Miss Parloa's New Cook Book Part 48

Orange Cake.

Two cupfuls of sugar, a small half cupful of b.u.t.ter, two cupfuls of flour, half a cupful of water, the yolks of five eggs and whites of four, half a teaspoonful of soda, a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, the rind of one orange and the juice of one and a half. Beat the b.u.t.ter to a cream. Add the sugar, gradually, then the orange, the eggs, well beaten, the water and the flour, in which the soda and cream of tartar have been well mixed. Bake in sheets for twenty-five minutes, in a moderate oven, and when cool, frost.

Frosting: The white of an egg, the juice of one and a half oranges and the grated rind of one, one cupful and a half of powdered sugar, unless the egg and oranges are very large, in which case use two cupfuls.

Railroad Cake.

Two cupfuls of sugar, two of flour, six table-spoonfuls of b.u.t.ter, two of milk, six eggs, one teaspoonful of saleratus, two of cream of tartar, lemon peel. Bake in shallow pans in a quick oven.

Hot Water Sponge Cake.

Six eggs, two cupfuls of sugar, two of pastry flour, half a cupful of _boiling_ water, the grated rind of half a lemon, and one teaspoonful of the juice. Beat the yolks and sugar to a froth; also, beat the whites to a stiff froth. Add the lemon to the yolks and sugar, then add the boiling water, next the whites, and, last of all, the flour. Mix quickly, and bake in two sheets for half an hour, in a moderate oven.

Sponge Cake.

Ten eggs, two and a half cupfuls of sugar, two and a half of pastry flour, the juice and grated rind of one lemon. Beat the yolks and sugar together until very light. Add the lemon. Beat the whites to a stiff froth. Stir the flour and this froth alternately into the beaten yolks and sugar. Have the batter about three inches deep in the pan.

Sprinkle with sugar, and bake three-quarters of an hour in a moderate oven. If the batter is not so deep in the pan it will not take so long to bake.

Sponge Cake, No. 2.

The yolks of a dozen eggs and whites of eight, one and three-fourths cupfuls of sugar, the same quant.i.ty of flour, the rind of one lemon and juice of two. Beat the yolks and sugar together. Add the lemon rind and juice and beat a little longer. Beat the whites to a stiff froth, and add them to the mixture. Gradually stir in the flour. Pour the mixture into a baking pan to the depth of about two inches. Bake from thirty-five to forty minutes in a slow oven.

Viennois Oakes.

Cut any kind of plain cake into small squares. Cut a small piece from the centre of each square, and fill the cavity with some kind of marmalade or jelly. Replace the crust part that was removed, and cover with icing. These cakes are nice for dessert.

Dominos.

Have any kind of sponge cake baked in a rather thin sheet. Cut this into small oblong pieces, the shape of a domino. Frost the top and sides of them. When the frosting is hard, draw the black lines and make the dots with a small brush that has been dipped in melted chocolate. These are particularly good for children's parties.

Lady-Fingers.

Four eggs, three-fourths of a cupful of pastry flour, half a cupful of _powdered_ sugar. Have the bottom of three large baking pans covered with paraffin paper or sheets of b.u.t.tered note paper. Beat the yolks of the eggs and the sugar to a froth. Beat the whites to a stiff, dry froth, and add to the yolks and sugar. Add the flour, and stir quickly and gently. Pour the mixture into the pastry bag, and press it through on to the paper in the shape and of the size you wish. When all the mixture has been used, sprinkle powdered sugar on the cakes, and bake from twelve to sixteen minutes in a _very_ slow oven.

Caution. The mixture must be stirred, after the flour is added, only enough to mix the flour lightly with the sugar and eggs. Much stirring turns the mixture liquid. If the oven is hot the fingers will rise and fall, and if too cool they will spread. It should be about half as hot as for bread.

You will not succeed in using the pastry bag the first time, but a little practice will make it easy to get the forms wished. There are pans especially for baking lady-fingers. They are quite expensive.

Sponge Drops.

