Caraway Cake.—Beat to a cream four ounces each of butter and sugar, (cost twelve cents,) stir in two eggs, (cost two cents,) one gill of milk, (cost one cent,) one pound of sifted flour, (cost four cents,) and five cents' worth of caraway seed; bake the cake for two hours in a deep earthen dish, testing it with a clean broom splint to be sure it is done before you take it from the oven. It will cost about twenty-four cents.
Soft Gingerbread.—Melt one ounce of butter, (cost two cents,) add it to half a pint of molasses, (cost five cents,) with one level teaspoonful each of ground cloves, cinnamon, and ginger, (cost one cent;) dissolve one level teaspoonful of soda in half a pint of boiling water, mix this with the molasses, and lightly stir in half a pound of sifted flour (cost two cents;) line a cake-pan with buttered paper, pour in the batter, which will be very thin, and bake it about half an hour, or until you can run a broom-splint into it, and withdraw it clean. The cake, which will be a good size, will cost about ten cents.
Sweet Biscuits.—Rub four ounces of butter, (cost eight cents,) into one pound of flour, (cost four cents;) dissolve four ounces of sugar, (cost three cents,) in half a pint of warm milk, (cost two cents.) Pour this into the flour, mixing it smoothly; then dissolve half a level teaspoonful of cream of tartar in one gill of cold water, and stir it into the above ingredients. When they are thoroughly mixed, roll out the paste about quarter of an inch thick, cut it out in small round cakes, and bake them golden brown, at once, in a quick oven. A good supply will cost about seventeen cents.
CHAPTER X.
DESSERT DISHES.
The previous chapter was devoted to cheap and good sweet dishes of the kind usually called dessert in this country; the dessert proper, however, consists of fruit, creams, ices, small and delicate cakes, fancy crackers, and confectionery. We give here directions for making some of these enjoyable delicacies at a very moderate rate.
It must always be borne in mind that the prices quoted are those which prevail when the articles specified are in season, and consequently abundant and cheap. As apples are very plentiful, and generally cheap, we shall begin with dishes made from them.
Apple Black Caps.—Pare a quart of nice apples, core them without breaking, set them side by side in a baking dish that will just hold them, fill the centres with sugar, place two cloves in the top of each one, grate over them the yellow rind of a lemon or orange, and put them into a moderate oven only until they are tender; do not let them break apart. As soon as they are tender take them from the oven, heat a fire shovel red hot and hold it over them, near enough to blacken their tops. Serve either hot or cold.
A porcelain-lined baking dish, or a gratin pan, is the best dish for cooking the black-caps in, because either can be set upon a clean plate and sent to the table; if the apples have to be removed from the dish in which they were baked they may be broken, and then the appearance of the dish will be spoiled.