Mary at the Farm and Book of Recipes Compiled during Her Visit Part 24

2 eggs.

A little salt.

About 7 cups of flour.

Cream the sugar, b.u.t.ter and eggs together. Add mashed potatoes, milk and cup of water containing yeast, alternately with the flour, until about 7 cups of flour have been used, making a dough as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon. Stand, covered, in a warm place by the range until morning. These should be set to rise about nine o'clock in the evening. The following morning take pieces of the dough, on a well-floured bake board; roll about one inch thick, to fit in pie tins, place in pie tins to raise; when doubled in bulk spread with melted b.u.t.ter and sprinkle sugar thickly over top and bake in a moderately hot oven until lightly browned on top. This quant.i.ty of dough makes six cakes.

Instead of brus.h.i.+ng the cakes with above mixture, place in a bowl 1/2 cup of soft A sugar, 1/2 cup flour, a tiny pinch of salt and baking powder each and 2 tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter (not melted), mix all together as crumbly as possible, then the crumbs were sprinkled thickly over tops of cakes, which had been brushed with a mixture of milk and sugar. Place cakes in oven when raised; bake 20 minutes.

This recipe was given Mary by an old "Bucks County" cook, noted for the excellence of her raised cakes.

MARY'S RECIPE FOR CINNAMON BUNS

Early in the morning mix a sponge or batter consisting of 1/2 cup of potato water (water drained from boiled potatoes) and 1/2 cup of lukewarm, scalded milk, one Fleischman's compressed yeast cake, dissolved in the 1/2 cup of lukewarm potato water, 1 teaspoonful sugar, pinch of salt and about 1-1/2 cupfuls of warmed flour. Stand this sponge in a warm place, closely covered, about 3/4 of an hour, to raise. At the end of that time add to the light, well-risen sponge, the following: 3 tablespoonfuls of a mixture of lard and b.u.t.ter, and 1/3 cup of soft A sugar, creamed together. Add one large egg. Beat well. Lastly, add about 2 cupfuls of flour. Mix all together thoroughly, and let raise again about 1-1/2 hours. Divide the well-risen sponge into four portions. Roll each piece with rolling-pin into lengthwise pieces about 1/2 inch thick and spread with one tablespoonful of melted b.u.t.ter, scant 2 tablespoonfuls of brown sugar, dust over this a small quant.i.ty of cinnamon, and 1 tablespoonful of dried currants. Shape into a long, narrow roll with the hands, on a well-floured bake-board. Cut each roll into five pieces. Pinch one end of each piece together and place each bun, cut side down, a short distance apart, in an iron pan which has been well greased, having brushed a little melted b.u.t.ter and a sprinkling of sugar over pan.

Allow these to rise in a warm place as before, about 1-1/2 hours, until quite light, as having the extra sugar, b.u.t.ter and currants added r.e.t.a.r.ds their rising as quickly as would plain biscuits.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes in a moderate oven.

From this quant.i.ty of material was made 20 cinnamon buns.

"KLEINA KAFFE KUCHEN" (LITTLE COFFEE CAKES)

Scant 1/2 cup lard and b.u.t.ter.

2 cups sifted flour.

2 whole eggs and the yolks of 2 more.

3 tablespoons sugar.

1/4 cup cream.

1/4 milk.

1 Fleischman's yeast cake.

1/8 teaspoon salt.

The yeast cake was dissolved in the 1/4 cup lukewarm milk, a couple tablespoons of flour were added and mixed into a batter, and stood in a warm place to rise. The b.u.t.ter and sugar were stirred to a cream, salt was added, the eggs were beaten in, one at a time, next was added the sponge containing the yeast, the lukewarm cream, and the sifted flour. Grease slightly warmed Gem pans, sift a little flour over them, fill two-thirds full with the soft dough, set in a warm place to rise to tops of pans, and when quite light bake in a medium hot oven about 25 minutes. The oven should be hot enough to allow them to rise quickly. Put something underneath the pans in the oven to prevent bottom of cakes from burning. These may be set about 8 o'clock in the morning if cakes are wished for lunch at noon. These are not cheap, as this quant.i.ty makes only 12 cakes, but they are light as puffb.a.l.l.s.

The Professor's wife served them when she gave a "Kaffee Klatch." She doubled the recipe, baked the cakes in the morning, and placed them in the oven to heat through before serving. The cakes should be broken apart, not cut. The cakes made from this recipe are particularly fine.

GROSs.m.u.tTER'S POTATO CAKES

1 cup hot mashed potatoes.

1-1/2 cups sugar.

1 scant cup b.u.t.ter and lard.

1 cup home-made yeast or 1 yeast cake dissolved in 1 cup lukewarm water.

3 eggs.

Flour.

