Second Action
—just enough leavening in the oven
Calumet’s Second Action is released by heat. See what happens in the oven. Steadily, evenly, hundreds of new tiny bubbles swell through the batter and continue the leavening. Up! ... up! ... they keep raising the batter and hold it high and light. Thanks to these two scientifically balanced actions, Calumet Baking Powder protects your baking from start to finish.
Baking powder is a small part of any given recipe, yet it plays such an important role that it is often called “the biggest little thing in baking”. Too much or too little baking powder or baking powder that is not efficient ... what a lot of baking trouble that can cause! Humped, uneven cakes ... dry, harsh, coarse-grained cakes ... even flat failures!
Calumet’s two leavening actions are perfectly timed and balanced to give maximum protection and superb quality to all your baking. A little of this Double-Acting Calumet does a superfine job—and this means extra economy for Calumet users. The usual Calumet proportion is 1 level teaspoon per cup of sifted flour. This amount is only one-half to two-thirds the amount recommended for many other baking powders.
Most of the recipes in this book call for this proportion. In some recipes, however, the number of eggs, the type of flour, or the nature of other ingredients make advisable slightly more or slightly less. But every recipe has been tested again and again and has been carefully built with exactly the right proportions to give you the full advantage of Calumet’s Double-Action. Follow these recipes accurately, faithfully, and rejoice in the efficiency and economy of Calumet.
Such a comfort to busy women!
CALUMET BATTERS CAN WAIT
Mix batter ... wrap tightly
Store in a cold place
Bake when you please ... without last minute bustle
Cake Batter on hand in the icebox! Muffin batter! Cooky dough! Ready to slip into the oven and bake whenever you want them.
Fresh, hot, good things for dinner without the fuss and flurry of last minute mixing! Three or four hot desserts for week-end meals from one batter mixing! No more cake failures because of ringing doorbells and children’s demands just when a batter is ready for the oven.
Calumet batters can wait—for moments or for days! This is another wonderful advantage that Calumet’s Double-Action brings you. For even when you store cake batter for days, you can count on perfect lightness when you bake it.
If baking is to be delayed only an hour or so, slip the bowl or pan of batter into the refrigerator. To store longer, follow directions below. Turn to [page 11] for a large quantity cake recipe that will give you batter for three quick desserts—a real Miracle Cake.
1. Mix Calumet batter, pour in pan; cover tightly, first with a damp cloth, and then with waxed paper. Tie securely.
2. Store batter in a cold place until you are ready to bake. Calumet’s second action will be held in reserve until the batter reaches the heat of the oven.
3. Unwrap pans and bake as usual. Results will be perfect—delicately light, tender, fine and velvety in texture. How delightful to serve things fresh-baked—hot—delicious, without one bit of last-minute fuss and flurry ... thanks to Calumet’s remarkable Double-Action.
REMEMBER THESE POINTS
whenever you bake.
Sift flour before measuring—fill cup lightly
Measure baking powder exactly—a level teaspoon
Do be orderly. Plan your baking before you start. Choose your recipe, read it through carefully, understand it clearly. Collect all the ingredients specified, and arrange them in the order called for in the recipe; assemble all the utensils needed on your work table. Cultivate the do-it-right habit.
Do use good ingredients. You can’t do first-rate baking with second-rate materials. Use fresh, sweet shortening and eggs of fine quality. Use fine granulated sugar, unless some other kind is called for in your recipe. Remember that baking powder and flour are the most important ingredients in baking. Give yourself the protection and advantages of Calumet, the Double-Acting Baking Powder ... and of Swans Down Cake Flour, too, whenever the recipe calls for it. It gives to cakes and to certain quick breads a fineness and lightness that you cannot expect from ordinary flour.
Don’t use more Calumet than the recipes call for. Calumet’s Double-Action gives it extra efficiency—less of its leavening gas is lost from the surface of batters during mixing. Thousands of tests have proved that the small amounts of Calumet Baking Powder specified in these recipes will give you best results. One level teaspoon of Calumet to a cup of sifted flour is the correct proportion for most recipes. In some recipes the nature of the ingredients makes advisable slightly more or slightly less.
THESE ARE BASIC RULES
for surest, best results!
A bit of care brings results in preparing pans
Watch your baking temperatures—finally, test the cake
Do measure all ingredients accurately with standard measuring cups and standard measuring spoons. A standard measuring cup is an accurate half-pint measure—the equivalent of 16 level tablespoons. It is grooved on one side to read ¼, ½, and ¾; on the other, to read ⅓ and ⅔. A standard tablespoon is equivalent to 3 standard teaspoons. Always sift flour once before measuring, and remember that all standard measurements are level.
Do mix carefully. Follow exactly the mixing directions given in each recipe. The way you combine and handle your ingredients is important.
Do use the type and size of pans specified in the recipes, and prepare your pans before mixing. A greased paper lining in pans for large butter cakes gives added protection.
Do handle cakes carefully, after baking. Place butter cake and pan on cake rack, for about 5 minutes; then remove from pan, and turn cake, top side up, on rack to finish cooling. For sponge cakes, follow directions given in recipes.
Don’t guess about your baking temperatures. If your stove does not have an oven heat regulator, use a portable thermometer. It does not control heat, but it does tell you when to adjust the baking temperature.
“Velvety crumb” in all your Calumet
BUTTER CAKES
See the fine even grain—the velvet-soft texture!