Girl's home manual of cookery, home management, home nursing and laundry

Unless otherwise directed, cream the butter, beat and add sugar by degrees, then each egg separately, well beaten. Beat this mixture until thick and light in colour. Add the sifted flour and milk alternately to the egg mixture. The baking powder should be sifted in with the last of the flour, and the fruit added last of all. ’ If soda and cream of tartar are used, dissolve the soda in the milk, and sift the tartar with the flour, If yolks and whites are separated, beat the yolks and add to the butter mix- . ture, then add milk with flour alternately, and cut and fold in the whipped whites the last thing. Baking. Small, light cakes need a hot oven. Sponge cakes require a slow oven. Rich fruit and pound cakes need a moderate oven. Place all cakes at the bottom of the oven at first. If the cake burns underneath, place a wire cake cooler under the tin. If it becomes too brown on the top, place a piece of thick paper over it. Time. Divide the time stated for cake into four: First quarter, cake should rise. ‘ Second quarter, cake should continue to rise and begin to brown. Third quarter, cake should continue to brown, Last quarter, cake should finish cooking and shrink from the sides of the pan. How to Tell if Cooked. A cake when cooked shrinks from the sides of the pan. Light, spongy cakes are cooked when no dent remains if pressed with the finger. To test a loaf cake, run a skewer into the centre. If the cake is cooked, the skewer will come out clean. When cooked, remove cake from tin and place on a wire sieve or basket to cool so that the steam may escape. ; To remove a cake from tin, if it is inclined to stick, press a knife close to the sides of the pan, pressing the cake gently inwards. Another method is to turn the cake on its sides; the weight of the cake then helps to loosen it. ce One Egg Cake. Y% cup butter. 1 ex tSp.isoda. 7% cup sugar. 2 .tsp..cream of tartar. ie ess. 2m cups flour, 1 cup milk: 1, tsp.lemon extract. Instead of the soda and tartar, 4 tsp. baking powder may be substituted. Cream butter, add sugar by degrees, whisk egg and add to butter mixture, beat well. Dissolve the soda in the milk. Sift the tartar with the flour, add milk and flour alternately to the butter mixture, then beat the whole for five minutes and add the flavouring. Bake in a greased flat tin in a moderately hot oven about thirty minutes. - Variations. By adding the following to the above, different cakes result: Nut Cake. Add % cup chopped nuts after the flour. Use only half amount of butter. ; Chocolate Cake. Add % cup cocoa or 2 oz. melted chocolate to the butter mixture. The cocoa should be mixed to a liquid with % cup of the milk, Flavour this cake with vanilla. Fruit Cake. Add % cup prepared raisins, currants or sultanas and one piece of candied peel finely shredded and chopped, with the last of the flour. Flavour with grated nutmeg. Use a little less sugar and milk for this cake. Spice Cake. Add 1 tsp. cinnamon, % tsp. cloves, 4 tsp. mixed spice to the flour. Cocoanut Cake. Add % cup cocoanut to the flour. Christmas Fruit Cake. 3% cup butter. 1 cup raisins (% Ib.). 34 cup sugar. 1 large piece citron peel (% I1b.). '% cup molasses. Y% cup almonds. 3. eggs. 1 tsp. mixed spice. 14 tsp. soda. 1 tsp. nutmeg. “ 14 cup warm new milk. 1 grated lemon rind. %e 1 cup currants (% 1b.). 134 cups sifted flour.