The royal baker and pastry cook

Currant Cake, No 2. — cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 3 eggs, cup milk, 2 cups flour, teaspoon salt, 1'^ teaspoons Royal Baking Powder, 1 cup cleaned currants, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix flour, salt, and baking powder, dredge the currants. Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten yolks and vanilla. Beat in flour and milk; add whipped whites and currants, and beat hard. Bake in shallow pan in moderately hot oven. Currant Cake (English). — 1 % cups butter, 2 cups sugar, 7 eggs, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, Mi cup citron, in small thin slices, the rind of an orange, peeled very thin and cut in shreds, 2 cups currants, washed and picked, IMi pints flour, 1 teaspoon extract nutmeg. 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 and powder together. Add it to the butter, etc., with the citron, orange peel, currants, and the extract. Bake in a thickly paperlined tin (fig. XIII), 1 hour and 25 minutes, in a moderate oven. Duchesse Cake. — It^ cups butter, 1 cup sugar, 6 eggs, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, 1 pint flour, 1 teaspoon extract cinnamon. Rub the butter and sugar to a light cream. Add the eggs, 2 at a time, beating 10 minutes after each addition. Sift together flour and powder, add to the butter, etc., with the extract. Mix into a medium thick batter, and bake in small, shallow, square pans (fig. XII), lined with thin white paper, in a steady oven 30 minutes. When they are taken from the oven, ice them. Soft Gingerbread. — Mi cup butter, 2 cups molasses, 1 cup sugar, 4 cups flour, 1 cup milk, 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, ginger and cloves to taste. Dark Fruit Cake. — 2 cups butter, 2 cups sugar, 12 eggs, 4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, Mi teaspoon salt, 1 pound currants, 1 pound sliced citron, 3 pounds seeded raisins, 1 pound chopped figs, % cup any kind of wine, 2 tablespoons strained lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mi teaspoon each cloves and mace, ■I4 teaspoon each allspice and nutmeg. Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and spices. Dredge fruit thoroughly. Cream butter and sugar, add beaten yolks and lemon juice. Alternate flour and wine, add whipped whites, and beat for 10 minutes. Stir in prepared fruit. Line loaf-pans with 4 thicknesses paper ; pour in batter. Bake in slow oven from 3 to 5 hours, covering pans with paper tin until % baked. Delicate Fruit Cake. — % cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 1 cup milk, 2% cups flour, V4 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons Royal Baking Powder, whites 5 eggs, 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind. Cream butter and mix dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar. Add whipped whites, flour, and milk, and beat hard. To 5 tablespoons of this batter add spices to taste, and 1 cup raisins and cup sliced citron, and bake in 1 layer. Bake remainder of batter in 2 layer-pans. When cold put together with boiled icing, having dark layer in center. Fig Cake. — IV2 cups sugar, hi cup butter, % cup sweet milk. IMi cups flour, V4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, hi cup cornstarch, whites 6 eggs. Put together as for cornstarch cake, and bake in 2 shallow oblong pans in a quick oven. Put together with fig filling (see Cake Fillings).