Large walnuts and hickory nuts are best, provided shells are bright and thin. The best orange marmalade comes from Florida and must be free from crystals and a burnt taste. Rose and orange waters are kept by all druggiatfli but recipes are given hereafter. 56 CAKE-MAKING. Swamp huckleberries are best. They are large, rich and fresh^ mild in flavor, and have few seeds. • The cake tins should be prepared before the cake. Grease with fresh, sweet lard, lining the bottom with paper, using six or eight thicknesses if cake is large, greasing the top one well. If oven bakes more rapidly at top and sides, use less paper at bottom and one or two thicknesses at sides. Cakes that have no shortening in their composition, should be baked on clean manilla instead of but- tered paper. Sift a part of the measured flour with the baking pow- der or soda and cream tartar through hand-sieve (which should be among the utensils of every housekeeper), and mix thoroughly with the rest of the flour. In using new flour for either bread or cake-making, it can be " ripened " for use by placing the quantity intended for baking in the hot sun for a few hours, or before the kitchen fire. In using milk, note this : that sour milk makes aiero. a spongy, light cake ; sweet milk, one that cuts like pound cake ; remembering that with sour milk soda alone is used, while with sweet milk baking powder or soda and cream tartar are to be added. Having made everything ready, add milk slowly in small quantities to the creamed butter and sugar, next yolk of egg, then part of flour, then a part of the whites and so on until all the material is used, adding flavoring last. Some first stir milk and flavoring into creamed butter and sugar, then yolks, whites and flour, first mix- ing with two-thirds of the latter the baking powder, and adding the remainder to stiffen the dough. Success depends largely on beat- ing a cake. The batter should be brought up from bottom at every stroke, forcing air»into dough instead of out of it. A wooden paddle is best to beat cake, an iron spoon should never be used. Imperfect mixing, too rapid baking, or unsteady heat, will cause streaks in cake. It is safest to bake a small cake first ; if the little cake is hard add a little milk ; if it falls in the nuddle and is crumbly, add more flour. Powdered sugar may be sifted over any cake while warm, from a spice-box with perforated top. Grate only the yellow part of orange or lemon peel, the white portion is bitter. Soda and cream tartar and baking powder may be used interchangeably in recipes by using a quantity of the latter equal to both the former. In recipea milk always means sweet milk, and the cup is a tea-cup or two gills» 57 Sour milk may be used instead of sweet by adding one level tea- spoon soda to each pint. For one quart of flour use two heaping teaspoons baking powder or one each of soda and cream-tartar. To blanch almonds, drop into boiling water, boil a few mitiutes, then drop into cold water. Slip off skins and dry in open air. If dried in oven the oil diBappeare. Prepare a day before using in cake. To keep fruit, wedding and black cakes, wrap in waxed pa- per ; or better, in tin-foil ; or wrap in a towel wet in alcohol ; re-wet once a week, and keep in a cool place.

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Large walnuts and hickory nuts are best, provided shells are bright and thin. The best orange marmalade comes from Florida and must be free from crystals and a burnt taste. Rose and orange waters are kept by all druggists but recipes are given hereafter. Swamp huckleberries are best. They are large, rich and fresh, mild in flavor, and have few seeds. • The cake tins should be prepared before the cake. Grease with fresh, sweet lard, lining the bottom with paper, using six or eight thicknesses if cake is large, greasing the top one well. If oven bakes more rapidly at top and sides, use less paper at bottom and one or two thicknesses at sides. Cakes that have no shortening in their composition, should be baked on clean manilla instead of buttered paper. Sift a part of the measured flour with the baking powder or soda and cream tartar through hand-sieve (which should be among the utensils of every housekeeper), and mix thoroughly with the rest of the flour. In using new flour for either bread or cake-making, it can be " ripened " for use by placing the quantity intended for baking in the hot sun for a few hours, or before the kitchen fire. In using milk, note this : that sour milk makes a a spongy, light cake ; sweet milk, one that cuts like pound cake ; remembering that with sour milk soda alone is used, while with sweet milk baking powder or soda and cream tartar are to be added. Having made everything ready, add milk slowly in small quantities to the creamed butter and sugar, next yolk of egg, then part of flour, then a part of the whites and so on until all the material is used, adding flavoring last. Some first stir milk and flavoring into creamed butter and sugar, then yolks, whites and flour, first mixing with two-thirds of the latter the baking powder, and adding the remainder to stiffen the dough. Success depends largely on beating a cake. The batter should be brought up from bottom at every stroke, forcing air»into dough instead of out of it. A wooden paddle is best to beat cake, an iron spoon should never be used. Imperfect mixing, too rapid baking, or unsteady heat, will cause streaks in cake. It is safest to bake a small cake first ; if the little cake is hard add a little milk ; if it falls in the middle and is crumbly, add more flour. Powdered sugar may be sifted over any cake while warm, from a spice-box with perforated top. Grate only the yellow part of orange or lemon peel, the white portion is bitter. Soda and cream tartar and baking powder may be used interchangeably in recipes by using a quantity of the latter equal to both the former. In recipea milk always means sweet milk, and the cup is a tea-cup or two gills. Sour milk may be used instead of sweet by adding one level teaspoon soda to each pint. For one quart of flour use two heaping teaspoons baking powder or one each of soda and cream-tartar. To blanch almonds, drop into boiling water, boil a few minutes, then drop into cold water. Slip off skins and dry in open air. If dried in oven the oil disappears. Prepare a day before using in cake. To keep fruit, wedding and black cakes, wrap in waxed paper ; or better, in tin-foil ; or wrap in a towel wet in alcohol ; re-wet once a week, and keep in a cool place.

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