The tea-time recipe book (B book)

Condensed milk is a good substitute for fresh milk or cream, but when it is used Jess sugar will be required. Unsweetened condensed milk is much to be preferred to sweetened, and we can safely recommend the following brands: ‘“Cow’s Head,” “ Viking,” “Ideal.” Butter-milk will make excellent bread and scones with ‘Paisley Flour,” but it should be used as new as possible, as when it is kept for a number of days it gets more acid, and is apt then to taste the scones, etc. For invalids, however, only good sweet milk should be used, as it makes the most digestible bread. Hints on Baking. INGREDIENTS (Continued). Sugar.—Castor or sifted sugar is the best. Any coarser kind should be pounded and sieved before using. Coarse sugar leaves cakes, etc., heavy and hard. Butter.—Never be tempted to use inferior butter in baking as it will spoil the quality of the cake or pastry. Good margarine may be _ used instead of butter. If the butter is very salt, it should be washed in cold water and then dried in a clean towel. When beating butter to a cream, never allow it to become oil by placing it too near or too long beside the stove. Eggs —Each Egg should be broken into a cup by itself before it is added to others. By doing this you will prevent a bad one spoiling the rest. Currants.-—Currants should be washed in cold water and thoroughly dried in a coarse towel to clean them and remove any pieces of grit. This should be done some time before using them that they may be thoroughly dry. Even a slight dampness will make the currants heavier, and cause them to sink to the bottom of the cake. The cake also will be liable to be heavy. Raisins.—The stones should be taken out of raisins, and the stems removed. Sultana raisins should be prepared the same as currants, and the stems removed. Almonds,—Almonds for cakes should be blanched by putting them into boiling water for a few minutes, then into cold water, and afterwards rubbing them in a coarse towel to remove the softened skins. ‘Paisley Flour.’’—In any general recipe where carbonate of soda and cream of tartar are required, use neither, but use “ Paislev Flour” instead, in the proportion of a heaped table-spoonful to half-a-pound of ordinary flour for bread, scones, etc. But remember that when many eggs are used, a much smaller proportion will be sufficient, Say, half as much. Hints on Baking. MIXING THE INGREDIENTS. There are more cakes spoiled by insufficient _ mixing than in any other way, therefore, do your mixing thoroughly. Note the times mentioned for mixing in some of the recipes. _ Never mix a cake in a tin basin, but always use an earthenware dish, for when butter and sugar are rubbed together in a tin basin they will be much darkened by the tin. For the same reason, stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. Mix spices along with the dry flour. PREPARING TINS. For large rich cakes always line the cake tin with buttered paper. For ordinary and light-cakes grease the tins with butter, sprinkle in a little flour, shake the tin till the inside surface is covered with a coating of flour, and empty out the flour that remains. BAKING. If the baking is to be done in a gas oven, light it first thing of all; if in an ordinary coal oven, make up the fire beforehand; so that, in either case, the oven will be at the proper heat when the bread, etc., is ready to be put in. When an ordinary oven is at the proper heat, build up the fire with coal, and partly close the damper; this will give a steady heat, and by pulling out the damper the heat can be increased if wanted. Scones, muffins, rolls and little dinner loaves require a very quick oven. Buns and small cakes require a rather quick oven.