La cuisine creole

by Lafcadio Hearn

CAKE AND CONFECTIONS

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ICING

Take one pound of powdered or flour sugar (not the common pulverized) and the whites of four eggs. Put the sugar to the eggs before you beat it at all; then beat till it is stiff. Spread it on the cake with a wet knife, wetting it in cold water each time you use it. Set it in front of the stove to dry, or in an oven with the least particle of heat. The cake must be nearly cold. You can flavor the icing with rose, orange, or lemon; if the latter, add a very small portion of grated rind. It is much nicer to add sugar to eggs before beating than afterward.

CHOCOLATE ICING

To one pound of fine loaf sugar add half a pint of cold water; boil over a brisk fire until the sugar, when pressed with the fingers, presents the appearance of strong glue; add six ounces of grated chocolate; flavor with vanilla.

TO MAKE ICING FOR CAKES

Beat the whites of two eggs to a froth, then add to them a quarter of a pound of white sugar, ground fine like flour; flavor with extract of lemon or vanilla; beat it until it is light and very white, the longer it is beaten the firmer it will become. No more sugar must be added to make it so. Beat the frosting until it may be spread smoothly on the cake. This quantity will ice quite a large cake over the top and the sides.

FROSTING FOR CAKE

To each egg used take ten teaspoonfuls of finest powdered sugar, and a teaspoonful of lemon extract. Beat quickly, and allow at least five minutes for each spoonful of sugar. The excellence of icing depends on the purity of the powdered sugar and the rapidity of beating given the eggs; it is much to be regretted that the most of powdered sugar is adulterated with foreign materials, especially with the white earth called “Terra Alba,” which causes the sugar to harden like stone, and prevents the cake and frosting from being, as it should be, light and good.

BOILED ICING. VERY NICE

Boil until very thick, a pound of white sugar in a cup of water. It should be as thick as for candy; when boiled, pour it gently on the beaten whites of three eggs. Beat this rapidly until well mixed with the eggs, then flour the cake with flour or corn starch, and ice it with a knife in the usual way. You must use flavoring to suit your taste. Much of the perfection of icing depends on the quality of the sugar, which should be pure and ground, not pulverized, as that sugar is now often adulterated.

HOT BOILED ICING FOR CAKE

Dissolve one pint of powdered sugar in two large tablespoonfuls of water (or three if the spoon is small); set it on the fire to boil. While this syrup is heating on the stove, beat the whites of four eggs to a strong froth, take off the boiling syrup, and beat it to the white of eggs, holding it high over the pans, and pouring it in a stream on the eggs; then flavor with lemon, or vanilla, and spread it on the cake, while the icing is warm; set the cake for a few moments in the oven to harden the icing, it is then ready for the table.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE

Boil one ounce of isinglass or gelatine, in one and a half pints of milk, sweeten it with half a pound of white sugar, and beat in the yolks of six eggs; flavor it with vanilla. When this mixture begins to stiffen as it grows cold, stir into it one pint of cream whipped to a froth. Ornament the glass dish it is to be served in, with strips of sponge cake, and pour the Charlotte Russe in. Set it in a cool place until wanted.

SPLENDID FRUIT CAKE

One pound of butter washed and creamed, one and one-fourth pounds of white sifted sugar, creamed with the butter; add the yolks, beaten lightly, alternately, with the whites beaten to a stiff froth, of twelve eggs; stir in carefully a pound of sifted flour. The day before, wash and dry two pounds of currants, pick and seed two pounds of large raisins, and slice one pound of citron. Pour all this fruit into a large pan, and dredge it well with a quarter of a pound of sifted flour; stir all well into the butter, add a grated nutmeg, a glass of wine, and the same of brandy. Bake in a large cake mould very carefully, four hours. It is safer to have it baked by a confectioner, if it is convenient to do so.

NICE FAMILY CAKE WITH FRUIT

Three cups of fine sugar, two cups of butter, five cups of sifted flour, half a pound of chopped raisins, and half a pound of dried currants; flavor with brandy, and nutmeg, or extract of nutmeg, or lemon. Put the same flavor in the frosting, if the cake is to be used for special occasions.

