Bread, cakes, and biscuits

Butter Torte (German). — This has nothing much to do with its name ; simply make a good pastry with butter, roll it out, and spread it on a suitable baking tin of the required size. Over this place another layer of pastry, but allow the lower one to exceed the upper one all round by the width of two fingers. Boll out a third layer a little smaller still, and cut out the centre so as to make a space for the fruit which has to occupy the centre. Have ready some fine peaches, stoned and cut in half ; crush one half of these with some caster sugar, and spread them over the middle of the tart, sprinkling the edges with pounded sugar; bake this tart for half an hour in medium heat. Meantime, stew the rest of the peaches in some sugar, arrange them according to taste all over the tart, and over the whole place the kernels of the fruit, previously extracted from the stones,, scalded, and coarsely chopped. Serve hot or cold. Carraway Cake (American). — Beat 1lb. of butter to a cream with ½lb. of caster sugar, then add the well-beaten yolks of four eggs, mixing them well in ; lastly, add 10oz. of dried and sifted flour (previously mixed with half a grated nutmeg, the same amount of powdered cinnamon,. and 1oz. of carraway seeds) in spoonfuls alternately with the whites of the eggs whipped into a very stiff froth, and bake about an hour in a quick oven. This makes a rich cake. A plainer one is produced by getting a quartern of bread dough from the baker’s ; set it in a warm place, covered with a cloth, to rise ; beat 1lb. of butter or clarified dripping to a cream, and work this well into the risen dough, adding lastly 12oz. of moist sugar, loz. of carraway seeds, and one well-beaten whole egg. Knead all this well together, then put the mixture into a buttered cake tin, and set it before the fire to rise again. After this bake in a thoroughly heated oven for two hours for a large cake, or for one hour if you divide the dough into two cakes. Chocolate Turban (Swiss). — Stir in a large basin the yolks of twelve eggs, together with 1lb. of pounded sugar, 1lb. of grated chocolate and of pounded almonds respectively, 1lb. of butter melted or beaten to a cream, and a pinch of pounded vanilla. Work this paste for half an hour, then add 6oz. of fecula (potato flour), and stir for ten minutes more. Whip the whites of the eggs to a froth, beat them lightly into the paste, and put it all into a fancy mould of lined copper. Set it first of all in a moderate oven and increase the heat by degrees. This cake should bake for one hour. Half these quantities can be used if desired ; this is for twelve persons. Cussy (French). — Break five fresh eggs into a stewpan, add 1lb. of sugar, and whip it over a gentle fire till lukewarm, then lift it off, and continue the whipping until it is quite cold and light. Now stir in 4oz. ground almonds, 6oz. ground rice or creme de riz, and 5oz. of butter beaten to a cream. Place this mixture in square moulds or saucers, well buttered, and bake in a moderate oven. When baked and perfectly cold, trim the cakes, spread them with apricot jam, then place them one on top of the other neatly, and ice the whole with orange glace made thus : Put 6oz. finest icing sugar into a stewpan with three