Plain Cake

Ingredients

• 1 c butter
• ^ c milk
• I c sugar
• li c flour
• 1 or 2 eggs
• ^ tp flavoring
• 1 tp baking powder
• I tp salt

Method

1. 1

   1.

2. 2

   Put oven on to heat.

3. 3

   2.

4. 4

   Cream the butter and sugar until dissolved.

5. 5

   3.

6. 6

   Beat the egg and add to the mixture.

7. 7

   4.

8. 8

   Sift dry ingredients and add alternately with milk.

9. 9

   5.

10. 10

    Grease the tin.

11. 11

    6.

12. 12

    Fill the tin two-thirds full.

13. 13

    7.

14. 14

    Test oven with paper.

15. 15

    8.

16. 16

    Bake on bottom grate, then move to upper grate.

17. 17

    9.

18. 18

    Remove when browned and springy.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Domestic science (1914 text-book) (1914) by Bertha J. Hoisington Austin, page 49. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Plain Cake Home Rule i c butter ^ c milk I c sugar li c flour 1 or 2 eggs ^ tp flavoring 1 tp baking powder I tp salt Materials used: Class Rtile 1 tp butter I tp baking powder 1 tb sugar 2i tb flour 1 tp egg 3 drops of flavoring 1 tb milk pinch of salt Utensils needed: Large bowl small bowl Dover egg beater wooden spoon Work to be done: 1. Put oven on to heat. 2. Cream the butter as directed in Lesson XLV. 3. Add the sugar gradually and cream it with the butter till the sugar has dissolved. 4. Beat the egg. 5. Add the beaten egg to the creamed sugar and stir vigorously. 6. Sift all dry ingredients. 7. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, stirring constantly. 8. Grease the tin well by brushing it with soft lard or melted butter. Fig. 55.— Cake Rack sieve spoons cake tin cake rack measuring cup 125 Digitized by Google 126 DOMESTIC SCIENCE 9. Fill the tin about two-thirds full of the batter, drawing the mixture away from the center toward the corners or edges of the tin. 10. To test the oven, place a piece of white paper in it. If this paper turns a rich brown in five minutes, the oven is right for the cake. 11. Place cake on the bottom grate of the oven. 12. When the cake has risen and bubbles and brown spots r begin to appear, very carefully move it to the upper grate. Fig. 56 Cake Out of Tin Testing with Straw Batter in Tin 13. When the cake has browned all over the top, and has shrunk from the sides of the pan and settled, and no batter sticks to a straw pushed into it, carefully remove it from the oven. At this stage it should spring back when touched lightly with the finger. 14. As soon as the cake is taken from the oven invert the tin. 15. If the cake sticks, lay a damp cloth on the bottom of the inverted tin. 16. Place cake on a rack and let air circulate around it. Digitized by Google CAKES 127 Principles: 1. The method of mixing the ingredients, which is called the butter-cake method, gives a fine grained textm^ to the cake. 2. Because a leavening agent, in this case baking powder, is used, a gas will be given off, which will make the cake rise. So in order that the cake shall not run over the top of the tin, the tin should be filled only about two-thirds full. 3. The batter which is in contact with the tin is exposed to the greatest heat, therefore it cooks more quickly than that in the center, and the center, or middle part, has a chance to rise more. Hence, the batter at the beginning should be drawn away from the center toward the edges of the tin in order that the cake may be even on the top when done. 4. Because the cake is made with a thin batter, it needs a very hot oven, or it will run over. 5. The cake is placed on the bottom grate first that the bottom may start to bake and that the top crust may not be formed before the batter has become light. 6. The cake is raised to the top of the oven so that the top may be baked and browned and the batter may not run over. Serving: 1. Cakes are a composite food, that is, they contain both tissue-building and heat and energy-giving materials, and so they are a good food if properly served. They should be one of the important parts of a meal and not be served merely because of their pleasant flavor. 2. This cake may be served at luncheon or at a simple dinner with coffee, cooked or fresh fruit, and frozen dessert. Table service: Any hot beverage must be placed at the right of each guest. The handles of the cups should be at right angles to the edge of the table. Cleaning up: 1. Like other batter dishes, cake dishes should be soaked in cold or luke-warm water before being washed. Digitized by Google 128 DOMESTIC SCIENCE What has been learned: 1. How to mix ingredients by the butter-cake method. 2. Much creaming and beating make cakes fine grained. 3. That cake tins should be only about two-thirds full of batter. 4. That batter should be drawn toward the outside away from the center of cake tins. 5. How to test the oven for baking butter cake. 6. That cake should first be placed on the bottom grate of the oven. 7. That cake should be moved carefully when raising it to top grate. 8. How to test when cake is done. 9. How to remove cake from tin. 10. How to care for freshly baked cake. Supplementary Recipes Devil's Food Materials used : Class Rule Home Rule i tb butter J tp baking 1 c butter

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