CHEAP FRUIT CAKE

To one quart of sifted flour, add a teacupful of sugar, half a cup of butter, one cupful of raisins, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, and one of soda, two tablespoonfuls of mixed spices; rub thoroughly together the flour, cream of tartar, soda and butter, stir in sufficient cold water to make a stiff batter, then add the spices and raisins; pour it into a small tin pan, bake one hour.

WISCONSIN FRUIT CAKE

Take three quarters of a pound of raw salt, fat pork, chopped very fine; then pour on a pint of boiling water, one cup of sugar, two cups of molasses, two teaspoonfuls of cloves, one of cinnamon, one nutmeg, two teaspoonfuls of saleratus, one pound and a half of raisins, also a pound of citron and currants if liked, and flour as stiff as can be stirred; bake very slowly an hour, or longer if necessary, as it will burn without great care. This will make three loaves, and will keep well. This is convenient in the winter when eggs are scarce.

NOUGAT FRUIT CAKE

Make the batter the same as for fruit cake, but instead of the same quantity of fruit, add two pounds of seedless raisins, one pound of citron, one of blanched and cut almonds, and one pound of grated cocoanut. Pour over the cocoanut a cup of sweet milk. Add the wine, brandy and nutmeg. This is much admired. It is an experiment of my own, and has been very much in request.

RICH WEDDING CAKE, OR BLACK CAKE

One pound of flour, nine eggs, the whites and yolks beaten separately, one pound of butter beaten to a cream, one pound of brown sugar, one teacupful of molasses, one ounce of grated nutmeg or ground mace, one teaspoonful of ground allspice, one teaspoonful of cinnamon, and a gill of brandy; beat this mixture well. Having picked, washed, and dried three pounds of currants, stone and cut three pounds of raisins, strew half a pound of flour over them, mix it well through, and stir them with a pound of citron, cut in slips, into the cake. Line tin pans with buttered paper, put the mixture in, an inch and a half or two inches deep, and bake in a moderate oven an hour and a half or two hours. Ice according to directions.

BRIDE’S CAKE. A SPLENDID RECIPE

Take three-fourths of a pound of butter, wash and cream it, add one pound of white sugar; beat them well together, then add the beaten whites of seventeen eggs, alternately with a pound of sifted flour. Flavor with lemon or rose, and bake. This is a most delicious and delicate cake.

RICH BRIDE’S CAKE

Take four pounds of sifted flour, four pounds of sweet fresh butter, beaten to a cream, and two pounds of white powdered sugar; take six eggs for every pound of flour, an ounce of ground mace or nutmeg, and a tablespoonful of lemon extract or orange-flower water. Wash through several waters, and pick clean from grit, four pounds of currants, and spread them on a folded cloth to dry; stone and cut in two, four pounds of raisins, cut two pounds of citron in slips, and chop or slice one pound of blanched almonds.

Beat the yolks of the eggs with the sugar to a smooth paste; beat the butter and flour together, and add them to the yolks and sugar; then add the spice and half a pint of brandy, and the whites of the eggs beaten to a froth; stir all together for some time; strew half a pound of flour over the fruit, mix it through, then, by degrees stir it into the cake.

Butter large tin basins, line them with white paper, and put in the mixture two inches deep, and bake in a moderate oven two hours. The fruit should be prepared the day before making the cake.

CHEAP JELLY CAKE

One cup of fine white sugar, one cup of milk or water, two tablespoonfuls of butter, one egg, two cups of flour, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar and one-half teaspoonful of carbonate soda; flavor with nutmeg or lemon. It is best with plum or currant jelly.

DELICIOUS POUND CAKE

Cream three quarters of a pound of butter, sift a pound of flour gradually into it, and cream them together. Beat the yolks of nine eggs light in another pan; stir into the eggs a pound of sifted sugar, mix well; beat the whites of twelve eggs to a froth, add them to the yolks and sugar, then pour this into the pan containing the butter and flour; beat all well together; add a little brandy or wine, and nutmeg. Bake carefully in a large pan. Do not have the oven hotter on the top than at the bottom, for the cake must be allowed to rise. Then bake from the bottom. This is a superior way of making cake, and if properly baked is delicious.

