Miss Leslie's Lady's New Receipt-Book Part 18

LIGHT SEED CAKE.--Sift into a pan a pound and a half of flour; cut up in it a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter, and rub it well into the flour with your hands. Mix in six table-spoonfuls of strong fresh yeast; add gradually as much warm milk as will make it a soft dough, and knead it well. Cover it with a double cloth and set it in a warm place to rise. When quite light, and cracked all over the surface, mix in, alternately, a quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar, and a quarter of a pound of carraway seeds, a little of each at a time. Knead the dough well a second time, adding a small tea-spoonful of soda dissolved in a very little warm water. Cover it and set it to rise again. It will probably require now but half an hour. Transfer it to a circular tin pan, slightly b.u.t.tered, and bake it in a loaf. It is best when eaten fresh, but not warm. It may be baked in a square pan, and cut into square pieces when cool.

CARRAWAY CAKE.--Sift half a pound of rice flour into a dish. In a deep pan cut up half a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter, and mix with it half a pound of powdered loaf-sugar. Having warmed them slightly, stir together the b.u.t.ter and sugar till very light and creamy. Break five eggs, and beat them in a shallow pan till thick and smooth. Then stir them, gradually, into the pan of beaten sugar and b.u.t.ter, alternately with the flour; a little of each at a time. Add, by degrees, a tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon and nutmeg mixed; a wine-gla.s.s of rose water or of rose-brandy, and half an ounce or more of carraway seeds thrown in a few at a time, stirring hard all the while. b.u.t.ter a square iron pan; put in the mixture; set it in a rather brisk oven, and bake it well. When done, sift powdered sugar over it; and when cool, cut it into long squares.

WONDERS.--Cut up half a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter into a pound of sifted flour, and rub them well together with your hands. Mix in three-quarters of a pound of white sugar, and a large tea-spoonful of cinnamon. Add a gla.s.s of good white wine, and a gla.s.s of rose-water. Beat six eggs very light, and mix them gradually with the above ingredients, so as to form a dough. If you find the dough too soft, add by degrees a little more flour. Roll out the dough into a thick sheet, and cut it into long slips with a jagging-iron. Then form each strip into the figure 8. Have ready over the fire a pot of boiling lard. Throw the cakes into it, a few at a time, and let them cook till they are well browned all over. Then take them out, with a perforated skimmer, draining back into the pot the lard that is about them. As you take them out lay them on a flat dish, the bottom of which is strewed with powdered sugar. They will keep a week, but like most other cakes are best the day they are baked.

SOFT CRULLERS.--Sift three quarters of a pound of flour, and powder half a pound of loaf-sugar. Heat a pint of water in a round-bottomed sauce-pan, and when quite warm, mix the flour with it gradually. Set half a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter over the fire in a small vessel; and when it begins to melt, stir it gradually into the flour and water. Then add by degrees the powdered sugar, and half a grated nutmeg. Take the sauce-pan off the fire, and beat the contents, with a wooden spaddle or spatula, till they are thoroughly mixed. Then beat six eggs very light, and stir them gradually into the mixture. Beat the whole very hard, till it becomes a thick batter. Flour a paste-board very well, and lay out the batter upon it in rings, (the best way is to pa.s.s it through a screw funnel.) Have ready, on the fire, a pot of boiling lard of the very best quality. Put in the crullers, removing them from the board by carefully taking them up, one at a time, on a broad-bladed knife. Boil but a few at a time. They must be of a fine brown. Lift them out on a perforated skimmer, draining the lard from them back into the pot. Lay them on a large dish, and sift powdered white sugar over them.

Soft crullers cannot be made in warm weather.

NOTIONS.--Put into a sauce-pan a pint of milk, and two table-spoonfuls of fresh b.u.t.ter. Set it over the fire, and when the b.u.t.ter begins to melt, stir it well through the milk. As soon as it comes to a boil, begin to stir in a pint of sifted flour, a little at a time; making the mixture very smooth, and pressing out all the lumps. Let it continue to boil five minutes after the flour is all in. Then pour it into a deep pan, and set it to cool. In another pan beat six eggs very light. When it is nearly cool, stir the beaten egg into the mixture, a little at a time; stirring the whole very hard, till it is as light as possible.

Have ready, over the fire, a pot with a pound or more of fresh lard melting in it. When the lard comes to a boil, take up portions of the batter in a large spoon, or a small ladle, and drop them into the boiling lard, so as to form separate b.a.l.l.s. When they are well browned, take them out with a perforated skimmer, draining the lard from them back into the pot. Lay them on a flat dish, and when all are done, sift over them a mixture of powdered sugar and powdered cinnamon or nutmeg.

