make it more easy to beat it.
_To grease and fill tins._--Tins can be greased with _fresh_ butter, lard or sweet oil. Sides and bottom should be evenly but not thickly smeared with grease.
When a tin is to be lined with paper, cut a piece to fit the bottom exactly, another piece to go right round the sides. This piece should project two or three inches above the top of the tin.
Grease the papers thoroughly before putting them in the tin.
Fill the tins two-thirds full, leaving a very slight depression in the centre if a flat cake is wanted, as the tendency is to rise in the middle.
_The oven._--Nearly all cakes should be baked in a moderate oven, and the fire should be so made up before putting a cake in the oven, that it will not have to be touched again until the cake is taken out. If this is impossible, owing to the length of time it takes, add a little coal frequently to the fire instead of letting it down and making it up with a great deal of fuel.
In baking in a gas stove, it is important that there should be no draughts from window or door.
Set the cake in the middle of the oven and do not move it until it has risen its full height, which will take about half the time in which it is baked. For the first quarter of an hour it is not necessary to look at the cake unless there is a fear that the oven is too hot. Afterwards do so occasionally, opening and shutting the oven door very gently and never taking the cake out. After it has fully risen, the cake can be turned round if it is baking quicker on one side than the other.
Do not have anything else in the oven while baking a cake.
For layer cakes and thin cakes make up a larger fire. They should bake quickly.
To test whether a cake is done, put a clean straw or skewer into the thickest part of it. If it comes out clean the cake is done.
_To remove cakes from tins._--With a few exceptions cakes should be taken out of their tins directly they come out of the oven. Turn the tin upside down, and, if necessary, loosen the sides with a knife. Set on a sieve to cool.
To all cake mixtures add a little salt, sifting it with the flour in the proportion of a small salt-spoon of salt to every half-pint of flour.
Keep flour and sugar in a dry place, or dry thoroughly before using.
Sponge Cakes
PAGE
American Sponge Cake 11
Berwick Sponge Cake 11
Gateau de Savoie 12
Milanese Cake 13
Sponge Cake 13
General Directions
In making sponge cakes, beat the yolks till creamy and thick. Add the sugar gradually, beating all the time. Add the flavouring. Beat the whites until perfectly dry and very stiff. Stir them lightly in. Sift in the flour and mix as lightly as possible. Do not beat after the flour is added. Line the tins with greased paper and bake at once.
*American Sponge Cake
³⁄₄ lb. powdered sugar ¹⁄₂ lb. flour 7 eggs Grated rind of a lemon 3 tea-spoons lemon juice 1 gill cold water
Break the eggs in a basin leaving out the whites of two. Add to the eggs the lemon peel and juice. Boil the sugar and water together until clear. Pour the syrup gently over the unbeaten eggs, and beat quickly and well for fifteen minutes. Sift the flour three times and stir it lightly into the mixture. Bake in square flat tins. Use the whites to make an icing.
Berwick Sponge Cake
6 eggs 9 ozs. powdered sugar 12 ozs. sifted flour 2 even tea-spoons cream of tartar 1 even tea-spoon carbonate of soda 1 lemon
Beat the eggs, yolks and whites together, with the sugar until very light. This should take about half-an-hour. Take half of the flour and sift it gradually into the eggs and sugar. Mix the cream of tartar with a gill of water, and add it to the mixture. Beat for a minute. Add the rest of the flour and the juice and rind of the lemon. Add a little salt. Mix well. Dissolve the carbonate of soda in four table-spoons of hot water. Stir it carefully in. Beat again. Bake in large square or oblong tins in a quick oven.
*Gateau de Savoie
¹⁄₂ lb. powdered sugar 12 yolks of eggs 6 whites ” 1 whole egg 5 ozs. potato flour 5 ozs. finest flour The grated peel of a lemon and a half
Grate the lemon very finely. Mix it thoroughly with the sugar. Set it where it will become very dry. Dry the flours and sift them.
Beat the yolks, the whole egg and the sugar together until very light and creamy. This should take about half-an-hour. Then sift in the flour and potato flour gently, and beat lightly with a whisk. Add the whites, which should be whisked to a stiff froth. Mix lightly.