MAIZENA CAKE

Half a pound of butter rubbed to a cream with one pound of powdered sugar, six eggs beaten lightly and one pound of corn starch. Flavor and bake in small patty pans.

A GENERAL RULE FOR MAKING SPONGE CAKE

Take of sugar the weight of the eggs used, and half the weight of flour; beat the yolks and sugar together, then add the flour, and, lastly, the whites, having first beaten them to a high froth; then stir them thoroughly together, put into a paper-lined basin, or pan, and bake in a quick oven. The cake may be flavored with lemon, rose, or vanilla extracts, and a little nutmeg, or with a little brandy. Pounded almonds or grated cocoanut, may be added to sponge cake mixture.

BOILED SPONGE CAKE

Put three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar in a stew pan with nearly half a pint of water, and the peel of a lemon cut very thin; let it simmer twenty minutes. Beat the yolks of eight eggs, and the whites of four, for ten minutes; then pour in the boiling syrup, and beat it well for half an hour. Have your cake pan well greased and a paper in the bottom. Stir gently into the mixture ⅝ of a pound (which is ten ounces) of sifted flour; pour the batter immediately into the pan, and bake in a rather quick oven about half an hour. Have the oven in baking order before you put the flour in, as sponge cake will be tough if it is not baked immediately the flour is added, and it should not be beaten after the flour is stirred in. This is one secret of having fine light sponge cake.

JENNY’S SPONGE CAKE

Beat ten eggs separately, put the yellow with a pound of sifted fine sugar in a bowl; beat it again very light, and then put in the whites; last of all stir in half a pound of flour, but do not beat the batter after the flour is stirred in. Flavor with lemon or orange-flower water. Pour the mixture into pans lined with buttered paper, and do not place more than one and a half inches of batter in each pan. Bake twenty minutes. If the oven is too hot, be sure and cover the top of the pans with a paper or pasteboard, to prevent scorching.

WHITE SPONGE CAKE

The whites of ten eggs, beaten to a froth; one tumbler of sifted flour, one and a half tumblers of sifted white sugar, half a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt; stir the cream of tartar and salt well into the flour. Add the sugar to the whites first, then last of all stir in the flour very lightly, and flavor with any delicate extract, and bake immediately. No soda required.

SPONGE GINGER BREAD

One cup of sour milk, one cup of molasses, one-half cup of butter, two eggs, one and a half teaspoons of saleratus, one tablespoonful of ginger. Flour to make as thick as pound cake. Warm the butter, molasses and ginger, then add the milk, flour and saleratus, and bake as quickly as you can.

GINGER SNAPS

One cup of butter and lard mixed, one cup of sugar, one cup of molasses, half a cup of water, one tablespoonful of ginger, one teaspoonful of soda in hot water, flour enough to roll the dough soft.

GINGER-NUTS

Take three pounds of flour, one pound of butter, one quart of molasses, four tablespoonfuls of allspice, the same quantity of cinnamon, and eight tablespoonfuls of ground ginger. Roll thin, cut out in the shape of the small ginger-nuts sold at the confectioners’, and bake in a rather quick oven.

ANOTHER RECIPE

Take two cupfuls of butter, the same quantity of molasses, one cupful of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of ginger, four of cream, one teaspoonful of soda, one-half an ounce of cinnamon, and about one and a half pounds of flour—or enough to make a stiff dough. Roll, cut, and bake in a moderate oven.

TEA CAKES. CHEAP AND NICE. NO EGGS

One cup of butter or a large spoonful of lard, two cups of sugar, one cup of sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda, some grated orange peel or nutmeg; flour enough to roll out. Roll very thin; cut with fancy cutters, and bake in a quick oven. If you use lard, add a pinch of salt.

PORTUGAL CAKE

Make a batter with half a pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of flour, and six eggs, two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice or white wine. Add one pound of seeded raisins, or citron, dredged with a little of the flour; one and a half pounds of blanched almonds cut fine, and one grated nutmeg.

CHEAP WHITE CAKES. FOR TEA

Take half a pound of sifted flour, rub into it one ounce of butter, and a quarter of a pound of fine sugar; add one egg, half a teaspoonful of caraway seeds, and as much milk as will make it a paste; roll it out to quarter-of-an-inch in thickness, or thinner; cut it in small round cakes, and bake on tin plates, in a quick oven, ten or twelve minutes.

