Indian batter cakes may be made as above; or rye and indian meal be mixed in equal proportions.
INDIAN CUP CAKES.—
A pint and a half of yellow Indian meal; half a pint of wheat flour; a pint and a half of sour milk; (buttermilk is best;) a small tea-spoonful of saleratus or soda dissolved in warm water; two eggs; a level tea-spoonful of salt. Sift the indian and wheat meal into a pan and mix them well, adding the salt. If you have no buttermilk or other sour milk at hand, turn some sweet milk sour by setting a pan of it in the sun, or stirring in a spoonful of vinegar. Take out a small tea-cupful of the sour milk, and reserve it to be put in at the last. Beat the eggs very light, and then stir them, gradually, into the milk, alternately with the meal, a little at a time of each. Lastly, dissolve the soda or saleratus, and stir it into the cup of sour milk that has been reserved for the purpose. It will effervesce; stir it while foaming into the mixture, which should be a thick batter. Have ready some tea-cups, or little deep tins. Butter them well; nearly fill them with the batter, and set them immediately into a rather brisk oven. The cakes must be thoroughly baked all through. When done, turn them out on large plates, and send them hot to the breakfast or tea-table. Split them into three pieces, and eat them with butter.
The soda will entirely remove the acidity of the milk, which will effervesce the better for being sour at first, adding therefore to the lightness of the cake. Taste the milk, and if you find that the slightest sourness remains, add a little more dissolved soda.
All the alkalies, pearlash, saleratus, soda, and sal-volatile, will remove acidity, and increase lightness; but if too much is used, they will impart a disagreeable taste. It is useless to put lemon or orange juice into any mixture that is afterwards to have one of these alkalies, as they will entirely destroy the flavor of the fruit.
CAROLINA RICE CAKES.—
Having picked and washed half a pint of rice, boil it by itself till the grains lose all form, and are dissolved into a thick mass or jelly. While warm, mix into it a large lump of the best fresh butter, and a salt-spoonful of salt. Pour into a bowl a moderate sized tea-cupful of ground rice flour, and add to it as much milk as will make a tolerably stiff batter. Stir it till it is quite smooth, and free from lumps. Then mix it thoroughly with the boiled rice. Beat six eggs as light as possible, and stir them, gradually, into the mixture. Bake it on a griddle, in cakes about as large round as a saucer. Eat them warm with butter; and have on the table, in a small bowl, some powdered white sugar and nutmeg, for those who like it.