Butter a mould and sprinkle powdered sugar in it. Pour the mixture into it gently. Set the mould in a moderate oven, over a tin containing hot ashes, and put a piece of greased paper over the cake. Bake for about an hour.
Milanese Cake
4 eggs Their weight in sugar 2 ozs. flour 2 ozs. potato flour Juice and rind of half a lemon Handful of sultanas
Set aside two whites, and whisk them to a stiff froth. Put the flour and sugar in a basin. Mix them. Make a hole in the centre, break the eggs into it. Mix altogether and beat for quarter of an hour. Add the beaten whites, a large handful of sultanas, and the lemon. Bake three quarters of an hour in a well greased mould in a moderate oven.
*Sponge Cake
4 eggs Their weight in powdered sugar The weight of two eggs in flour
Put the sugar (with which should be included several lumps which have been well rubbed on a lemon and then crushed) into a basin and break the eggs on to it. Beat with a steel carving fork until the mixture becomes thick and creamy, which should take from twenty to thirty minutes. Stir in the flour as lightly as possible. Put into a tin lined with buttered paper, and bake at once in a moderate oven.
White Cakes
PAGE
Almond Cake--I. 16
” ” II. 16
Angel Cake 17
Cocoanut Cake 17
Cocoanut Pound Cake 18
Dutch Almond Cake 19
Eversley Cake 19
Lady Cake 20
Potato Flour Cake 20
Pound Cake--I. 21
” ” II. 22
Rice Cake--I. 22
” ” II. 23
” ” III. 23
Snow Cake 24
White Cake--I. 24
” ” II. 25
” ” III. 25
*Almond Cake--I
1 lb. flour ¹⁄₂ lb. sweet almonds 10 bitter almonds 1 lb. white sugar 8 eggs 1 wine-glass brandy
Blanch and pound the almonds. Beat the yolks and sugar together till light and creamy. Whisk the whites to a stiff froth. Add them to the butter and sugar.
Stir in the flour until thoroughly mixed. Add the almonds. Bake in a tin lined with greased paper, in a moderate oven for an hour and a half.
Almond Cake--II
7 eggs ¹⁄₂ lb. sifted sugar ¹⁄₂ lb. almonds
Blanch and pound the almonds. Beat up the yolks of the eggs for ten minutes. Add the sugar. Beat again thoroughly. Add the almonds. When well mixed add the whites, which should be beaten stiff. Bake in a German tin (see p. 1).
*Angel Cake
¹⁄₂ pint fine flour 1 tea-spoon cream of tartar ³⁄₄ pint powdered sugar 11 whites of eggs 3 tea-spoons vanilla
Add the cream of tartar to the flour. Sift five times. Sift the sugar. Beat the whites to a stiff froth. Stir the sugar lightly into the whites of eggs. Add the vanilla. Add the flour. Stir in lightly and quickly. Pour into a clean bright tin. It must not be buttered. Bake in a moderate oven for forty minutes. When done leave in the tin, inverted on its edge (not completely upside down) on a sieve until cold.
Cocoanut Cake
1 cup butter 2 cups sugar 3 cups flour 4 whites of eggs 1 small cup milk 1 tea-spoon baking powder ¹⁄₂ small cocoanut grated
Beat the butter and sugar to a cream. Sift the flour with the baking powder. Add it to the mixture gradually moistening it with the milk. When thoroughly mixed add the grated cocoanut. Beat for ten minutes. Stir in the whites beaten to a stiff froth very lightly. Bake immediately in a buttered tin in a moderate oven.
*Cocoanut Pound Cake
¹⁄₂ lb. butter 1 lb. sifted flour 1 lb. powdered sugar 2 tea-spoons baking powder 1 tea-spoon grated lemon peel ¹⁄₄ lb. grated or desiccated cocoanut 4 eggs 1 cupful milk
Beat the butter to a cream. Add the sugar. Beat again. Add the sifted flour (in which the baking powder has been mixed), well-beaten eggs and milk alternately in small quantities. Stir all well together. Add the cocoanut and lemon peel. Beat well together.
Use shallow square tins. Butter them and line as well with buttered paper. Pour the mixture in to the depth of an inch and a half. Bake in a quick oven. Ice while hot and set back in the oven for a moment to dry.
