YEAST-POWDERS.—Get at a druggist’s a pound of super-carbonate of soda, and three-quarters of a pound of tartaric acid. Both these articles must be of the very best quality. Prepare an equal number of square blue papers, and square white papers; nicely folded. To be very accurate, weigh the articles alternately. In every blue paper put a hundred grains of the super-carbonate of soda, and in each white paper ninety grains of tartaric acid; and then fold them up so as to secure their contents. If you have not suitable scales and weights, you may guess tolerably well at the proportions of the articles by measuring a full tea-spoonful of the soda for each blue paper, and three-quarters of a tea-spoonful of the acid for each white paper. Put them up in boxes, and keep them in a dry place. The contents of one blue paper and of one white paper are considered as one yeast-powder; half the contents of each paper are called half a yeast-powder.
Yeast-powders of themselves have not sufficient power to raise bread or cakes so as to make them light enough to be wholesome. They should only be employed when real yeast, or eggs, are also used. Then they add greatly to the lightness of the cake. They are also an improvement to batter puddings. They must always be added at the last.
To use them, dissolve first the soda in a wine-glass and a half of milk or lukewarm water, and when thoroughly melted, stir it into the batter. Then melt in another cup the acid, with a similar quantity of milk or water, and stir it in at the last.
These powders entirely destroy the flavour of lemon or orange-juice. But they will convert sour milk into sweet. A yeast-powder added to buckwheat batter that has already been raised by real yeast, will render it surprisingly light. One blue and one white powder will suffice for two quarts of batter.
FINE WAFER CAKES.—Wash and squeeze half a pound of fresh butter in a pan of cold water. Then take it out, and cut it up in another pan, into which you have sifted half a pound of powdered white sugar; and stir them together with a spaddle (a round stick flattened at one end) till they are very light and creamy. Then stir in half a grated nutmeg, a small tea-spoonful of powdered mace, a glass of sherry or Madeira, and a glass of rose or lemon brandy. Put the whites of four eggs into a deep plate, beat them to a stiff froth with a whisk, and add the beaten white of eggs gradually to the mixture. Lastly, stir in as much sifted flour as will make a light soft dough or paste. Divide it into equal portions; flour your hands, and roll each portion in your palms till it becomes round like a small dumpling. Then having heated the wafer-iron, butter the inside, and put in one of the dumplings, making it to fit well. Put the wafer-iron into a clear hot fire, and bake each cake five minutes. When done, take them out carefully and lay them separately on an inverted sieve to cool.
This mixture may be more easily baked in thin flat cakes. Roll out the dough into a thin sheet, and then cut it into round cakes with the edge of a tumbler, or with a tin cutter of that circumference. Butter large square iron pans, and lay the cakes in them, but not so close as to touch. Put them into a quick oven, and bake them brown.
LANCASTER GINGERBREAD.—Cut up a quarter of a pound of fresh butter into two pounds of sifted flour; rub it well in, and add a small teacup of ground ginger, and a tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon. Stir in a pint and a half of West India molasses, and milk enough to make it into a thick batter. Lastly, add a tea-spoonful of soda dissolved in a little tepid water; and immediately after dissolve in another cup a salt-spoonful of tartaric acid, and stir that in. Stir the whole very hard. Butter square pans, put into them the mixture, and bake it well; seeing that the oven is not so hot as to scorch it. It requires very long baking. When cool, cut it into squares.