LADY CAKE

One pound of flour; 1 pound of sugar; ⅝ of a pound of butter; whites of 17 eggs; 2 or 3 drops of oil of bitter almonds. Cream the well-washed butter; add the sugar and cream again; alternate the whites with flour; flavor last of all. The confectioners nearly always bake in a square or long pan.

YELLOW LADY CAKE

Take a pound of fine white sugar, with half a pound of butter beaten to a cream; the yolks of eight eggs beaten smooth and thick; one cup of sweet milk, a small teaspoonful of powdered volatile salts or saleratus, dissolved in a little hot water; half a nutmeg grated; a teaspoonful of lemon extract, or orange-flower water, and as much sifted flour as will make it as thick as pound-cake batter. Beat it until it is light and creamy; then having taken off the skins, and beaten to a paste, a quarter of a pound of shelled almonds, stir them into the cake, and beat well. Line buttered tin pans, with white paper; put in the mixture an inch deep, and bake half an hour in a quick oven, or forty minutes in a moderate oven. This is a delicious cake.

WHITE LADY CAKE

Beat the whites of eight eggs to a high froth, add gradually a pound of white sugar finely ground; beat a quarter of a pound of butter to a cream; add a teacupful of sweet milk with a small teaspoonful of powdered volatile salts or saleratus dissolved in it; put the eggs to the butter and milk, add as much sifted flour as will make it as thick as pound-cake mixture; add a teaspoonful of orange-flower water or lemon extract, then add a quarter of a pound of shelled almonds, blanched and beaten to a paste with a little white of egg; beat the whole together until light and white; line a square tin pan with buttered paper, put in the mixture an inch deep, and bake half an hour in a quick oven. When done take it from the pan, when cold take the paper off, turn it upside down on the bottom of the pan and ice the side which was down; when the icing is nearly hard, mark it in slices the width of a finger, and two inches and a half long.

ISABELLA CAKE

Two cups of butter, four cups of sugar, sixteen eggs, six cups of sifted flour, two teaspoonfuls of yeast powder. Cream the butter and sugar together; add the beaten yolks, then alternately the flour and the beaten whites. Put the yeast powder in the flour. Flavor with vanilla or lemon. Bake carefully in a four-quart cake mould, the bottom and sides of which you have well oiled. Always lay paper in the bottom before oiling, as it prevents the cake from burning and sticking to the pan. This cake is delicious, finished with a chocolate icing.

A NICE CUP-CAKE RICH ENOUGH FOR ANY COMPANY

Take one cup of butter and three of sugar; work this to a cream. Beat five eggs separately; then stir in five cups of sifted flour; add a cup of sour cream and a teaspoonful of soda; flavor with a glass of wine and a little nutmeg. Bake in a quick oven in round tins, and ice while it is warm.

CUP CAKES

One cup of butter, three cups of sugar, five cups of flour, one cup of milk, three eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, a little brandy.

TEACUP CAKE WITHOUT EGGS

One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of sour cream, or thick milk, a teaspoonful of saleratus dissolved in hot water, a gill of brandy, half a grated nutmeg, a teaspoonful of essence of lemon, or the yellow rind of a grated lemon; stir in flour until the batter is as thick as pound cake, and bake an inch deep in a buttered basin.

LITTLE JESSIE’S CAKE

Two cups of fine sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of sweet milk, four cups of flour, six eggs. Flavor with a glass of wine or brandy, with a nutmeg grated into it. Add a cup of currants.

NICE AND CHEAP JUMBLES. NO EGGS

One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of clabber, a teaspoonful of soda stirred into the clabber, a little grated orange or lemon peel, and a good quart of sifted flour. Roll it, and cut in rounds with a hole in the middle, and bake in a quick oven. If you wish, sprinkle sugar over them, and stick strips of citron in each cake when you place them in the baking pan. They are quite nice. Instead of clabber, you can use sweet milk and yeast powder in the flour.

MARBLE CAKE—WHITE PART

Whites of four eggs, one cup of white sugar, half a cup of butter, half a cup of sweet milk, one teaspoonful of cream tartar, half a teaspoonful of soda.