Dutch Almond Cake
1 lb. sweet almonds ¹⁄₂ oz. bitter almonds 1 lb. powdered sugar 12 eggs 5 table-spoons pounded biscuit or flour Rose water
Blanch and pound the almonds, adding to them a little rose water. Beat up the yolks. Add them to the sugar and beat thoroughly together. Then add the whites, whisked to a stiff froth, and the pounded almonds. Add the finely crushed biscuits or flour. Bake in a moderate oven in a German tin lined with greased paper.
Eversley Cake
5 ozs. butter 6 ozs. best flour 3 eggs 5 ozs. castor sugar ¹⁄₂ tea-spoon baking powder ¹⁄₄ lb. mixed peel
Beat the butter to a cream. Add the sugar, then the flour, and well-beaten eggs, the sliced peel and lastly the baking powder. Beat altogether for twenty minutes and bake in a good oven for an hour.
Lady Cake
1 cup butter 2 cups powdered sugar 3 cups flour ¹⁄₂ cup milk Whites of 8 eggs 2 tea-spoons cream of tartar 1 tea-spoon carbonate of soda 1 tea-spoon extract of almonds
Beat the butter to a cream. Stir in the sugar gradually, beating hard all the time. Mix the cream of tartar with the flour, and the soda with the milk. Add flour and milk alternately in small quantities, beating continually. Add the flavouring, and then stir in the stiffly-beaten whites lightly. Bake in a moderate oven in a tin lined with greased paper.
*Potato Flour Cake
1 lb. butter 11 eggs 1 lb. sugar 1 lb. potato flour 1 wine-glass rum
Soften the butter. Then beat it until very light and creamy. Add to it alternately one whole egg, one table-spoon flour, one table-spoon sugar, beating well between each addition. When about half the materials are used add the rum. Add the rest of the ingredients alternately as before. From first to last the cake should be beaten for an hour. Bake in a buttered tin for one hour and a half to two hours.
*Pound Cake--I
1 lb. butter 1 lb. powdered sugar 10 eggs 1 lb. flour ¹⁄₂ wine-glass sherry ¹⁄₂ wine-glass brandy
Cream the butter. Add the sugar and well beaten yolks. Beat thoroughly. Add the flour and wine, beating all the time. Stir in the whites, which should be whisked to a stiff froth. Bake in three or four small well greased tins in a moderate oven, as this cake is always lighter if baked in small tins. Crystallised cherries halved are an excellent addition to a pound cake. They should be thoroughly mixed in the cake before the whites are added.
Pound Cake--II
1 lb. flour 1 lb. eggs 1 lb. sugar ³⁄₄ lb. butter 1 glass brandy
Beat the butter and half of the flour until light and creamy. Add the brandy. Beat the yolks thoroughly and add them alternately with the stiffly beaten whites and the rest of the flour. Beat all together for half-an-hour. Bake in two tins in a moderate oven for about an hour.
*Rice Cake--I
6 yolks 3 whites Grated peel of one lemon 4 ozs. flour ¹⁄₂ lb. ground rice ¹⁄₂ lb. powdered sugar
Beat the yolks and whites separately. Add the grated rind to the yolks. Beat again and add the whites. Mix well. Mix the flour, rice and sugar together. Add the eggs gradually, beating continually for about an hour. Bake in a tin lined with greased paper in a slow oven for about an hour.
Rice Cake--II
1 cup butter 2 cups sugar 2¹⁄₄ cups rice flour 6 eggs Juice and grated rind of a lemon
Beat the butter and sugar to a cream. Add the well beaten yolks and the flour. Beat thoroughly for five minutes. Add the lemon juice and rind and the stiffly beaten whites.
Bake in shallow square tins in which the depth of the mixture when poured in is less than two inches.
Bake thirty-five to forty-five minutes in a moderate oven.
Rice Cake--III
4 ozs. butter 2 eggs 4 ozs. powdered sugar 4 ozs. ground rice 6 ozs. flour 1 tea-spoon baking powder
Beat the butter to a cream and add the sugar. Beat the eggs till creamy and light, and add them with the flour (in which the baking powder should be mixed) and ground rice. Add a little milk and a few drops of essence of lemon or vanilla. Bake in a moderate oven for three quarters of an hour.
