Foods, their selection and preparation

Cream puffs have the same proportion of flour to liquid as popovers, but a higher proportion of both fat and eggs. The liquid is usually water. The fat is increased to give tenderness and richness. The egg gives rigidity to the crust of the puffs and holds in place the high fat of the mixture during baking. To 1 cup each of liquid and flour, basic proportions for cream puffs include \ cup fat, 4 eggs, and 1 teaspoon salt. If these ingredients were combined by the same method as for popovers, the fat, being in high proportion, would tend to float on top as soon as the mixture reached the melt¬ ing point of the fat during baking. In order to hold the fat in suspension in the batter, and at the same time to make the mixture more tender, the fat is cooked with the flour [illustration: Cream Puffs • Cream puffs ready for baking, baked and filled sandwich style, with whipped cream] The same mixture also may be fried in deep fat. Such fried puffs are called "queen fritters.” The fritters pop in the fat just as they do when baked at the proper tem¬ perature. Cream puffs and eclairs may be filled with thick custard, cream filling, whipped cream, or ice cream. A pastry bag with a tube is helpful for this purpose, since with it they can be filled through only a tiny opening. Queen fritters often are filled with jam or marmalade. Griddle Cakes. The term "griddle cake,” "pancake,” or "hotcake” covers a wide range of products made from batters of varying proportions. A very thin batter high in egg is used in a French pancake, and a thick fluffy batter with little or even no egg in the well-known "hot cakes.” Standard griddle cakes of the American type only will be discussed here. Such griddle cakes may be made of all white flour or of a combination of flour and cereal or meal. Standard griddle cakes have more flour than any batter discussed so far. Griddle cakes are partly leavened by steam, but as the flour is increased above that used in the batters of the popover group, the addition of leavening becomes necessary except when self-rising flour or ready mixes are used. Baking powder is added, or with sour milk soda may be used. The proportions of both flour and baking powder may be varied to secure a thin or a moist thick griddle cake. The consistency of the batter made by using lj to 1J cups flour to 1 of liquid can be changed by in¬ creasing the amount of baking powder. As baking powder is increased the batter be¬ comes stiffer and the cakes less moist, more porous, more tender, and thicker when cooked, than cakes made with little or no added leavening. This more tender griddle cake of greater volume seems the desired standard in this country. [illustration: Griddle Cakes • Use only enough fat to prevent sticking]