Preface
The recipes in this book are English, French, Portuguese and Dutch; while some of the best come from America, which is the true land of cakes. All are good: the best I have starred.
Amateur cooks should know that for cakes to be successful it is almost imperative that they are made and baked by the same person. Delegation too often means ruin, the bond of sympathy between maker and baker being only in very rare instances sufficiently close to defeat the imp of mischief that lurks in every oven.
Lastly, I might say that the eggs cannot be too fresh, nor the butter too pure; and molasses is better than treacle.
E. D.
Table of Contents
General Directions for Cake-Making
Utensils.—Use earthenware bowls and wooden spoons for mixing.
Several sets of tins are necessary if cake is to be made often. One or two ordinary round tins, a tin with a hollow tube in the centre, square tins, and shallow round tins about 8 inches in diameter for jam sandwich and layer cakes, should be kept. A small dripping-pan is very good to bake gingerbread in, and for very light cakes the German tin with a loose bottom should be used. These tins are excellent, for the bottom can be pushed up, away from the sides, and there is no danger of the cake being broken in taking it out of the tin. They can be bought at Harrod’s Stores, Brompton Road.