They should be eaten quite fresh.

CROSS-BUNS.--Pick clean a pound and a half of Zante currants; wash, drain, and dry them; spreading them on a large flat dish, placed in a slanting position near the fire or in the sun. When they are perfectly dry, dredge them thickly with flour to prevent their sinking or clodding in the cakes. Sift into a deep pan two pounds of fine flour, and mix thoroughly with it a table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon, (or of mixed nutmeg and cinnamon,) and half a pound of powdered white sugar. Cut up half a pound of the best fresh b.u.t.ter in half a pint of rich milk. Warm it till the b.u.t.ter is quite soft, but not till it melts. While warm, stir into the milk and b.u.t.ter two wine-gla.s.ses (or a jill) of strong fresh yeast. Make a hole in the centre of the pan of flour; pour in the mixed liquid; then, with a spoon or a broad knife, mix the flour gradually in; beginning round the edge of the hole. Proceed thus till you have the entire ma.s.s of ingredients thoroughly incorporated; stirring it hard as you go on. Cover the pan with a clean flannel or a thick towel, and set it in a warm place near the fire to rise. When it has risen well, and the surface of the dough is cracked all over, mix in a small tea-spoonful of soda, dissolved; flour your paste-board; divide the dough into equal portions, and mixing in the currants, knead it into round cakes about the size of a small saucer. Place them on a large flat dish, cover them, and set them again in a warm place for about half an hour. Then b.u.t.ter some square tin or iron baking-pans; transfer the buns to them; and brush each bun lightly over with a glazing of beaten white of eggs, sweetened with a little sugar. Then, with the back of a knife, mark each bun with a cross, deeply indented in the dough, and extending entirely from one edge to another. Let the oven be quite ready; set in it the buns; and bake them of a deep brown colour. In England, and in other parts of Europe, it is customary to have hot cross-buns at breakfast on the morning of Good Friday. They are very good cakes at any time; but are best when fresh.

TO ICE A LARGE CAKE.--It requires practice to ice cakes smoothly. It is a good rule to allow a _large_ quarter of a pound of powdered loaf-sugar to the white of every egg. The whites of four eggs and a pound of sugar will ice a large cake. Having strained the white of egg into a broad, shallow pan, beat it to a stiff froth with hickory rods or a large silver fork. It must be beaten till it stands alone. Have ready the powdered sugar in a bowl beside you; add it, gradually, to the beaten white of egg, a tea-spoonful at a time, and beat it very hard. Perhaps some additional sugar may be required to make the icing sufficiently thick. Flavour it by beating in at the last a few drops of oil of lemon, or a spoonful of fresh lemon or orange-juice, or a few drops of extract of vanilla, or extract of roses. Lemon-juice will make it more adhesive, so that it will stick on better. Turn bottom-upwards the empty pan in which the cake was baked, and place this pan on a large flat dish, or an old server. Dredge the cake all over with flour, to take off the greasiness of the outside, which greasiness may otherwise prevent the icing from sticking well. Then wipe off the flour with a clean towel.

Take up the icing with a spoon, and begin by heaping a large quant.i.ty of it on the middle of the top of the cake. Then, with a broad-bladed knife, spread it down evenly and smoothly, till the top and sides are all covered with it of an equal thickness. Have beside you a bowl of cold water, into which dip the knife-blade, occasionally, as you go on spreading and smoothing the icing. Put it into a warm place to harden.

When nearly dry, have ready sufficient icing to ornament or flower the cake. This must be done by means of a small syringe. By working and moving this syringe skilfully, the icing will fall from it so as to form borders, beadings, wreaths, and centre-pieces, according to your taste.

If you cannot procure a syringe, a subst.i.tute may be formed by rolling or folding a piece of thick, smooth writing paper into a conical or sugar-loaf form. At the large end of this cone leave paper enough to turn down all round, so as to prevent the side opening, and the icing escaping. The pointed end must be neatly cut off with scissors, leaving a small round hole, through which the icing is to be pressed out when ornamenting the cake. The hole must be cut perfectly even; otherwise the icing will come out crooked and unmanageable. These paper cones, in skilful hands, may succeed tolerably; but they must be continually renewed, and are far less convenient than a syringe, which can be bought at a small cost, and is always ready for use. Where much icing is to be done, it is well to have a set of syringes with the points of different patterns.