Make the batter the same as for lady-fingers, and drop on the paper in teaspoonfuls. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a slow oven from twelve to sixteen minutes.

Sponge Drops, No. 2.

Three eggs, one and a half cupfuls of sugar, two of flour, half a cupful of cold water, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, half a teaspoonful of saleratus. Beat the sugar and eggs together. Add the water when they are light, and then the flour, in which mix the saleratus and cream of tartar. Flavor with lemon. Have m.u.f.fin cups very lightly b.u.t.tered, and drop a teaspoonful of the mixture into each one. Bake in a quick oven. These drops are nice for dessert or tea.

Sponge Cake for Charlotte Russe.

Line the bottoms of two shallow baking pans with paraffin Paper or b.u.t.tered paper, and spread the lady-finger mixture on it. Bake slowly eighteen minutes. Cut paper to fit the sides of the mould. When the cake is cold, lay this pattern on it and cut with a sharp knife.

Jelly Roll.

Make the sponge cake mixture as for lady-fingers, and bake in one shallow pan twenty minutes. While it is yet warm, cut off the edges, and spread the cake with any kind of jelly. Roll up, and pin a towel around it. Put in a cool place until serving time. Cut in slices with a sharp knife.

Mola.s.ses Pound c.o.ke.

One quart of mola.s.ses, one pint of water, six and a half pints of flour, one ounce of soda, half an ounce of alum, one heaping cupful of b.u.t.ter, six eggs, one ounce of cinnamon, one pound of raisins. Boil the alum in part of the pint of water, and let it cool before mixing with the other ingredients. Instead of alum, one ounce of cream of tartar may be used.

Soft Gingerbread.

Six cupfuls of flour, three of mola.s.ses, one of cream, one of lard or b.u.t.ter, two eggs, one teaspoonful of saleratus, and two of ginger.

This is excellent.

Hard Gingerbread.

One cupful of sugar, one of b.u.t.ter, one-third of a cupful of mola.s.ses, half a cupful of sour milk or cream, one teaspoonful of saleratus, one table-spoonful of ginger, flour enough to roll. Roll thin, cut in oblong pieces, and bake quickly. Care must be taken that too much flour is not mixed in with the dough. All kinds of cakes that are rolled should have no more flour than is absolutely necessary to work them.

Canada Gingerbread.

One cupful of b.u.t.ter, two of sugar, one of mola.s.ses, five of flour, three eggs, one nutmeg, one teaspoonful of ginger, one of soda, one tea-cupful of cream or rich milk, one table-spoonful of cinnamon, one pound of currants. Beat the b.u.t.ter to a cream. Add the sugar, mola.s.ses and spice; next the eggs, well beaten; then the milk, in which the soda has been dissolved, next the flour; and lastly the currants. This will make three sheets, or two very thick ones. Bake in a moderately- quick oven, if in three sheets, twenty five minutes; if in two sheets, ten minutes longer.

Fairy Gingerbread.

One cupful of b.u.t.ter, two of sugar, one of milk, four of flour, three- fourths of a teaspoonful of soda, one table-spoonful of ginger. Beat the b.u.t.ter to a cream. Add the sugar, gradually, and when very light, the ginger, the milk, in which the soda has been dissolved, and finally the flour. Turn baking pans upside down and wipe the bottoms very clean. b.u.t.ter them, and spread the cake mixture very thin on them; Bake in a moderate oven until brown. While still _hot_, cut into squares with a case-knife and slip from the pan. Keep in a tin box. This is delicious. With the quant.i.ties given a large dish of gingerbread can be made. It must be spread on the bottom of the pan as thin as a wafer and cut the moment it comes from the oven.

Shewsbury Cake.

Two cupfuls of b.u.t.ter, one pint of sugar, three pints of flour, four eggs, half a teaspoonful of mace. Roll thin, cut into small cakes, and bake in a quick oven. Not a particle more of flour than what is given above must be used. The cakes should be made in a rather cool room, and they cannot be made in very warm weather. They can be kept a long time, and are delicious.