MARBLE CAKE—BLACK PART.

Yolks of four eggs, one cup of brown sugar, half a cup of molasses, half a cup butter, half a cup of sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda, and plenty of all kinds of spices to suit the taste. Put first black, then white, dough, until all is in; then bake. It is very nice.

FRENCH LOAF CAKE

Five cups of sugar, three of butter, two of milk, ten of sifted flour, six eggs, three small nutmegs, one teaspoonful of saleratus, one pound of raisins, and one-third of a pound of citron. Stir the butter and sugar to a cream, then add part of the flour, the milk and the beaten yolks of the eggs, then add the rest of the flour and the whites of the eggs; add the fruit as you get the cake ready for the oven; season to taste. This will make four loaves. Bake one hour.

LOAF CAKE. PLAIN

Three cups of sweet milk, two of sugar, and one of yeast; stir in flour to make it quite thick, and let it rise over night. In the morning add two eggs well beaten, fruit and spice to taste; let it rise till light. Bake in a slow oven.

EGG KISSES

Four whites of eggs, one-half pound powdered sugar; beat well and bake quickly. Flavor with extract of rose or lemon.

GENOESE CAKES

Half a pound of butter, half a pound of sugar, four eggs, half a pound of flour, a small glass of brandy or wine. Bake in a square sheet; ice it and cut into diamonds; ornament with dots or stripes of any kind of bright jelly or preserves.

FRANCATELLI’S SPANISH CAKE

Put half a pint of milk or water into a stew-pan over the fire, with four ounces of butter and two ounces of sugar. As soon as these begin to boil, withdraw the stew-pan from the fire, and stir in five ounces of flour. Stir well for a few minutes, add essence to taste, and, one by one, three eggs and a small pinch of soda. Drop this paste on a baking-sheet in small round balls (the size of a hickory nut), and bake a light brown in a quick oven. Garnish with preserves.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

Half a pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of flour, four eggs, one half pint of milk, one teaspoonful of soda, and two of cream of tartar sifted into the flour. Mix all these ingredients well together, and bake in two cakes. Beat three whites of eggs with three cups of sifted sugar, and add chocolate to taste. Spread a layer of this icing between the cakes and on the top and sides.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

Take one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of milk or water, three and a half cups of flour, half a teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful cream of tartar, the yolks of five eggs and the whites of two. Bake on jelly cake tins.

CHOCOLATE MIXTURE FOR FILLING THE ABOVE CAKE

One and a half cups of sugar, the whites of three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate. Flavor with vanilla.

RING JUMBLES

One pound of butter, one pound of sugar, four eggs, one and a quarter pounds of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Line a pan with buttered paper, form the dough into rings. Bake quickly and sift sugar over them.

The dough must be kept very soft, or if not wanted in rings, put in more flour, and cut the cakes out with a cutter.

GERMAN LADIES FINGERS

Beat the yolks of five eggs with half a pound of sugar. Add half a pound of blanched almonds, cut fine or pounded. Grate the rind of a lemon, mix well, and add gradually enough sifted flour to make into a dough. Roll out and cut in strips the length and size of the forefinger; wet them with the beaten white of two eggs, and bake.

LADY FINGERS

Four eggs, half a pound of sugar, half a pound of flour. Flavor to taste. Drop by teaspoonfuls, and bake quickly.

CITRON CAKE

One pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of flour, and eight eggs. Add to this batter one pound of blanched almonds, cut small, and half a pound of sliced citron dredged with flour; beat all up well. Beat in a half teaspoonful of soda, moistened with sweet milk, or if preferred, a tablespoonful of yeast powder, rubbed in the flour before mixing. Beat this mixture well, and bake it in a cake-pan; put buttered paper in the bottom of the pan, and cover the top of the cake with something to protect it from the heat of the stove, until the bottom is nearly done. This is the best way to cook all delicate cakes.

LOUISIANA HARD-TIMES CAKE

Cream half a pound of butter, with one pound of sifted sugar. Add to this the beaten yolks of six eggs. Beat this again, and set it by until you beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth. Sift a pound of flour, and put into it two teaspoonfuls of yeast powder. Then pour in alternately a little flour and beaten eggs until all is used. Then mix in a cup of cold water and two teaspoonfuls of brandy, wine or extract of lemon. Butter a four-quart cake-pan or mould, have the oven ready, and pour in the mixture, and bake immediately. Cover the top of the cake while baking. When done you will have a nice cake, and one that is very inexpensive.

