Bread, cakes, and biscuits

Rice Cakes. — Boil a pint of rice till quite tender, when you add to it a teacupful of cornflour, two well-beaten eggs, a pinch of salt, and enough milk to make it all into a nice batter, then stir in quickly a tablespoonful of liquefied butter or lard, and bake on a hot girdle. Slim Cakes. — One pound of flour, two well-beaten eggs, 1oz. butter, one teaspoonful of salt, and as much warm (not hot) milk as will make it all into a paste. Knead this all well together, let it stand before the fire for half an hour to lighten, then roll it out, cut it into squares, dust these with flour, and bake in the oven or on a girdle. Serve hot and buttered. Sly Cakes. — Make a smooth paste with fib. flour, l£oz. caster sugar, a pinch of salt, a good pinch of spice, and enough cold water to work it all to a smooth, stiff paste, then roll it out three times, spreading loz. to 2oz. of fat on it each time, as in making puff pastry. Finally roll it out fairly thin, and cut it in squares or rounds. Cover half these with well-washed and dried currants that have been previously moistened with a little rum (a tablespoonful of rum for 4oz. of currants), cover with the rest of the pieces, press these lightly together sandwich fashion, brush them over with a tablespoonful of sugar dissolved with foz. of butter in two tablespoonfuls of milk (used whilst hot), and bake in a sharp oven. IJse hot or cold. Velvet Calces. — Dissolve 4oz. of butter and loz. of yeast in a quart of warm milk, stir into this six eggs, and work in enough fine flour to make a soft dough ; let it rise in a warm place for two hours, shape the dough into round buns or cakes, flatten lightly on top with the palm of your hand, and set them on a well-buttered tin to rise again for a little, then bake in a quick oven. Muffins. — Sieve 4lb. of good flour ; in about a quart of tepid half milk, half water, dissolve 2oz. German yeast, loz. sugar, and foz. of salt ; when this is perfectly dissolved, work it into the flour to a thoroughly smooth batter, or soft dough, work it all together for about ten minutes longer, then set it to rise in a large pan. When it is nearly double its original size beat it up again for ten minutes, then let it rise again till ready. You will know when it is ready by the risen dough beginning to fall, when it must be at once taken up in small pieces, and formed into muffin shapes with your floured hands, then set these cakes in rows on a heavily floured hoard. Cover lightly with a blanket and leave in a warm corner to “ prove ” or rise, i.e.f until the top is risen in a kind of dome shape. Now slip each carefully on to hot iron plates (these should have been heated in the oven), and bake until the underside is slightly browned, when the muffins must be turned and baked on the other side. Be careful not to let the dough chill at any time of the making, and for this reason have everything ready before you begin, seeing to the oven and the heating of the iron plates ; mind also to handle the muffins very carefully, or they will drop. Like crumpets, muffins are easy enough to make when you have caught the knack, but both require intelligent practice. To get tepid liquid of the right temperature use one part absolutely boiling to two parts cold water.