A text-book of cooking

(Instead of 6 eggs, 4 eggs with \ cupful of water and 1 teaspoonful of baking powder may "be used.) What two ingredients are similar in these recipes ? What ingredients does Sponge Cake contain which do not exist in Popovers? What ingredients in Popovers are omitted in Sponge Cake ? Note the number of eggs in each. What is the wetting material in Popovers ? In Sponge Cake ? By what means are Popovers lightened ? Sponge Cake ? How do you account for the difference in the number of eggs ? Method of Mixing Sponge Cake. — Beat the yolks of the eggs until thick and lemon-colored. Add the sugar and continue beating ; then add the flavoring and any other liquid that the recipe may call for. Beat the mixture well. Add the salt to the egg whites and beat until the whites are stiff. Sift the flour (and baking powder if used) several times. Add part of the dry ingredients through the sifter to the yolk mixture, then add some of the egg whites. Repeat until all the dry ingredients and the egg whites have been added. Mix by lifting the wire egg beater straight up and down through the mixture. Turn at once into an unoiled pan. Bake in a moderate oven for 50 or 60 minutes. Baking Sponge Cakes. — The baking of a cake, as well as the manner of mixing the ingredients and the quality of the ingredients themselves, determines the success of the cake. A practical test for the temperature of the oven is the placing of a bit of flour or white paper in the oven. If at the end of 5 minutes the paper or flour is slightly browned, the oven is of proper temperature for sponge cakes or cakes without fat. The time required to bake a cake should be divided into quarters. During the first quarter the cake should begin to rise ; during the second quarter it should continue to rise and begin to brown ; during the third quarter it should continue to brown, and the fourth quarter it should finish baking. If the mixing and the baking have been successful, failure may result after removing the cake from the oven. It should not be placed in a cool place or in a draft. Invert the cake pan on a wire rack and allow the cake to remain until cool. Remove the cake from the pan, and store in a covered tin box. SPONGE CAKE NO. II 3 egg yolks 2 cupfuls flour 1£ cupfuls sugar J teaspoonful salt 1 tablespoonful lemon juice 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder J cupful water 8 egg whites Mix and bake according to the directions given above. CREAM FILLING 2 cupfuls milk { teaspoonful salt | cupful sugar \ tablespoonful butter \ cupful flour 2 eggs 1 teaspoonful flavoring Mix the sugar and the flour ; add the scalded milk ; and cook in the top of a double boiler for 20 minutes. Add the ; salt, eggs, and butter. Cook until the egg has coagulated. j Cool; stir in the flavoring. This filling is to be used between the layers of Sponge Cake, or as a filling between , split sheets of a loaf of Sponge Cake. \ What is the purpose of cutting and folding the egg whites and the dry ingredients into a sponge cake mixture ? Why is it necessary to add moisture and baking powder to Sponge Cake No. II ? Other than as a flavoring, what is the use of lemon juice in a sponge cake mixture ? (See Experiment 38, p. 91.) What is the effect of too cool an oven on Sponge Cake ? Why is it necessary to cook the milk, sugar, and flour mixture of Cream Filling for 20 minutes ? Why are not the eggs cooked for the same length of time ? Compare this mixture with the filling for Cream Puffs. (Seep. 220.) What ingredients vary in quantity ? Give the reasons for these variations in quantity. LESSON LXXXII Cake Containing Fat: Plain Cake