To decorate cakes with ornamental icing, requires practice, skill, and taste. A person that has a good knowledge of drawing can generally do it very handsomely.

To colour it of a beautiful pink, tie up a little alkanet in a thin muslin bag, and let it infuse in the icing after it is made, squeezing the bag occasionally. When sufficiently coloured, take out the bag, and give the icing a hard stirring or beating before you put it on. Cover the cake all over with the pink icing, and then have ready some white icing for the border and other ornaments,--to be put on with the syringe.

Icing may be made stiffer and more adhesive by mixing with it, gradually, a small portion of dissolved gum tragacanth. This solution is prepared by melting gum tragacanth in _boiling_ water, (if wanted for immediate use,) having first picked the gum quite clean. The proportion is half an ounce of the gum to half a pint of water. It is slow in dissolving. To keep it from spoiling, add to the gum (before the water) a few drops of strong oil of lemon, or oil of cinnamon.

FRENCH ICING FOR CAKES.--Dissolve some fine white gum arabic (finely powdered) in rose-water. The proportion should be, as much of the gum-arabic powder as will lie on a ten-cent piece to a tea-spoonful of rose-water. Beat some white of egg to a stiff froth that will stand alone. Stir in, gradually, sufficient double-refined powdered loaf-sugar to make it very thick, (a good proportion is four ounces of sugar to the white of one egg,) add to this quant.i.ty a tea-spoonful of the rose-water with the gum arabic dissolved in it, and beat the whole very hard. Instead of rose-water you may dissolve the gum in fresh lemon-juice. Previous to icing the cake, dredge it with flour, and in a few minutes wipe it off with a clean towel. This, by removing the greasiness of the outside, will make the icing stick on the better. Heap the icing first on the middle of the top of the cake; then with a broad-bladed knife spread it evenly all over the surface. Dip the knife frequently in a bowl of cold water as you proceed, and smooth the icing well. If not thick enough, wait till it dries, and then add a second coat.

ALMOND ICING.--Take half a pound of sh.e.l.led sweet almonds, and three ounces of sh.e.l.led bitter almonds. Put them, a few at a time, into a large bowl, and pour on boiling water to loosen the skins. As you peel them, throw the almonds into a bowl of cold water. When they are all blanched, pound them one at a time in a marble mortar, adding frequently a few drops of rose-water to prevent their oiling. They must be pounded to a smooth paste without the smallest particles of lumps. As you pound the almonds, remove this paste with a tea-spoon to a deep plate. Beat the whites of four eggs to a stiff froth. Then, gradually beat in a pound of the best double-refined sugar. Lastly, add, by degrees, the almond paste, a little at a time, and beat the whole very hard. If too thick, thin it with lemon-juice.

APPLE CAKE.--Make a nice light paste with the proportion of three quarters of a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter to a pound and a quarter of sifted flour. Roll it out into a large round sheet. Have ready a sufficiency of fine juicy apples, pared, cored, and sliced thin; mixed with one or two sliced quinces; and half a pound, or more, of the best raisins, seeded and cut in half. Make the mixture very sweet with brown sugar; and add some grated nutmeg; and a wine-gla.s.s, or more, of rose-water; or else the juice and grated yellow rind of one or two lemons. Mix all thoroughly, and put it on the sheet of paste; which must then be closed over the heap of mixture so as to form a very large dumpling. Put it into a small dutch-oven, and set it over hot coals, having previously heated the oven-lid by standing it upright before the fire. Then lay on the lid, with hot coals spread over it. Have ready a sufficient quant.i.ty of b.u.t.ter, brown sugar, and powdered cinnamon, stirred together till very light. Spread a portion of it on the bottom of the oven. While the cake is baking, remove the oven-lid frequently, and baste the cake with this mixture, which will form a sort of thick brown crust, covering it all over. It should bake from two to three hours; or longer if it is large. When thoroughly done, turn it out on a dish. It should be eaten fresh, the day it is baked; either warm or cold.

This is a German cake, and will be found very good.

CINNAMON CAKES.--Make a paste as above, and roll it out thin into a square sheet. Have ready a mixture of brown sugar; fresh b.u.t.ter; and a large portion of ground cinnamon; all stirred together till very light.

Spread this mixture thickly over the sheet of paste; then roll it up, as you would a rolled up marmalade pudding. After it is rolled up, cut it down into pieces or cakes of equal size, and press them rather flat.

