English and French cookery

Cheap Cake. — 2J pounds flour, f pound sugar, g pound butter, 1 pound currants, or | pound raisins, j pound orange-peel, 2 ounces caraway seeds, 1 ounce ground cinnamon or ginger, 4 teaspoonfuls carbonate of soda, mixed well, with 1J pints new milk. The butter must be well melted previous to being mixed with the ingredients. Cornflour Sponge Cake. — Add 1 pound sugar to 4 ounces cornflour and J pound wheaten flour. Make into a mixture, with 7 eggs previously well beaten, put into a buttered tin, and bake in a quick oven for 1 hour. Almond Gingerbread. — Mix 1 ounce ground ginger with pound ground rice, and g pound best flour. Put into a jar 1 pound treacle, i, pound sugar, h pound fresh butter, the thinly-peeled rind of 2 lemons, cut into thin slices, and 6 ounces sweet almonds, with 4 or 5 bitter ones, pounded in a mortar, with a few drops of water, to prevent oiling. Place the jar near the fire, and when the butter is melted, pour all into the flour. Beat till quite light, and bake in a quick oven, on a buttered tin for 30 minutes, if made in small cakes. Where almonds are not to hand, the flavouring essences of almond will do as well. Oswego Cake. — Mix well together 8 ounces of Kingsford’s prepared com, 8 ounces sugar, 4 ounces butter, 3 well-beaten eggs, and a teaspoonful of baking-powder. Bake in patty tins. Plum Cake. — 5 teacupfuls flour, 1 teacupful melted butter, 1 teacupful cream, 1 teacupful treacle, 1 teacupful moist sugar, 2 eggs, 1 ounce powdered ginger, J pound raisins, 1 teaspoonful carbonate of soda, 1 tablespoonful vinegar. Melt the butter, but do not allow it to boil ; put the flour into a basin, add to it the sugar, ginger, and raisins, which should be stoned and cut into small pieces. When thoroughly mixed, stir in the butter, cream, treacle, and well-whisked eggs, and beat the mixture for a few minutes. Dissolve the soda in the vinegar, add it to the dough, and be particular that these latter ingredients are well incorporated with the others ; put the cake into a buttered mould or tin, place in a moderate oven immediately, and bake from If to 2| hours. Rich Plum Cake. — To 1 pound of flour add 3 teaspoonfuls of baking powder, and \ teaspoonful of salt ; mix well. Rub into this pound of butter, lard, or beef dripping, or portions of each. Add § pound of washed, dried, and picked currants, \ pound of stoned and chopped raisins, \ pound of moist sugar, 2 ounces of candied peel cut into narrow strips, and a small nutmeg grated. Mix these ingredients thoroughly. Whisk 2 eggs for 5 or 6 minutes. Add 4 drops of Langdale’s almond essence and a little milk, tepid heat. Stir this into the flour, adding enough milk to make a light dough. Put into a large buttered tin, or 2 small ones, and bake immediately for 1 or 2 hours, according to size. 7-2