Recipes for various kinds have been given,
and may be relied on ; but sometimes it is not always easy
to procure eggs (for royal icing the sugar must be of the
finest cane sort, whilst the eggs need to be of the freshest,
for the fresher they are the stronger are the whites). In
this case try the following mixture : Slowly dissolve §oz. of
best gelatine or isinglass in a gill of water, and when the
former is perfectly melted add either four drops of acetic
acid, or as much tartaric acid as will lie on a sixpence in a
layer as thick as the coin ; then beat in about lib. of best
cane icing sugar ✪ Glace Icing till it forms a paste that will stand up
stiffly in points (this will take about ten minutes), then
CAKE DECORATION, Ac.
187
use. The confectioner’s test of this glace, as it is techni-
cally called, is to lift a little on the end of the wooden
spoon or spatula used in beating it, and if on reversing the
spoon the icing will stand up firmly without any sign of
falling it is ready for use. If the icing is to be coloured,
the colouring should be added when the paste is thick ;
whilst if it is to be used white, a drop or two of liquid
blue, or a tiny dust of powder blue, will improve the colour
wonderfully.
Well-made rich cakes keep well, and, indeed, improve by
keeping, but at the same time cooks are often troubled by
a tendency to discolouration in the icing. The moisture of
the inside of the cake sets up a sort of chemical action (a
kind of ferment, in fact) on which the goodness and mellow-
ness of the cake depends in great measure, and any attempt
to stop this ferment, or ripening, by chemical means is
pretty safe to involve the loss, or at any rate a partial loss,
of aroma and flavour in the cake, but it is occasionally
disastrous to the appearance of the icing. However, if a
cake is to be stored, the icing should be applied as soon as
possible after the cake is really cold, before the outer air
has time to set up this fermentation very strongly. For
this reason many confectioners cover the sides, as well as
the top, of their richer cakes (such as bride or birthday
cakes), with a thick coating of almond icing, as this delays
the contact of the fruit juices in the cake with the sugar
icing, and the consequent discolouration of the latter.
Others, again, make a tasteless solution of gum or gelatine,
in either alcohol or lemon juice, and brush the cake over
with this before icing it, letting it dry thoroughly before
finishing it off with almond and other icings.
It should be remembered that all rich cakes, if yeast-
made, are better and more mellow if stored for some time ;
in some cases, such as bride and birthday cakes, this
storage may last for months without inconvenience.
Indeed, a well-known firm of cake bakers never consider
188 BREAD, CAKES, AND BISCUITS.
such cakes fit to eat till they have been seasoned thus.
Cakes, however, made with baking powder dry too quickly
to make storage in their case advisable.
Page 119 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1902. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Recipes for various kinds have been given, and may be relied on ; but sometimes it is not always easy to procure eggs (for royal icing the sugar must be of the finest cane sort, whilst the eggs need to be of the freshest, for the fresher they are the stronger are the whites). In this case try the following mixture : Slowly dissolve 1/2oz. of best gelatine or isinglass in a gill of water, and when the former is perfectly melted add either four drops of acetic acid, or as much tartaric acid as will lie on a sixpence in a layer as thick as the coin ; then beat in about lib. of best cane icing sugar till it forms a paste that will stand up stiffly in points (this will take about ten minutes), then
CAKE DECORATION, Ac.
use. The confectioner’s test of this glace, as it is technically called, is to lift a little on the end of the wooden spoon or spatula used in beating it, and if on reversing the spoon the icing will stand up firmly without any sign of falling it is ready for use. If the icing is to be coloured, the colouring should be added when the paste is thick ; whilst if it is to be used white, a drop or two of liquid blue, or a tiny dust of powder blue, will improve the colour wonderfully.
Well-made rich cakes keep well, and, indeed, improve by keeping, but at the same time cooks are often troubled by a tendency to discolouration in the icing. The moisture of the inside of the cake sets up a sort of chemical action (a kind of ferment, in fact) on which the goodness and mellowness of the cake depends in great measure, and any attempt to stop this ferment, or ripening, by chemical means is pretty safe to involve the loss, or at any rate a partial loss, of aroma and flavour in the cake, but it is occasionally disastrous to the appearance of the icing. However, if a cake is to be stored, the icing should be applied as soon as possible after the cake is really cold, before the outer air has time to set up this fermentation very strongly. For this reason many confectioners cover the sides, as well as the top, of their richer cakes (such as bride or birthday cakes), with a thick coating of almond icing, as this delays the contact of the fruit juices in the cake with the sugar icing, and the consequent discolouration of the latter. Others, again, make a tasteless solution of gum or gelatine, in either alcohol or lemon juice, and brush the cake over with this before icing it, letting it dry thoroughly before finishing it off with almond and other icings.
It should be remembered that all rich cakes, if yeastmade, are better and more mellow if stored for some time ; in some cases, such as bride and birthday cakes, this storage may last for months without inconvenience. Indeed, a well-known firm of cake bakers never consider
such cakes fit to eat till they have been seasoned thus. Cakes, however, made with baking powder dry too quickly to make storage in their case advisable.
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Glace Icing