Original White House Cookbook

One teacupful of butter, one teacupful of brown sugar, worked well together ; next, two teacupfuls of cooking molasses, one cupful of milk with a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in it, one tablespoonful of ginger, one tablespoonful of cinnamon and one teaspoonful of cloves, a little grated nutmeg. Now add four eggs well beaten and five cups of sifted flour, or enough to make a stiff batter. Flour a cup of raisins and one of currants; add last. Bake in a very moderate oven one hour. If well covered will keep six months. SPONGE CAKE. Separate the whites and yolks of six eggs. Beat the yolks to a cream, to which add two teacupfuls of powdered sugar, beating again from five to ten minutes, then add two tablespoonfuls of milk or water, a pinch of salt and flavoring. Now add part of the beaten whites ; then two cups of flour in which you have sifted two teaspoonfuls of baking powder ; mix gradually into the above ingredients, stirring slowly and lightly, only enough to mix them well ; lastly add the remainder of the whites of the eggs. Line the tins with buttered paper and fill two-thirds full. WHITE SPONGE CAKE. Whites of five eggs, one cup of flour, one cup sugar, one teaspoonful baking powder ; flavor with vanilla. Bake in a quick oven. ALMOND SPONGE CAKE. The addition of almonds makes this cake very superior to the usual sponge cake. Sift one pint of fine flour ; blanch in scalding water two ounces of sweet and two ounces of bitter almonds, renewing the hot water when expedient; when the skins are all off wash the almonds in cold water (mixing the sweet and bitter) and wipe them dry ; pound them to a fine, smooth paste (one at a time), adding, as you proceed, water or white of egg to prevent their boiling. Set them in a cool place ; beat ten eggs, the whites and yolks separately, till very smooth and thick, and then beat into them gradually two cups powdered sugar in turn with the pounded almonds ; lastly, add the flour, stirring it round slowly and lightly on the surface of the mixture, as in common sponge cake ; have ready buttered a deep square pan ; put the mixture carefully into it, set into the oven and bake till thoroughly done and risen very high ; when cool, cover it with plain white icing flavored with rose-water, or with almond icing. With sweet almonds always use a small portion of bitter ; without them, sweet almonds have little or no taste, though they add to the richness of the cake. Use two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder in the flour. OLD-FASHIONED SPONGE CAKE. Two CUPS of sifted white sugar, two cups of flour measured before sifting, ten eggs. Stir the yolks and sugar together until perfectly light; add a pinch of salt ; beat the whites of the eggs to a very stiff froth and add them with the flour, after beating together lightly ; flavor with lemon. Bake in a moderate oven about forty-five minutes. Baking powder is an improvement to this cake, using two large teaspoonfuls. LEMON SPONGE CAKE.