The handling or manipulation of the cake has a^great deal to do with the lightness of it. Some people
seem to have a natural gift for turning out light cakes and pastry, while to others success will only come
after much practice. This is especially noticeable in the making of such things as scones and bread,
where much of the actual mixing is done by the hand itself, and the same recipe followed by several
different people will produce entirely different results in each case, varying from light to what might be
termed decidedly heavy. However, failure at first must not dishearten the amateur, as repeated efforts
almost invariably end in quite successful productions.
The following pages deal with bread and cake making in their different branches, and include a repre-
sentative selection of recipes, from plain bread and scones to fancy cakes of all kinds.
VARIOUS PRELIMINARIES
Before beginning to make a cake, pay attention
to the oven and see that it is likely to be sufficiently
hot by the time the cake is ready for it. Many
cakes, and especially those that are made with
baking powder, will spoil if they have to stand
waiting for the oven to heat, or if they are put into
one that is not sufficiently hot. A little forethought
in this respect will avoid many a failure.
Then get ready the necessary cake tin or tins,
and prepare them in a manner suited to the kind
of cake that is being made. Having considered
these necessary preliminaries, the actual making of
the cake may be commenced.
First gather together all the materials that will
be required and weigh and measure them care-
fully ; then, if there is any fruit or other ingredient
requiring preparation, make all this ready before
starting the actual mixing.
In some cake mixtures, and especially the plainer
ones, the butter or fat is rubbed into the flour, in
others it is beaten to a cream before the other in-
gredients are mixed with it ; then again, in other
mixtures, the eggs or yolks of eggs are creamed
with the sugar, and the butter is added in a melted
form, according to the nature of the cake. For
explanation of these processes, instructions as
to what method to follow are given with each
recipe.
Cake baking is somewhat troublesome at first,
and especially until one gets accustomed to a par-
ticular oven, and as small cakes are more easily
fired than the larger and more solid ones it is ad-
visable to experiment with these until some ex-
perience has been gained. In fact experience is
the surest guide to successful cake-baking. Certain
instructions may be given and certain simple tests
as to the heat of the oven applied, but after a little
practice the right temperature can be pretty ac-
curately gauged by simply feeling the oven with the
hand. Of course the most accurate test of all is
the thermometer, but even this will not do away
with the necessity for careful watching.
PREPARATION OF CAKE TINS
Cake tins should always be prepared before
the mixing of the ingredients is commenced ; as
most cakes will spoil if the mixture is allowed
to stand and wait because the tins are not
ready. Cake tins made of good block tin are
the best to buy and will be found the cheapest in
the end.
Page 879
Presented as published in 1914. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The handling or manipulation of the cake has a great deal to do with the lightness of it. Some people seem to have a natural gift for turning out light cakes and pastry, while to others success will only come after much practice. This is especially noticeable in the making of such things as scones and bread, where much of the actual mixing is done by the hand itself, and the same recipe followed by several different people will produce entirely different results in each case, varying from light to what might be termed decidedly heavy. However, failure at first must not dishearten the amateur, as repeated efforts almost invariably end in quite successful productions.
The following pages deal with bread and cake making in their different branches, and include a representative selection of recipes, from plain bread and scones to fancy cakes of all kinds.
VARIOUS PRELIMINARIES
Before beginning to make a cake, pay attention to the oven and see that it is likely to be sufficiently hot by the time the cake is ready for it. Many cakes, and especially those that are made with baking powder, will spoil if they have to stand waiting for the oven to heat, or if they are put into one that is not sufficiently hot. A little forethought in this respect will avoid many a failure.
Then get ready the necessary cake tin or tins, and prepare them in a manner suited to the kind of cake that is being made. Having considered these necessary preliminaries, the actual making of the cake may be commenced.
First gather together all the materials that will be required and weigh and measure them carefully ; then, if there is any fruit or other ingredient requiring preparation, make all this ready before starting the actual mixing.
In some cake mixtures, and especially the plainer ones, the butter or fat is rubbed into the flour, in others it is beaten to a cream before the other ingredients are mixed with it ; then again, in other mixtures, the eggs or yolks of eggs are creamed with the sugar, and the butter is added in a melted form, according to the nature of the cake. For explanation of these processes, instructions as to what method to follow are given with each recipe.
Cake baking is somewhat troublesome at first, and especially until one gets accustomed to a particular oven, and as small cakes are more easily fired than the larger and more solid ones it is advisable to experiment with these until some experience has been gained. In fact experience is the surest guide to successful cake-baking. Certain instructions may be given and certain simple tests as to the heat of the oven applied, but after a little practice the right temperature can be pretty accurately gauged by simply feeling the oven with the hand. Of course the most accurate test of all is the thermometer, but even this will not do away with the necessity for careful watching.
PREPARATION OF CAKE TINS
Cake tins should always be prepared before the mixing of the ingredients is commenced ; as most cakes will spoil if the mixture is allowed to stand and wait because the tins are not ready. Cake tins made of good block tin are the best to buy and will be found the cheapest in the end.