INDIAN BREAKFAST CAKES

Take a quart of milk scalding hot; stir into it as much corn-meal as will make a thick batter, add of salt and saleratus in fine powder, each a teaspoonful, and when a little cooled, two well-beaten eggs; bake in buttered pans, in a quick oven. This is a nice breakfast cake.

DELICATE CAKE OF CORN STARCH

Take half a pound of sugar, one-fourth of a pound of butter, the whites of eight eggs, and a quarter of a pound of corn starch mixed with quarter of a pound of common flour. Beat all very light, add to the flour a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and a half-spoon of fine soda (not saleratus). Flavor with lemon or rose.

SODA TEACAKES WITHOUT EGGS

Take half a pound of sugar, and half a pound of butter; beat it to a cream. Dissolve a teaspoonful of fine soda in a cup of milk, and pour it into the batter, half a nutmeg and flour to make a staff batter. Bake in tin squares or a shallow pan, cook twenty minutes.

A VERY GOOD CHEAP CAKE

One cup of butter, one and a half cups of brown sugar, one cup of milk, sweet or sour, yeast powder or soda—if yeast powder is used, put two teaspoonfuls; if soda, put one heaping teaspoonful—one cup of molasses, four eggs, one nutmeg, one pound of raisins, five cups of flour.

TRIFLES

Beat two or three fresh eggs a few minutes, add a saltspoonful of salt, and enough of sifted flour to make into a stiff paste; roll very thin; cut into small round cakes; fry in boiling lard, and sprinkle sugar over them. They are a delicious dish for tea.

A NICE MOLASSES CAKE

One cup of molasses, one and a half cups of sugar, one cup of butter, four eggs, a cup of sour milk and heaping-spoonful of soda. If desirable, you may add one pound of seeded and chopped raisins, or the same of currants; grease the pan carefully as molasses cake is liable to stick, and is always more difficult to get out of the pan than sugar cakes. You may add flour to roll it out like biscuit if you wish, or it is better made only as thick as pound-cake batter, and baked in a pan like that cake. Make the batter stiff with flour, as it turns out better than when soft.

SILVER CAKE

Cream two coffee-cups of butter with two pints of fine white sugar; add the beaten whites of eighteen eggs, and four pints of flour—one of these pints must be maizena or corn starch flour, as that gives a delicacy which common wheat flour cannot. You must thin this mixture gradually as you beat in the flour and eggs, by pouring in two coffee-cups of water. Flavor with almond, and bake in a large pan. When you sift the flour you must add to it two teaspoonfuls of yeast powder.

SILVER CAKE

Two pints of sugar and two cups of butter; cream the butter and sugar together. Add two cups of cold water; beat to a froth the whites of eighteen eggs, mix them with the butter and sugar, four pints of flour, and two teaspoonfuls of yeast powder; mix flour and yeast powder together, and stir gently into the batter. Flavor with almond. For a small cake take half the quantity of ingredients. It makes a nicer cake to allow one of the pints of flour to be corn starch, instead of common flour.

SUPERIOR GOLD CAKE

Take half a pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of flour, the yolks of ten eggs, one teaspoonful of soda mixed with a little hot water. Cream the butter and sugar together; beat the eggs light, and add them to the butter and sugar. Then stir in the flour and soda.

CHEAP AND RELIABLE GOLD AND SILVER CAKE

Two cups of butter and four of sugar creamed together, two cups of sweet milk, or water, if you have no milk; eight cups of sifted flour well mixed with four teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, and two of soda; beat separately the yolks and whites of eight eggs. Take half the batter; use the yolks for the gold cake, and the whites for the silver cake. Flavor differently, as with rose and lemon.

SUPERIOR SILVER CAKE

Take half a pound of butter, one pound of sugar, three-quarters of a pound of flour, the whites of ten eggs beaten to a froth. Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, and lastly, stir in the flour.

