Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Soda Biscuits. — No. 1. Rub a quarter of a pound of butter into a pound of flour, and add a pinch of salt and six table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar. Whisk two eggs, and stir them into the flour ; add a tea-spoonful of carbonate of soda dissolved in a spoonful of hot milk, and beat the mixture till it is smooth and light. Roll the pastry out to the thickness of half an inch, stamp it into fancy shapes, and bake immediately in a quick oven. No. 2. Dissolve six ounces of butter, si.x ounces of sugar, a pinch of salt, and a tea-spoonful of carbonate of soda in a pint of warm milk, and stir into the liquor as much flom" as will form a stiff dough. Knead the pastry till it is smooth and light, and roll it out to the thickness of a quarter of an inch. Stamp it in rounds and bake immediately. No. 3. Beat the yolk of an egg, mix it with a pound of flour, and add a pinch of salt. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of carbonate of soda in a table-spoonful of warm milk ; stir this into the flour, with additional milk, to make a stiff dough. Knead well, beat with a rolling-pin, and roll the dough out very thin. Stamp it into fancy biscuits, and bake these in a moderate oven. When the biscuits are crisp they will be sufficiently baked. Time to bake the biscuits, twelve to twenty minutes. Soda Bread. — Mix thoroughly equal parts of tartaric acid and carbonate of soda, and put the mixture aside to be used as required. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of the powder and a pinch of salt in a breakfast-cupful of milk, and stir the liquor into a pound of flour. Knead the dough till it is smooth and light, put it into a tin, and bake the loaf in a brisk oven. Sometimes sour milk or buttermilk is used instead of sweet milk, and then a smaller proportion of tartaric acid is required. Time to bake, about an hour. Probable cost, 3d. for a loaf this size. Soda Bread (another way).—See Bread, Soda. Soda Cake. — No. l. Rub a quarter of a pound of butter into a pound of flour; then add a pinch of salt, a quarter of a pound of stoned raisins, or haK a pound of picked and dried currants, half a pound of powdered sugar, and a quarter of a grated nutmeg. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of carbonate of soda in a teacupful of warm milk. Whisk three fresh eggs, and mix them with the milk. Beat all well together for a few minutes. Butter the tins, and line them with oiled paper. Pour in the mixture, and bake the cakes in a well-heated, steady oven. If a richer cake is required, the quantity of butter should be increased. As a variety, a quarter of a pound of candied peel or one ounce of pounded sweet almonds may be substituted for the currants, but then a little more soda will be needed. It should be remembered that the cake should be put into the oven immediately after the soda is added, and that it should be thoroughly baked. When done enough, turn it out carefully, and let it rest in a slantingposition on the edge of a basin till cool. If liked, the batter can be sj^read half an inch deep in a shallow pan, then cut into squares when done enough. If this plan is adopted, the cake will be baked in twenty minutes. Time to bake, one large cake, one hour and three-quarters; two small cakes, one hour each. Probable cost, 8d. per pound.