Cookery for beginners

oven well before risking pound or fruit-cake. Should the dough or batter rise very fast lay white paper over the top, that this may not harden into a crust before the middle is done. To ascertain whether the cake is ready to leave the oven, thrust a clean straw into the thickest part. If it comes 'out clean, take out the tins and set them gently on a table or shelf to cool before turning them upside down on a clean, dry cloth or dish, A Good Oup-cake. One cup of butter. Two cups of sugar — powdered. Four eggs. One cup of sweet milk. One teaspoonful of vanilla. One half-teaspoonful of mace. Three cups of prepared flour, or the same quantity of family-flour with one even teaspoonful of soda and two of cream tartar, sifted twice with it Two teaspoonfuls of Royal Baking Powder will serve the same end. Mix as directed in *' Practical Preliminaries," and bake in small tins. Jelly-cake Is made by mixing the above cup-cake, leaving out the flavoring, and baking it in "jellycake tins," turning these out when almost cold by running a knife around the edges, and spreading all but that intended for the top with a thick coating of fruit-jelly. Sift white sugar over the upper one or frost it. Oream-oake. Mix a cup-cake without spice or other flavoring, bake in jelly-cake tins, and when cold spread between the layers this filling: One egg. One cup of milk. One half cup of sugar. Two rounded teaspoonfuls of corn-starch. One teaspoonful of vanilla or other essence. Scald the milk in a farina-kettle; wet the cornstarch with a little cold milk and stir into that over the fire until it thickens. Have the egg ready whipped light into a bowl; beat it in the sugar; pour the thick hot milk upon this, gradually, stirring fast, return to the kettle and boil (still stirring,) to a thick custard. Let it cool before seasoning. Frost the top-cake, or sift powdered sugar over it. Ooooannt-oake. Mix and bake as for jelly-cake, flavoring with rose-water. Whip the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth. Add one cup of powdered sugar, and two thirds of a grated cocoanut. When the cakes are cold, spread between the layers. To the remaining third of the cocoanut add four tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, and cover the top of the cake with it Apple-cake. Mix and bake as for jelly-cake, flavoring the dough with essence of bitter almond. Beat one egg light in a bowl, and into it a cup of sugar. Add to this the strained juice and grated rind of a lemon. Peel and grate three fine pippins or other ripe, tart apples directly into this mixture, stirring each well in before adding another. When all are in, put into a farina-kettle and stir over the fire until the apple-custard is boiling hot and quite thick. Cool and spread between the cakes. A nice and simple cake. Eat the day it is baked. Ohocolate-cake. Mix and bake as for jelly-cake, flavoring with vanilla. For filling, whip the whites of three eggs stiff; stir in one cup and a half of sugar and four tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate. Beat hard for two minutes and spread between the layers and on the top of the cake. White Oup-cake. One cup of butter. Two cups of powdered sugar. Three cups of prepared flour. One cup of sweet milk. Whites of five eggs. One teaspoonful of essence of bitter almond. Cream butter and sugar; add milk and beat hard before putting in the whites of the eggs. Stir in flavoring and, lightly and quickly, the prepared flour. Bake in small tins. Frosting for Oake. Whites of three eggs. Three cups of powdered sugar. Strained juice of a lemon. Put the whites into a cold bowl and add the sugar at once, stirring it in thoroughly. Then whip with your egg-beater until the mixture is stifE and white, adding lemon-juice as you go