COCOANUT SILVER CAKE

Cream one cup of butter and two cups of sugar, add a cup of milk, the whites of six eggs, and three cups of sifted flour with one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and half a teaspoonful of soda mixed in the flour. Grate a small cocoanut, dry it in a skillet over the fire by stirring it about ten minutes. Stir the cocoanut into the batter. Bake in a moderate oven about three-quarters of an hour.

COCOANUT CAKES

Grate a cocoanut, place it in a skillet over the fire, and stir until it is as dry as flour. Beat one cup of sugar and the white of an egg to a froth. Mix well, and make into small cakes; put them on buttered paper and bake. The oven should not be very hot.

COCOANUT CAKES

Take a cocoanut, pare it and grate half a pound; allow the same quantity of loaf sugar. Dissolve the sugar in two tablespoonfuls of water, place it on the fire; when the syrup is boiling hot, stir in the cocoanut. Continue to stir it until it is thick like candy, then pour it out on a buttered pan, and cut it across in shapes, or use a round cake cutter.

COCOANUT POUND CAKE

Take three coffee-cupfuls of flour, one of butter, and two of white sugar; one cupful of milk; the whites of six eggs; one teaspoonful of cream of tartar; one-half teaspoonful of carbonate of soda; grated cocoanut—a small one. The cocoanut should be laid in water as soon as the shell is broken; take out a piece at a time to pare it; lay it in a dry cloth as soon as pared, and cover it up, that the air may be kept out and the moisture absorbed. If the cocoanut goes in wet it will make the cake heavy. Cream the butter; add the sugar, and beat well; then put in the milk, slowly; the whites of the eggs, well beaten, alternately with flour; the cocoanut last of all. One-half of this quantity makes a good-sized cake. Bake in a moderate oven; increase the heat at the last. It takes about one-half or three-quarters of an hour to bake.

COCOANUT CAKE

Make a batter of one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour and four eggs. Bake in jelly cake pans. Spread a layer of icing between each cake with grated cocoanut on top of the icing; finally, ornament the top with a thick layer of cocoanut.

COCOANUT DROPS

Take a grated cocoanut, the beaten whites of four eggs, and half a pound of white sugar; flavor, mix, and bake on paper in drops.

PECAN CAKE

Half a cup of butter, one and one-half cups of sugar, two eggs, three-quarters of a cup of sweet milk, two cups of sifted flour, one and one-half teaspoonfuls of soda, and one teaspoonful of cream of tartar in the flour, one cup of pecans picked out and cut fine. Bake in a small cake pan.

WINE CAKES

One-quarter pound of butter, one-half pound of sugar, one egg, a few drops of essence of lemon, and a good half pound of flour. Mix, roll thin, and cut out in round cakes. They are very nice with wine.

NAPLES BISCUIT

Beat four eggs light; add half a pound of fine white sugar, and half a pound of sifted flour. Flavor with essence of lemon.

SHREWSBURY CAKE

Beat to a cream half a pound of butter, and three-quarters of a pound of sugar; add five well beaten eggs, a nutmeg, some essence, and about a quart of flour. Sift the flour, mix it well, and drop the mixture with a spoon on buttered tins. Add currants if you wish.

COFFEE CAKE

One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of molasses, one cup of strong coffee, two eggs, five cups of flour, one teaspoonful of soda, one cup of currants, one cup of raisins. Spice to taste.

NICE DROP CAKES

One-half pound sugar, one-quarter pound of butter creamed together, four well beaten eggs, one-half pound of currants, a spoonful of brandy, grated nutmeg or lemon peel, and flour sufficient for a stiff batter. Beat well. Drop by spoonfuls on buttered tins and bake in a quick oven. They are light and tender.

DIAMOND BACHELORS

Biscuit dough rolled thin, cut into diamonds and boiled in lard. Ladies are very fond of them.

VELVET CAKE

One cup of yeast, three eggs well beaten, one quart of warm milk, one quart of sifted flour, salt, a large spoonful of butter well beaten; let it rise. Pour into greased muffin rings and bake.

DELICATE CAKE

Two eggs, two cups of sugar, half a cup of butter, one cup of sweet milk, three cups of flour, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, half a teaspoonful of soda. Bake in squares.

