Science of food & cookery

Measure out all the ingredients before commencing to put the cake together. Sift the flour and the sugar four times separately. Add a few grains of salt to the whites, and beat until foamy, but not stiff. Add the lemon juice and the flavoring, and sift in the sugar slowly, beating constantly. Use care not to make the mixture stiff. Sift the flour over slowly, and mix, using the folding motion. Bake in an unbuttered pan 20 minutes or more, having a small pan of hot water under the cake while baking. When done, turn upside down on a rack, and leave in the pan until cold. Cover with plain icing. [illustration: Harvesting Coconuts in the Philippines] CUP CAKES — Mr. Hook's 2 eggs J4 teaspoon salt l/2 teaspoon vanilla flavor Y^ cup boiling water y2 cup sugar % cup corn sirup 54 cup vegetable oil il/2 cups pastry flour i cup raisins or chopped nuts, or desiccated coconut ; or they may all be left out, and the cake baked plain, in oiled gem pans, or in layer cake tins, or loaf cake tins. Break the eggs into a bowl, add the salt and the vanilla, and beat with a Dover beater until thick. (The salt hastens the beating of eggs.) Add the boiling water gradually, beating constantly; then add the sugar in the same manner. Next add the oil and the corn sirup, and beat a few strokes; then add the sifted flour, and fold together. If raisins or chopped nuts are used, they should be added after the flour. Bake in oiled gem pans, in a medium slow oven, the same as loaf cake. FAVORITE POUND CAKE y* cup solid vegetable fat 2 teaspoons lemon juice Scant I cup sugar y2 teaspoon vanilla flavor l/8 teaspoon salt 3 eggs Scant \y-2. cups flour Put the solid fat into a bowl. Add the salt and the lemon juice, and cream with a spoon until smooth and white. Add the sugar gradually, and continue stirring until very light and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until light. Fold in the flour, pour into an oiled pan, and bake in a slow oven, about 40 minutes, the same as loaf cake. FRUIT CAKE — Mr. Hook's I cup sugar 34 cup solid vegetable fat 4 eggs l/3 cup molasses I teaspoon vanilla 2 cups flour 3 cups raisins y2 cup diced lemon peel ^2 cup diced orange peel \l/2 cups diced citron l/2 cup chopped walnuts Put the fat, the sugar, and the vanilla into a bowl, and work until white and creamy. Add a few grains of salt to the eggs, beat with a Dover beater until very light, and work into the creamed mixture. Add the molasses, and beat a few hard strokes. Then add the fruit and the nuts, and mix thoroughly. Lastly fold in the flour, and bake in a slow oven from I hour to il/z hours, depending on the thickness of the cake. When orange and lemon rind are unobtainable, use raisins or currants instead. VANILLA COOKIES — Mr. Holmden's l/2 cup sugar I teaspoon vanilla flavor 6 tablespoons solid vegetable fat I tablespoon milk l/% teaspoon salt i egg About 2I/3 cups flour, or enough to make a medium soft dough