The New England Cook Book Part 7

Mix a quart of buck wheat flour, with a pint and a half of warm milk, (water will do but is not quite as good) and a tea cup of yeast, then set it in a warm place to rise. When light (which will be in the course of ten or twelve hours,) add a tea spoonful of salt, if sour the same quant.i.ty of saleratus, dissolved in milk, and strained, thin them with a little milk. Fry them in just fat enough to prevent their sticking to the griddle or pan. Salt pork rinds, beef fat, or lard, are good to fry them in.

128. _Economy Cakes._

Soak dry pieces of bread in water, till soft enough to mash fine, squeeze out all the water, and to three pints of the bread pulp, put a couple of table spoonsful of flour, one beaten egg, half a tea spoonful of salt, the same quant.i.ty of saleratus, dissolved in a cup of milk and strained. If not thin enough stir in a little more milk. Cook them in the same manner as buck wheat cakes.

129. _Green Corn Cakes._

Mix a pint of grated green corn, with three table spoonsful of milk, a tea cup of flour, half a cup of melted b.u.t.ter, one egg, a tea spoonful of salt, half a tea spoonful of pepper. Drop this mixture by the spoonful into hot b.u.t.ter, and fry it eight or ten minutes. These cakes are nice served up with meat for dinner.

130. _Corn Cake._

To a quart of milk put three beaten eggs, a tea spoonful of salt, mix it with sifted Indian meal enough to make a thin batter. Bake it in a bake pan about one hour. b.u.t.termilk or sour milk with a tea spoonful of saleratus, is better to mix with the Indian meal, than sweet milk and eggs.

131. _Indian Slap Jacks._

Mix a quart of milk with a pint of Indian meal, four table spoonsful of flour, three beaten eggs, a tea spoonful of salt. A table spoonful of mola.s.ses or a little stewed pumpkin is thought by many people to improve them. Fry them in lard. Another way which is very good, is to scald a quart of Indian meal and half a pint of wheat flour with milk, (water will do but is not as good) stir in a small tea cup of yeast and set them in a warm place to rise. When light fry them, in just fat enough to prevent their sticking to the griddle.

132. _Johnny Cakes._

Scald sifted Indian meal, put in a little salt, mould it with the hand into cakes, of the size of biscuit. In order to mould them up, considerable flour must be rubbed on the hands. Fry them in fat enough to cover them. When cooked split and b.u.t.ter them.

133. _Hoe Cakes._

Stir up Indian meal, with cold water sufficient to make a batter, of the consistency of buck wheat cakes, add a tea spoonful of salt, a table spoonful of melted b.u.t.ter. b.u.t.ter your bakepan and turn this mixture into it and bake it about an hour. Indian meal wet up in this manner is good fried.

134. _m.u.f.fins._

Mix a pint of lukewarm milk, with the same quant.i.ty of flour, a tea spoonful of salt, a piece of b.u.t.ter, of the size of a hen's egg. When light beat a couple of eggs and put in; b.u.t.ter m.u.f.fin rings, and put them in a b.u.t.tered pie pan, turn in the mixture and bake them till of a light brown.

135. _Flour Waffles._

Gradually turn a quart of milk or water on to a quart of flour, stirring it well as you turn it in, so that it may not be lumpy, add a tea cup of yeast, a tea spoonful of salt, a table spoonful of melted b.u.t.ter, a couple of eggs, improve them, but they can be dispensed with very well.

When light bake them in waffle irons, well heated and greased with lard, before each one is poured in. Bake them on hot coals; when they have been on the fire about two minutes, turn the irons, and let them brown on the other side.

136. _Quick Waffles._

Into a quart of flour stir slowly a quart of milk or water, beat five eggs and put in, together with a tea spoonful of salt and a table spoonful of melted b.u.t.ter. They are cooked in the same manner as other waffles. A quarter of a pound of sugar, stirred into the mixture improves it.

137. _Rice Waffles._

Mix a quart of milk with a tea cup of boiled rice, and a pint and a half of rice or wheat flour. Beat three eggs to a froth, and stir in, together with a tea spoonful of salt.

138. _Rice Wafers._

Rub a pound of rice flour, with quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, put in a little salt, a wine gla.s.s of wine, two eggs, and milk sufficient to enable you to roll them out. When rolled thin, cut them with a wine gla.s.s into small cakes and bake them.

