(4) Mixture is cooked when a slight pressure leaves no dent, or when a small skewer or fine knitting-needle put into the centre comes out clean and dry.
To the inexperienced minds of the girls in the Fourth Form, to whom the study of flour mixtures is new, the number and variety of these seems very large. All cook books give an almost endless collection of recipes for cakes, cookies, muffins, etc., and to the pupils each of these seems an entirely new mixture. In reality, many of them are but slight variations of the same type. A certain mixture of materials is used for a foundation, and numerous varieties are made from this by addition, subtraction, or substitution of ingredients. The original mixture is called a basic recipe. Instead of teaching isolated mixtures, it will be found an excellent idea to give the class the basic ingredients for a recipe and encourage them to suggest variations, either original or from memory.
Typical basic recipes for cake and biscuits are given below:
BASIC RECIPE FOR CAKE
| 1/4 cup butter | 1 1/2 cup flour |
| 3/4 cup sugar | 1/4 tsp. salt |
| 2 eggs | 2 tsp. baking-powder |
| 1/2 cup milk | 1/2 tsp. vanilla. |
VARIATIONS OF BASIC RECIPE FOR CAKE
1. Spice cake:
To the basic recipe add 1 tbsp. of spice. Sift in the spice with the flour.
2. Nut cake:
Add 1/2 cup of chopped nuts. Increase the baking-powder by one third. Put a little of the flour on the nuts and beat them in at the last.