*Snow Cake
1 lb. arrowroot ¹⁄₂ lb. powdered sugar ¹⁄₂ lb. butter Whites of six eggs Vanilla or lemon flavouring
Beat the butter to a cream. Stir in the sugar and beat well again. Add the arrowroot, beating all the time vigorously. Whisk the whites to a stiff froth. Add them to the mixture. Beat all together for twenty minutes. Add a little vanilla or the juice or rind of a lemon. Bake in a buttered mould in a moderate oven for from one hour to one hour and a half.
*White Cake--I
1 cup butter 3 cups powdered sugar 1 cup milk 5 cups sifted flour 1 tea-spoon carbonate of soda 2 tea-spoons cream of tartar Whites of twelve eggs 1 tea-spoon vanilla
Beat the butter to a cream. Add the sugar. Beat well. Add the soda to the milk and the cream of tartar to the flour. Add flour and milk to the mixture, beating hard all the time. Beat the eggs to a stiff froth. Add them and the vanilla. Bake in two tins lined with greased paper. The oven should be slow at first, then moderate.
White Cake--II
3 cups sugar ¹⁄₂ cup butter 1 cup sweet milk 2 tea-spoons cream of tartar 1 tea-spoon carbonate of soda 3 cups flour Whites of four eggs
Mix as for the first receipt.
*White Cake--III
3 cups powdered sugar 1 cup butter 1 cup milk 3 cups flour 1 cup corn starch 12 whites of eggs 2 tea-spoons cream of tartar 1 tea-spoon carbonate of soda
Mix the cream of tartar thoroughly with the flour and dissolve the soda in half of the milk. Stir the cornflour in the rest of the milk until perfectly smooth.
Beat the butter and yolks together until creamy. Add the corn starch paste. Stir it well in. Add the milk and soda and the flour. Beat the whites to a stiff froth and stir in lightly. Bake in two papered tins in a moderate oven.
Layer Cakes and Fillings
PAGE
Layer Cake--I. 29
” ” II. 29
” ” III. 30
” ” IV. 30
Fillings for Layer Cakes--
Almond Cream 31
Chocolate--I. 31
” II. 32
Cocoanut--I. 32
” II. 32
Cream--I. 33
” II. 33
Fig 33
Fruit 34
Orange and Cocoanut Cream 34
Strawberry Cream 34
Californian Fig Cake 35
Coffee Cake 36
Fruit Layer Cake 37
Jam Sandwich--I. 37
” ” II. 38
Lemon Layer Cake 38
Ribbon Cake 39
Swiss Roll 40
General Directions
The tins for these cakes should be about 8 inches in diameter with a very shallow rim. They should be kept perfectly clean, and before being used should be slightly warmed and well greased with butter, lard or good sweet oil.
Three layers are sufficient for a cake. They should not be thick.
Cool each layer when baked on a perfectly flat surface and spread with the filling when cold.
Layer Cake--I
3 eggs 1 cup white sugar Butter size of an egg 1 cup flour 1 even tea-spoon baking powder
Beat the butter and sugar to a cream. Add the well beaten yolks and then the flour, in which the baking powder has been thoroughly mixed. Beat the whites till stiff.
Bake in three round shallow buttered tins in a moderate oven. When cold, place one round on a large plate and spread it with jelly, jam or other filling. Cover it with another round and spread this. Ice the top. If jam is used it should be beaten or warmed a little in order that it may spread more easily.
Layer Cake--II
¹⁄₂ lb. butter 5 eggs 6 ozs. flour 2 ozs. cornflour ¹⁄₂ lb. powdered sugar 1 tea-spoon vanilla 2 table-spoons sherry
Beat butter to a cream. Add sugar gradually, beating all the time. Then add the yolks, the flour and corn starch. Beat the whites to a stiff froth. Add them and the flavourings to the mixture. Bake in three tins for fifteen minutes, in a moderately quick oven.
Layer Cake--III
8 ozs. sugar 5 eggs ¹⁄₄ lb. butter 1 tea-cup milk 12 ozs. flour 1 tea-spoon baking powder
Beat the sugar with the eggs for fifteen minutes. Melt the butter and add it. Beat again very thoroughly. Add the baking powder to the flour and sift it. Add it and the milk to the mixture, beating continually.
Layer Cake--IV