The royal baker and pastry cook

1 cup butter, 2 eggs, Vfj cup molasses, 1 cup strong coffee, Vj teaspoon soda dissolved in the molasses. 2 teaspoons powdered cinnamon, 1 teaspoon cloves, teaspoon salt, 1 cup chopped raisins, 5 cups flour, 2 teaspoons Royal Baking Powder. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and spices. Dredge raisins with some of the flour. Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten yolks and molasses, then alternate the coffee and flour; lastly beat in whipped whites. Divide into 2 loaves and bake in moderate oven. Cream Cakes (Eclatres a la Creme). — 10 eggs, ’>‘2 cup butler, pound flour, 1 pint water. Set the water on the fire in a stewpan with the butter; as soon as it boils, stir in the sifted flour with a wooden spoon ; stir vigorously until it leaves the bottom and sides of pan ; remove from fire, beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Place this batter in a pointed canvas bag having a nozzle at small end, press out the batter, in shape of fingers, on a greased tin, a little distance apart. Bake in steady oven 20 minutes. W’hen cold, cut the sides and fill with following: PASTRY CREAM 2 cups sugar, 1 Vfe pints milk, 3 large tablespoons com-starch, yolks of 5 eggs, 1 tablespoon good butter, 2 teaspoons extract vanilla. Bring the milk to a boil ; with the sugar add the starch dissolved in a little cold water ; as soon as it reboils, take from the Are. Beat in the egg yolks. Return to the fire 2 minutes to set the eggs. Add the extract and butter. Spread tops, when cold, with chocolate or vanilla icing. Cream Cake. — % cup butter, 2 cups sugar, IMt pints flour. 5 eggs, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, 1 cup milk. Rub the butter and sugar to a white, light cream. Add the eggs, 2 at a time, beating 5 minutes after each addition. Sift the flour with the powder, which add to the butter, etc., and the milk. Mix into rather thin batter, and bake in jellycake tins, well greased, in hot oven 15 minutes. When cold spread pastry cream between the layers, and ice the top with clear icing. (See pastry cream, above.) Continental Fruit Cake. — 1 pound butter, 1 pound sugar, It^ pounds flour, 1 cup cream, 1 wine-glass each brandy and wine, 1 grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoon each mace and cloves, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 14 teaspoon salt, 8 eggs, % pound each raisins and currants, ^ pound shred citron. Put together as for centennial cake, and bake in 2 loaves in moderate oven, lining pans with 3 thicknesses of paper. Cup Cake. — 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, 3 cups flour, 20 drops extract bitter almonds. Rub the butter and sugar to a cream. Add the eggs, 2 at a time, beating 5 minutes after each addition. Sift together the flour and powder, which add to the butter, etc., with the extract. Mix into a smooth, medium batter. Bake in well-greased cups or muffln-pans (fig. VII), in a rather hot oven, 20 minutes. Currant Cake. — 1 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, 1 pint flour, IV2 cups currants, washed and picked, 2 teaspoons extract cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon extract lemon. Rub the butter and sugar to a white, light cream. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating a few minutes after each. Add the flour sifted with the powder, the currants, and the extracts. Mix into a medium batter. Bake in paper-lined cake-tin (fig. IX) 50 minutes, in a moderate oven.