Tea Cakes

Ingredients

• One-third of a cup of butter
• one cup of sugar
• one egg
• one cup of milk
• two cups of sifted flour
• two level teaspoonfuls of baking powder
• half a teaspoonful of vanilla
• half a cup of currants

Method

1. 1

   Measure flour and sift with baking powder.

2. 2

   In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter, rub to a creamy mass.

3. 3

   Beat egg white stiff and yolk foamy.

4. 4

   Add yolk to butter and sugar, stir well.

5. 5

   Gradually add milk and sifted flour, stirring continuously.

6. 6

   Fold in vanilla, beaten egg white, and currants.

7. 7

   Pour into greased gem pans and bake for 15-20 minutes.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Cookery for little girls (1910) by Olive Hyde Foster, page 24. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

TEA CAKES One-third of a cup of butter, one cup of sugar, one egg, one cup of milk, two cups of sifted flour, two level teaspoonfuls of baking powder, half a 89 BAKING CAKE AND BREAD Icing the Cake 83 COOKERY FOR LITTLE GIRLS teaspoonful of vanilla, and half a cup of cur- rants. DIRECTIONS FOR MIXING First the child should measure her flour while her cup is dry, and adding the baking-powder, sift it on to a paper or in an extra bowl, and set it aside, ready for use. Next she can measure the even cupful of sugar into the mixing bowl, add an even one-third cupful of butter, and rub together to a creamy mass. If the butter has been standing a while in the kitchen, it will be warm enough to work up nicely. Then she must separate the egg, beating the white stiff and the yolk until it is foaming. Adding the beaten yolk to the butter and sugar, she again stirs thor- oughly, and then begins adding — a little at a time — first the milk and then the sifted flour, stirring evenly all the while. Put in the vanilla the stiffly beaten white of egg, with the currants, mix- ing as little as possible, and pour out into the greased gem pans. If the oven is right, the bak- ing will take from fifteen to twenty minutes, but if the oven seems too hot, leave the door slightly open for about five minutes. An old-fashioned way of finding out when the cakes are well baked 84 BAKING CAKE AND BREAD is to try with a new wooden toothpick. If it comes out clean and dry the cakes are done. On removing from the oven, loosen around the bottom edge (the cakes should have shrunk from the sides), and turn on to a bread board. When cold, they can be iced with the following simple icing : ^P^^ |K~ ■■• "* ... wr - <jm, _ A " ___. „ . „ .. jf -. • '"A'j IV VfZS& Tea Cakes Baked in Heart Shape WHITE ICING UNCOOKED Two tablespoonfuls milk or cream, enough con- fectioner's sugar to make a thick paste and half dozen drops of vanilla. In spreading, if the icing does not go on as smoothly as desired the silver knife used for spreading can occasionally be dipped in a glass of cold water. 85 COOKERY FOR LITTLE GIRLS COCOA ICING When the child has followed this recipe sev- eral times successfully, she can then try baking it in two cake tins. When done and cool, she can put the layers together with the same icing, to which, by adding two teaspoonfuls of cocoa, she will have a nice chocolate filling. When the cocoa is used, she will need a trifle more milk or cream. GINGER COOKIES After the child has fully mastered this recipe, let her next try some ginger cookies. To a half a cupful of molasses, one teaspoonful of soda, half a cupful sour milk, half a cupful of sugar, and one-third cupful of melted butter add one well-beaten egg9 three cupfuls of flour, with one tablespoonful of ginger. This will make a thick mass which is to* be turned out as soft as can be handled, half at a time, on a well-floured bread board. The child must then flour her rolling- pin to keep it from sticking, and roll as thin as desired. She should thoroughly grease the drip- ping pan and then cut out her cookies and lift carefully into place, one just touching another. The oven should be quite hot for these as they 86 BAKING CAKE AND BREAD ought to bake quickly ; and on removing from the oven, they should stand a moment in the pan before being lifted on to a plate. SPICE CAKE For an inexpensive spice cake, take one-half cup of butter, one cup of sugar, one egg, (white beaten separately), one and one-half cups of flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, half a cup of milk, one-quarter teaspoonful ground cloves, one-quarter teaspoonful nutmeg, one teaspoonful cinnamon, half a teaspoonful vanilla

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