Boil together a half-pound of sugar and a half-cupful of water until the syrup is thick enough to hang in a thick thread from a fork dipped into it. Stir in, a teaspoonful at a time, the stiffened whites of two eggs, beating them hard into the boiling syrup. Remove from the fire and beat until like thick cream, and cool; then add a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Spread on each layer of the cake, put the layers in a pile on top of one another and pour the remaining icing over the top layer, spreading it smoothly with a knife dipped in boiling water. Sprinkle the whole cake with powdered sugar while the frosting is still moist.
Mocha cake
Cream a half cupful of butter with one and a half cupfuls of sugar. Add three-quarters of a cupful of milk, and the stiffened whites of three eggs alternately with enough prepared flour to make a good batter. Bake in layers.
Filling for Mocha cake
Thicken a cupful of scalding milk with a tablespoonful of cornstarch wet with a little cold milk. Stir over the fire until smooth, then pour gradually on the yolks of three eggs that have been beaten light with a half cupful of sugar. Stir over the fire for three minutes, and set aside until almost cold, when beat in a gill of strong black coffee. Spread upon the cake layers.
Thanksgiving citron cake
Cream a cupful of butter with three cupfuls of powdered sugar, add a cupful of milk, and four cupfuls of prepared flour alternately with the stiffened whites of ten eggs. If too stiff lessen the quantity of flour. Flavor with rose-water, and stir in two cups of shredded citron, plentifully dredged with flour. Bake in an oven, not too hot, for two hours.
Minnehaha cake
Cream a half-cupful of butter with one and a half cupfuls of sugar, add the beaten yolks of four eggs; a half-pint of milk, and the stiffened whites of the eggs alternately with three even cupfuls of prepared flour, or enough to make a good batter. Bake in layer tins.