LITTLE DROP CAKES

Half a pound of sugar, four eggs, half a pound of flour; quarter of a pound of butter.

CREAM CAKES

Boil a cup of butter with a half pint of water; while it is boiling, stir in two cups of sifted flour; let it cool, and when cool, add five eggs well beaten, and a quarter of a spoonful of soda dry. Drop this mixture with a teaspoon on tins and bake in a quick oven.

FOR THE INSIDE OF THE CAKES

Take a pint of milk, one-half a cup of flour, one cup of sugar and two eggs. Boil the milk and flour together, add the eggs and sugar; flavor the custard with lemon. Now, you must take the first or outside cakes, and split each one gently, so as to place in it the cream or custard, which must be cold before you introduce it. Put into each cake about a teaspoonful of the cream. These are delicious. One-half this quantity makes a large dishful of cakes.

ANOTHER CREAM CAKE WITH CRUST AND CREAM

Crust.—Three-quarter pint of water, half a pint of butter, three-quarters of a pound of flour, eight eggs, boil the water and butter together, and while boiling stir in the flour, take it off and let it cool, then add your eggs (beaten separately), and a teaspoonful of dry soda. Use about a spoonful of the crust for each puff; bake on tins for about twenty minutes. When done cut the crust open and put in the cream.

Cream.—Two pints of milk, one cup of flour, two cups of sugar, four eggs; while the milk is boiling add your flour, sugar and eggs (previously well beaten together), let it cook until it begins to thicken, take it off, and flavor with rose water.

TIPSY CAKE

Place a sponge cake weighing about a pound in a glass bowl, pour over it half a pint of sherry and Madeira (mixed). Make a rich custard of six eggs and a quart of milk, sweeten to taste, flavor and let it cool. Blanch half a pound of almonds, stick them in the top of the sponge cake and pour over it the custard.

PLAIN TEA CAKES

Half a cup of butter, or a large spoonful of lard, one and a half cups of sugar, one teacupful of milk, one teaspoonful of soda, seven cupfuls of sifted flour. Roll thin.

EASY CAKE FOR YOUNG COOKS

Take two cups of flour, sift it and to each cup put a teaspoonful of yeast powder. Beat the yolks of three eggs and one cup of fine white sugar, together with half a cup of water mixed with extract or wine; beat this well in the yolks and sugar (only half a cup); froth up the whites of the eggs, add them, and last of all, beat in the flour with the powder in it. Bake quickly in square or jelly cake pans.

YOUNG COOKS’ JELLY ROLL

Make the sponge for your jelly roll by taking a cup of white sugar, one cup of flour, and three eggs. Mix, etc.; add baking powder with the flour. Bake in a stewpan with a quick fire; turn the cake out on a towel when done; spread the jelly while it is still warm and soft, and roll it carefully. Cut it in slices when cold; a spoonful of water beaten with the eggs makes the cake lighter, as it breaks the tissue of the eggs if it is added to them when beaten up.

ALMOND DROPS

Blanch and pound five ounces of sweet, and three ounces of bitter almonds (or peach kernels), with a little white of egg. Put half a pound of sifted flour on your dough board, make a hole in the middle of the flour, in which put the almonds, with a pound of sugar, four yolks of eggs, and a little salt. Make into a paste. Cut in pieces the size of a nut, lay them half an inch apart, on sheets of paper, in a baking-pan, and bake in a moderate oven for fifteen or twenty minutes.

ALMOND MACAROONS

Blanch and pound with a little rose-water half a pound of almonds; add half a pound of sifted sugar, the whites of two eggs (not beaten), form into a paste. Dip your hand in water, and roll the preparation into balls the size of a nutmeg; lay them an inch apart, on buttered paper, in a baking tin. Bake in a slow oven until a light brown.

ALMOND MACAROONS

To a pound of the best white sugar, sifted, add a pound of blanched almonds; put in a few drops of rose-water as you beat them together in a mortar. Add to them the well-beaten whites of six eggs, and form the paste into shapes in the palm of the hand by using a little flour; butter some sheets of white paper, and drop the macaroons on it, leaving a space between them. Strew a little white sugar on them, and put in the oven to bake a light brown. Almonds are blanched by pouring hot water on them, and slipping off the brown coating.