The spirit of cookery

Savoy Cake — Fr. Biscuit de Savoie; Naples Biscuits or Ladies Fingers — Fr. Biscuits a Cuiller;* Compound Biscuits : Biscuits aux Pistaches, aux Amandes, AveHnes, Noisettes ; Biscuits au Chocolat (one part of chocolate to seven parts of sugar) ; a la Gdnoise, with aniseed flavour, to be cut and toasted j Biscuits d Couper are to be sliced and glaced with * Carême has à la Guillery. 4o2 flavoured sugar, or sugar mixed with fruit-juice; Biscuits d r Urstiline are made of biscuit paste mixed with rice, and apple or apricot jam, and grilled orange-flower. A number of preparations are also called Biscuits Soufflds somewhat improperly — e.g., the biscuits SotojffUs aux Ainandes, d la Fleur cV Or anger, and the Biscuits d la Mere Jeanne — but they differ from true biscuits in their essential properties. The refined Portuguese bake an excellent biscuit cake which they term d’otcro, golden bread ; they do not cut it, but the lady or daughter of the house breaks it with her fingers. There are many variations of Savoy cake produced, e.g., by an increase in the number of eggs, from twelve to the pound of sugar, to sixteen or even twenty ; these doughs, rich in eggs, are not suited for large cakes, but more for small preparations like ladies’ fingers. Such fancy preparations as a Savoy cake in the shape of a sioan, which is plumed with beaten cream, or that in the shape of a ham, which is painted and glaced, provided with a knuckle of chocolate, and underlaid with a macedoine of fruit in jelly (attractive ornaments for a supper-table intended for the amusement of young people) — such require a consistent dough with the minimum of eggs necessary for its constitution. In most biscuit cakes the rising or porosity is produced by the admixture of whipped white of egg; but to one very rich variety, containing upon half a pound of starch and a pound of sugar the whites of ten eggs and the yolks of twenty, half a drachm of powdered hartshorn salt (carbonate of ammonia) is also added, which in raising the cake evaporates and disappears. In Plum Cake the rich floury basis of cake almost disappears, or is overtoned entirely by the addition of a largo amount of raisins, both sultanas and muscatels stoned, currants, dried cherries, pounded almonds, minced mixed candied peel, and spices. The body of the cake is thus SCOTCH BREAD, RUSKS made for the English wedding or bride’s cake ; but there is added to it an outer incrustation, consisting of so-called glace, or glacing, and icing, together with external decorations, and a thick layer sometimes between the glacing and the cake of almond and sugar paste. Scotch Bread is a cake of flour, butter, sugar, eggs, spices, and lemon, etc., zest, mixed by stirring, and baked in flat tins not exceeding 2 inches in depth ; it is used in several parts of Scotland at breakfast, luncheon, etc., and for occasional refreshment. The English Poicnd Cake is closely related to it.