THE PROCESS OF CAKE MAKING
All ordinary cakes are made in much the same way as to the order in which their ingredients are mixed. First the butter and sugar are creamed together, then the yolks of the eggs are beaten and added, with the milk, to the butter and sugar; then the flour, into which the cream of tartar and soda have been well mixed by sifting them together several times, is put in; and last, the beaten whites of the eggs.
Care in Baking. For sponge cake made with baking-powder, or soda and cream of tartar, an oven moderately heated will be required—that is, one of 300° Fahr., or one which will slightly brown a loaf in twenty minutes.
For sponge cake made without raising material, such as the old-fashioned kind, in which only eggs, sugar, and flour are used, a slow oven is necessary.
For butter cakes a temperature somewhere between 350° and 380° will not fail.
The baking of cake is the most difficult part of the process, on account of the constantly variable condition of ovens in common iron stoves, and because it is more easily spoiled than bread and other foods usually cooked in an oven. One is obliged to exercise a new judgment every time cake is made. Even thermometers are only a partial help, for if an oven has a temperature of 300° Fahr. at a certain time, there is no means of being sure what the temperature will be half an hour from then. However, by giving attention and some practice to it, one may gain considerable skill in managing fires. Should the cake be cooking too fast, and arranging the stove dampers does not lessen the heat, a piece of buttered paper laid over the top will protect it, and will not stick. Layer, or thin cakes, require a hotter oven than loaves.
Pans for baking cake should be lined with buttered paper (the buttered side up), letting it overlap the sides for about an inch to assist in lifting out the cake. An earthenware bowl and a wooden spoon should be used for mixing.
Get everything ready before beginning to mix cake, the oven first of all. Bake as soon as possible after the flour is in, for carbonic acid begins to be formed as soon as the soda and cream of tartar come in contact with the liquid, and some of it will escape unless the mixture is baked at once. Do not stop to scrape every bit from the bowl; that can be attended to afterward, and a little patty-cake made of what is left.
INVALID'S SPONGE CAKE
2 Cups of pastry flour measured after sifting.
1 Teaspoon of cream of tartar.
½ Teaspoon of soda (slightly scanted).
4 Eggs.
1½ Cups of powdered sugar.
½ Cup of water.
2 Tablespoons of lemon-juice.