Have ready over the fire a skillet or frying-pan with plenty of fresh b.u.t.ter boiling hard. Put in some of the cakes and fry them brown. As fast as they are done, take them out on a perforated skimmer; drain off the b.u.t.ter, and lay them on a hot dish. Then put in more cakes, till all are fried. They should be eaten warm, first sifting powdered white sugar over them.

These cakes, also, are German. They may be conveniently prepared when you are making pies, as the same paste will do for both.

GINGER POUND CAKE.--Cut up in a pan three quarters of a pound of b.u.t.ter; mix with it a pint of West India mola.s.ses, and a tea-cup of brown sugar.

If in winter, set it over the fire till the b.u.t.ter has become soft enough to mix easily with the mola.s.ses and sugar. Then take it off, and stir them well together. Sift into a pan a pound of flour. In another pan, beat five eggs very light. Add gradually the beaten eggs and the flour, to the mixture of b.u.t.ter, sugar, and mola.s.ses, with two large table-spoonfuls of ground ginger, and a heaped tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon. Then stir in a gla.s.s of brandy, and lastly a small tea-spoonful of sal-eratus or sub-carbonate of soda melted in a very little milk. Stir the whole very hard. Transfer the mixture to a b.u.t.tered tin-pan, and bake it in a moderate oven from two to three hours, in proportion to its thickness.

This cake will be much improved by the addition of a pound of sultana or seedless raisins, well dredged with flour to prevent their sinking, and stirred in, gradually, at the last.

You may add also the yellow rind of a lemon or orange grated fine.

FLEMINGTON GINGERBREAD.--Stir together till quite light, a quarter of a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter, and a quarter of a pound of brown sugar. Then mix in half a pint of West India mola.s.ses. Sift rather less than a pint and a half of flour. Beat four eggs till very light, and stir them gradually into the mixture, alternately with the sifted flour. Add a heaping table-spoonful of ginger, and a tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon. Stir all well. Dissolve a level tea-spoonful of soda or pearlash in as much warm water as will melt it; then stir it in at the last. Put the mixture into a b.u.t.tered tin-pan, (either square or round,) set it _immediately_ into the oven, which must be brisk but not too hot; and bake it well.

When you think it done, probe it to the bottom with a knife or a broom-twig, stuck down into the centre; and do not take the cake from the oven unless the knife comes out clean and dry. It requires long baking.

GINGER CRACKERS.--Mix together in a deep pan, a pint of West India mola.s.ses; half a pound of b.u.t.ter; and a quarter of a pound of brown sugar; two large table-spoonfuls of ginger; a tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon; a small tea-spoonful of pearlash or soda, dissolved in a little warm water; and sufficient sifted flour to make a dough just stiff enough to roll out conveniently. Let the whole be well incorporated into a large lump. Knead it till it leaves your hands clean; then beat it hard with a rolling-pin, which will make it crisp when baked. Divide the dough, and roll it out into sheets half an inch thick. Cut it into cakes with a tin cutter about the usual size of a cracker-biscuit, or with the edge of a teacup dipped frequently into flour to prevent its sticking. Lay the cakes at regular distances in square pans slightly b.u.t.tered. Set them directly into a moderately brisk oven, and bake them well, first p.r.i.c.king them with a fork.

Ginger crackers are excellent on a sea voyage. If made exactly as above they will keep many weeks.

In greasing all cake-pans use only the best fresh b.u.t.ter: otherwise the outside of a thick cake will taste disagreeably, and the whole of a thin cake will have an unpleasant flavour.

SEA-VOYAGE GINGERBREAD.--Sift two pounds of flour into a pan, and cut up in it a pound and a quarter of fresh b.u.t.ter; rub the b.u.t.ter well into the flour, and then mix in a pint of West India mola.s.ses and a pound of the best brown sugar. Beat eight eggs till very light. Stir into the beaten egg two gla.s.ses or a jill of brandy. Add also to the egg a teacup-full of ground ginger, and a table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon, with a tea-spoonful of soda melted in a little warm water. Wet the flour, &c., with this mixture till it becomes a soft dough. Sprinkle a little flour on your paste-board, and with a broad knife spread portions of the mixture thickly and smoothly upon it. The thickness must be equal all through; therefore spread it carefully and evenly, as the dough will be too soft to roll out. Then with the edge of a tumbler dipped in flour, cut it out into round cakes. Have ready square pans, slightly b.u.t.tered; lay the cakes in them sufficiently far apart to prevent their running into each other when baked. Set the pans into a brisk oven, and bake the cakes well, seeing that they do not burn.