At 5 o'clock in the afternoon set to rise the following: One cup of sugar and one cup of hot mashed potatoes; when lukewarm add one cup of flour and one cup of yeast; beat all together, stand in a warm place to rise and at 9 o'clock in the evening cream together 1 cup of a mixture of lard and b.u.t.ter, 1 cup of sugar, 3 eggs and pinch of salt; add the sponge and beat well. Stir as stiff as you can stir it with a large spoon, cover, set in a warm place to rise until morning, when roll out some of the dough into cakes about one inch thick, put in pie tins to rise, and when light, make half a dozen deep impressions on top of each cake with the forefinger, spread with melted b.u.t.ter and strew light-brown sugar thickly over top, or mix together 1 cup sugar, b.u.t.ter size of an egg, 2 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons boiling water, beat well and spread the mixture on cakes just before placing in oven. Bake the cakes about 20 minutes in a moderate oven. This is a very old recipe used by Aunt Sarah's grandmother, and similar to the well-known German cakes called "Schwing Felders."

AUNT SARAH'S "BREAD DOUGH" CAKE

1 cup bread dough.

1 egg.

1/2 cup soft A sugar.

1 tablespoon lard or b.u.t.ter.

1/4 teaspoon soda.

When her bread dough was raised and ready to put in the pans she placed a cupful of it in a bowl and added the egg, sugar, b.u.t.ter, soda (dissolved in a little hot water); some dried raisins or currants, and just enough flour so it might be handled easily. Put in a small agate pan four inches deep, let rise until light, dust pulverized sugar over top and bake about 25 or 30 minutes in a moderate oven.

Double the materials called for, using 2 _cups_ of well-risen bread dough or sponge, and you will have a good-sized cake.

GOOD, CHEAP DUTCH CAKES

To a bowl containing 1 cup of scalded milk, add 1 tablespoonful of lard and 1 cup of sugar. When lukewarm add 1 yeast cake (Fleischman's), dissolved in 1 cup of lukewarm water, and about 5 cups of good flour. Set to rise at night about nine o'clock, the next morning roll out pieces about one and a half inches thick, to fit in medium-sized pie tins. Set in a warm place to rise. When light, brush top with melted b.u.t.ter and strew sugar thickly over and bake from 15 to 20 minutes in a moderately hot oven. These cakes are _inexpensive_ and _good_; _no eggs_ or _b.u.t.ter_ being used.

RECIPE FOR "LIGHT CAKES" (GIVEN MARY BY A FARMER'S WIFE)

In the evening mix a sponge consisting of 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup of yeast or 1 cake of Fleischman's yeast dissolved in a cup of lukewarm water; 1/2 cup of a mixture of b.u.t.ter and lard and a pinch of salt and flour to thicken until batter is quite thick. Stand in a warm place, closely covered, until morning, when add 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of sugar and flour to stiffen as thick as sponge can be stirred with a spoon. Set to rise; when light roll out one inch thick, place in pie tins, brush tops with melted b.u.t.ter and brown sugar, set to rise, and, when well risen, bake.

b.u.t.tER "SCHIMMEL"

Place in a mixing bowl 2 cups of warm, mashed potatoes and add 3/4 of a cup of shortening (a mixture of lard and b.u.t.ter), (or use Aunt Sarah's subst.i.tute for b.u.t.ter); one cup of A sugar and 1 teaspoonful salt.

Beat all to a cream. When lukewarm, add 2 eggs and either 1 yeast cake dissolved in 1 cup of lukewarm water, or 1 cup of potato yeast; use about 2 cups of flour to make a thin batter. Set to raise over night or early in the morning. When well risen add about 4 cups of flour.

Make about as stiff a dough as can be stirred well with a mixing spoon. Place soft dough on a bake-board; roll out into a sheet about one-half inch thick; cut into squares about the size of a common soda cracker; bring each of the four corners together in the centre like an envelope; pinch together; place a small piece of b.u.t.ter (about one-eighth teaspoonful) on the top where the four corners join. Stand in a warm place to rise. When well risen and light place in the oven.

When baked, take from oven, and while hot dip all sides in melted b.u.t.ter and dust granulated or pulverized sugar over top. These are not as much trouble to prepare as one would suppose from the directions for making. The same dough may be cut in doughnuts with a tin cutter and fried in hot fat after raising, or the dough may be molded into small, round biscuits if preferred, and baked in oven.

"BUCKS COUNTY" DOUGHNUTS

About nine o'clock in the evening a batter was mixed composed of the following:

1 cup milk.

1 cup hot water.

1 teaspoonful of sugar.

1 cup yeast (or one cake of Fleischman's yeast dissolved in one cup of lukewarm water).

1 pinch of salt.

3-1/2 cups of flour.

Stand in a warm place until morning. Then add 1/2 cup of b.u.t.ter and 1-1/2 cups of soft A sugar, creamed together, and from 3 to 4 cups of flour. The dough should be as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon.

Set to rise in a warm place; when light and spongy, roll out on a well-floured bake-board and cut into round cakes with a hole in the centre. Let rise again, and when well risen fry a golden brown in deep fat and sift over pulverized sugar. This recipe will make 45 doughnuts. These are good and economical, as no eggs are used in this recipe.

EXTRA FINE "QUAKER BONNET" BISCUITS

For these quaint-looking, delicious biscuits, a sponge was prepared consisting of:

1 pink milk.