Steamed Johnny-Cake.—One pint of sour cream, one teaspoonful of soda, and one of salt. Stir in three table-spoonfuls of flour; then add corn meal enough to make a stiff batter. Beat one egg, and add to the batter; stir all carefully together, and pour into a well-buttered tin basin; set this into a bread-steamer, and keep the steam up for an hour, or more if the loaf is large. Serve with cream and sugar.
Corn-Meal Cake with Apples and Suet.—One pint scalded milk, or a half cup cream, or a pint of sour milk, one teacupful suet chopped fine, a table-spoonful sugar, a teaspoonful salt, six good-sized sweet apples chopped fine, three eggs well beaten, and a small teaspoonful of soda. Beat thoroughly, and bake in a shallow tin pan.
Muffins.—One pint of milk, one table-spoonful of butter, one pint of flour, a small teaspoonful of salt, three eggs, whites and yelks beaten separately and very stiff, a small even teaspoonful of soda; add the whites last, beat smartly and perfectly free from lumps. Butter the griddle, and bake in well-buttered rings. When the bottom is done, turn over the rings and bake the top, or put the rings on a well-buttered bake-pan and bake in a quick oven. We think them lighter and better so baked.
Another Way.—One quarter of a pound of butter, one teaspoonful salt, three eggs, one pint sweet milk, one quart flour, a heaping table-spoon of brewers’ yeast, or two of home-made yeast. Melt the butter and put into the milk, beat the eggs and put them also into the milk, then stir in flour and add the yeast. If for breakfast, set them to rise overnight. If at all sour, add half-teaspoonful of soda. Bake in well-buttered rings in a quick oven.
Cream Muffins.—One quart rich milk, or, if you can get it, half cream and half milk; one quart of flour heaping, six eggs, one table-spoonful of butter, one of lard; softened together. Beat whites and yelks separately very light; then add flour and shortening and a scant teaspoonful of salt, and stir in the flour the last thing, lightly as possible, and have the batter free from lumps. Half fill your well-buttered muffin-rings, and bake immediately in a hot oven, or your muffins will not be good. Send to table the moment they are done.
Another Way.—One teacup sour cream, two eggs, one half-teaspoonful of soda, thickened with flour about as stiff as waffles. Bake in a quick oven.
Raised Muffins.—One quart milk, a halfpenny’s worth of bakers’ yeast or half cup of home-made yeast, two table-spoonfuls white sugar, one of butter (lard will answer, but is not as good), one teaspoonful of salt, two eggs well beaten, and flour sufficient to make a stiff batter.
Make the batter overnight, leaving out the eggs. In the morning beat the eggs, yelks and whites separately, very light, and stir into the well-risen batter. Have the muffin-rings well greased, fill half full with the batter, and bake twenty minutes in a quick oven. Serve hot.
Hominy Muffins.—Wash a pint of small hominy through two or three waters, pour boiling water on it, cover, and let it soak for several hours. Then put it into a farina-kettle with half a pint of boiling water. Let it boil until soft enough to mash; drain it and mix it well with a pint of white corn meal or wheat flour, a little salt, and a pint and one half of milk in which two table-spoonfuls of butter have been melted. When nearly cold, add four table-spoonfuls of yeast; cover it, and set it in a warm place until very light, with the surface covered with bubbles. Butter some muffin-rings, set them on a hot griddle, pour into each a portion of the mixture, and bake them brown on both sides. Send them to table hot.
Quick Muffins.—Two teacups buttermilk, one of thick cream, or, if none, three even table-spoonfuls of melted butter, four eggs, half a teaspoonful of soda; thicken with prepared flour as thick as waffles.