You may cut them out small with the lid of a cannister (or something similar) the usual size of gingerbread nuts.

These cakes will keep during a long voyage, and are frequently carried to sea. Many persons find highly-spiced gingerbread a preventive to sea-sickness.

SPICED GINGERBREAD.--Sift into a deep pan a pound and a half of flour, and cut up in it half a pound of the best fresh b.u.t.ter. Rub them together, with your hands, till thoroughly incorporated. Then add half a pound of brown sugar, crushed fine with the rolling-pin; a table-spoonful of mixed spice, consisting of equal quant.i.ties of powdered cloves, mace, and cinnamon. Also, a table-spoonful of ground ginger, and two table-spoonfuls of carraway seeds. Mix the whole together, and wet it with a pint of West India mola.s.ses. Dissolve a small tea-spoonful of pearlash or soda in a very little warm water. Mix it into the other ingredients. Spread some flour on your paste-board, take the dough out of the pan, flour your hands, and knead the dough till it ceases entirely to be sticky. Roll it out into a very thick square sheet; cut it into long straight slips; twist every two slips together, rounding off the ends nicely. Lay them (not too closely) in b.u.t.tered square pans, and bake them well. As gingerbread burns easily, take care not to have the oven too hot. Instead of forming it into twisted strips, you may cut the sheet of gingerbread-dough into round cakes with the edge of a tumbler, which, as you proceed, must be frequently dipped in flour.

CARRAWAY GINGERBREAD.--Cut up half a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter in a pint of West India mola.s.ses and warm them together slightly, till the b.u.t.ter is quite soft. Then stir them well, and add, gradually, a pound of good brown sugar, a table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon, and two heaped table-spoonfuls of ground ginger, or three, if the ginger is not very strong. Sift two pounds or two quarts of flour. Beat four eggs till very thick and light, and stir them, gradually, into the mixture, in turn with the flour, and five or six large table-spoonfuls of carraway seeds, a little at a time. Dissolve a very small tea-spoonful of pearlash or soda in as much lukewarm water as will cover it. Then stir it in at the last. Stir all very hard. Transfer it to a b.u.t.tered tin pan with straight sides, and bake it in a loaf in a moderate oven. It will require a great deal of baking.

MOLa.s.sES GINGERBREAD.--Mix together a quart of West India mola.s.ses, and a pint of milk. Cut up in them a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter. Set the pan on a stove, or in a warm place till the b.u.t.ter becomes soft enough to stir and mix well into the mola.s.ses and milk. They must be merely warmed but not made hot. Then stir in a small teacup of ginger, and a table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon. Add, gradually, a little at a time, three pounds of sifted flour. The whole should be a thick batter.

Lastly, stir in a large tea-spoonful of soda, or a smaller one of pearlash or sal-eratus, dissolved in a very little lukewarm water. Bake the mixture either in little tins, or in a large loaf. If the latter, it will require very long baking; as long as a black-cake.

MOLa.s.sES CAKE.--Cut up a quarter of a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter into a pint of West India mola.s.ses. Warm it just sufficiently to soften the b.u.t.ter, and make it mix easily. Stir it well into the mola.s.ses, and add a table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon. Beat three eggs very light, and stir them, gradually, into the mixture, in turn with barely enough of sifted flour (not more than a pint and a half) to make it about as thick as pound-cake batter. Add, at the last, a small or level tea-spoonful of pearlash, or a full one of soda, dissolved in a very little warm water.

b.u.t.ter some small tin cake-pans, or patty-pans, put in the mixture, and set them immediately into the oven, which must not be too hot, as all cakes made with mola.s.ses are peculiarly liable to scorch on the outside.

SUGAR CAKE.--Sift two pounds of flour into a pan, and cut up in it a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter. Rub with your hands the b.u.t.ter into the flour till it is thoroughly mixed. Then rub in a pound of sugar, and a grated nutmeg. Wet the whole with half a pint of rich milk (or a jill of rose-water, and a jill of milk) mixed with a well-beaten egg. Add, at the last, a very small tea-spoonful of pearlash or soda, dissolved in a little vinegar or warm water. Roll out the dough thick, and beat it well on both sides with the rolling-pin. Then roll it thin, and cut it into square cakes, notching the edges with a knife. Put them into a shallow pan slightly b.u.t.tered, (taking care not to place them too near, lest they run into each other,) and bake them a light brown.

You may mix into the dough two table-spoonfuls of carraway seeds.