139. _Observations respecting Sweet Cakes._

If you wish your cake to be good, it must be made of nice materials. The b.u.t.ter, eggs, and flour should not be stale, and the sugar should be dry, and of a light color. Brown sugar answers for most kinds of cakes, if rolled free from lumps, and stirred with the b.u.t.ter, until it is a very light color. The flour should be sifted and if damp, it should be dried perfectly, or it will make the cake heavy. Where sifted flour for cake is measured, it should be shaken down in the measure to be accurate; if there is not flour enough in cake, it will not be light.

The eggs should be beaten to a froth, on a shallow plate, and for very nice cake the whites and yolks, should be beaten separately. Where saleratus is used, it should be thoroughly dissolved and strained.

Raisins for cake, should have the seeds taken out, and Zante currants should be carefully washed and rubbed in a cloth, to get out the sticks; they should be perfectly dried before they are put into the cake. All kinds of cake that has not yeast in it, should be stirred till it goes into the oven. It should not be moved while in the oven, if it can be avoided. The quicker most kinds of cake are baked, without burning, the better they will be. It is impossible to give any exact rules as to the time for baking cake, as so much depends on the heat of the oven; it should be narrowly watched and if likely to burn covered with a thick paper. To ascertain when rich cake is sufficiently baked, stick a clean broom splinter through the thickest part, and if none of the cake adheres to it, it is baked enough. When cake that is baked on flat tins, moves easily on them it is sufficiently done.

140. _Gingerbread._

Melt a piece of b.u.t.ter, of the size of a hen's egg and put it with a pint of mola.s.ses, stir in a little flour, and a heaping table spoonful of ginger. Dissolve a large table spoonful of saleratus, in half a pint of water, strain and mix it with the rest of the ingredients, together with flour enough to enable you to roll it out easily. Roll it about half an inch thick, and lay it on flat b.u.t.tered tins; bake it as soon as rolled out in a quick oven a few moments. Gingerbread to be very nice, should be made of good mola.s.ses, and baked very quick. Some people use only a tea spoonful of saleratus, to a pint of mola.s.ses, but it is much better with more, appearing in point of lightness like sponge cake.

141. _Soft Gingerbread._

Melt a cup of b.u.t.ter and mix it with a pint of mola.s.ses, a table spoonful of ginger and a little flour, dissolve three tea spoonsful of saleratus, in a tea cup of water, and stir it into the cake, together with flour enough to render it of the consistency of pound cake. Bake it in deep cake pans, about thirty minutes. A couple of eggs improve the cake.

142. _Ginger Snaps._

Mix half a tea cup of melted b.u.t.ter, with a tea cup of sugar, half a tea cup of mola.s.ses, and a table spoonful of ginger. Dissolve a tea spoonful of saleratus, in half a tea cup of water and strain it into the cake, knead in flour till quite stiff. Roll it out very thin, and cut it into cakes, with a wine gla.s.s. Lay them on b.u.t.tered tins, and bake them a few moments, in a very moderate oven. A tea spoonful of allspice, the same quant.i.ty of cinnamon, mace, and coriander seed, together with a tea spoonful of ginger instead of a table spoonful, put into this cake will convert it into spice snaps.

143. _Cider Cake._

Rub together three quarters of a pound of sugar, and half a pound of b.u.t.ter. Dissolve two tea spoonsful of saleratus in half a tea cup of water, turn it into the cake, together with half a pint of cider, stir in two pounds of flour and a grated nutmeg. Bake it about half an hour.

This cake should be eaten in the course of two or three days after it is made, as it gets dry very quick.

144. _Cookies._

Stir together one cup of b.u.t.ter, two of sugar. Dissolve a tea spoonful of saleratus in a cup of milk, (water will do but the cake will not be as rich,) stir it into the cake, together with a table spoonful of caraway seed, and one egg beaten to a froth, knead in flour till of the right consistency to roll out easily. Lay the cake on a moulding board, and if you cannot roll it out without its sticking to the rolling pin, more flour should be added. Stamp and cut it into cakes, lay them on flat tins well b.u.t.tered, bake them in a quick oven.

145. _New Year's Cookies._

Mix one pound of b.u.t.ter, a pound and three quarters of sugar, dissolve a couple of tea spoonsful of saleratus, in a pint of milk, and turn it on to the b.u.t.ter and sugar when well mixed, beat three eggs to a froth and stir them into the cake, with a grated nutmeg, and three heaping table spoonsful of caraway seed. Sift three pounds of flour and work into the cake with the hand. Roll them half an inch thick, and bake them immediately in a quick oven.

146. _Plain Tea Cakes._