GERMAN RAISIN CAKE (RAISED WITH YEAST)
Place in a bowl 1 cup of milk, scalded and cooled until lukewarm; add 1 tablespoonful of sugar and dissolve one cake of yeast in the milk. Mix in 1 cup of flour and stand in a warm place to raise ¾ of an hour. Then cream together in a separate bowl ½ cup soft "A" sugar, ½ cup of butter or "butter substitute," add 1 egg and a pinch of salt; stir in 1¼ cups of flour, ½ cup of well-floured raisins, and ½ teaspoonful of vanilla flavoring. Add the yeast mixture and allow it to raise about 2 hours longer. At the expiration of that time turn the well-risen sponge out on a floured bake-board. After giving the dough several deft turns on the board with the hand, place in a well-greased fruit cake pan, which has been dusted with flour. Stand pan containing cake in a warm place, let rise until very light, probably 1¼ hours, when brush the top of cake with a small quantity of a mixture of milk and sugar. Sift pulverized sugar thickly over top. Place the cake in a moderately hot oven, so the cake may finish rising before commencing to brown on the top. Bake about 35 minutes.
"KAFFEE KRANTZ" (COFFEE WREATH)
- 1 cup sugar.
- ¾ cup butter and lard.
- 4 eggs.
- 1 pint milk.
- 1 Fleischman's yeast cake.
- 4 cups flour.
Cream together the sugar, butter, lard and eggs, add the milk, which has been scalded and allowed to cool; flour, and yeast cake, dissolved in a half cup of lukewarm water; beat well. Set this sponge to rise in a warm place, near the range, as early as possible in the morning. This will take about 1½ hours to rise. When the sponge is light add about 3 cups more of flour. The dough, when stiff as can be stirred with a spoon, will be right. Take about 2 cups of this sponge out on a well-floured bake-board, divide in three pieces, and braid and form into a wreath or "Krantz," or they may be made out into flat cakes and baked in pie tins after they have been raised and are light. Sprinkle sugar thickly over top after brushing with milk containing a little sugar, before placing in oven. These should rise in about 1½ hours. Place in a moderately hot oven and bake from 20 to 25 minutes. This recipe Frau Schmidt translated from the German language for Mary's especial benefit.
This coffee wreath is particularly fine if small pieces of crushed rock candy be sprinkled liberally over the top and blanched almonds stuck a couple of inches apart over the top just before placing the cake in the oven, after the cakes had been brushed with a mixture of milk and sugar.