Five ounces of butter with six of sugar to the pound of flour, two large eggs, and a small quantity of milk, will be sufficient for quite cheap sugar cakes: any flavour can be given to them as to those which precede, and they can be rendered more or less sweet to the taste by altering the proportion of sugar: this should always be sifted, or at least reduced quite to powder, before it is used for them. One ounce more of butter will render them very good. They should be rolled a quarter of an inch thick.
Rich: to each lb. of flour, butter, 1/2 lb.; sugar, 3/4 lb.; eggs, 2 to 4. (Lemon-rinds, cinnamon, carraway-seeds, or ginger, or currants at choice), small pinch of salt. Slow oven about 20 minutes.
Obs.—The cakes should be but lightly coloured, and yet baked quite through.
FLEED OR FLEAD CAKES.
These are very much served as a tea-cake at the tables of the superior order of Kentish farmers. For the mode of making them, proceed as for flead-crust (see Chapter [XVI].); cut the cakes small with a round cutter, and leave them more than half an inch thick: if well made they will rise much in the oven. Bake them rather quickly, but keep them pale.
Flour, 2 lbs.; flead, 1-1/4 lb.; butter, 6 oz.: baked 10 to 15 minutes.
LIGHT BUNS OF DIFFERENT KINDS.
Quite plain buns without butter.—Very good light buns may be made entirely without butter, but they must be tolerably fresh when served. To make them, dilute very smoothly an ounce of sweet German yeast or a large tablespoonful of quite solid and well washed English yeast with a pint of warm new milk; mix this immediately with as much flour as it will convert into a rather thick batter, throw a double cloth over the pan, and place it where the warmth of the fire will search, without heating it. When it is well risen and bubbles appear on the top, add a little salt, some pounded sugar, and as much flour as will form it into a light dough. Leave it to rise again, when it will probably be too little firm for moulding with the fingers, and must be beaten up with a strong wooden spoon and put into cups or tin pans slightly buttered, to be baked. The buns should be sent to a quick oven, and baked until the entire surface is well browned. These directions may appear to the reader somewhat vague; but we must frankly state that we have no precise memorandum by us of this receipt, though we have had buns made by it very successfully in former years: we cannot, however, exactly recall the proportion of flour which was used for them, but believe it was about two pounds. For this quantity half a pound of sugar would be sufficient. The batter will be a long time rising to the proper height; an hour and a half or two hours. Currants, carraways, nutmeg, or mixed spices, can always be added at discretion.
It is usual to strew a few currants on the tops of the buns before they are baked.
To render them richer and firmer, it is merely necessary to diminish the proportion of milk, and to crumble up very small two or more ounces of butter in the flour which is added to the batter after it has risen. When again quite light, the dough may then be rolled into balls, and placed on flat tins some inches apart until they have spread to the proper shape. Confectioners generally wash the tops with milk, and sift a little sugar over them.