The royal baker and pastry cook

by Royal Baking Powder Company

PASTRY CREAM

2 cups sugar, 1½ pints milk, 3 large tablespoons corn-starch, yolks of 5 eggs, 1 tablespoon good butter, 2 teaspoons extract vanilla. Bring the milk to a boil; with the sugar add the starch dissolved in a little cold water; as soon as it reboils, take from the fire. Beat in the egg yolks. Return to the fire 2 minutes to set the eggs. Add the extract and butter. Spread tops, when cold, with chocolate or vanilla icing.

Cream Cake.-¾ cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 1½ pints flour, 5 eggs, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, 1 cup milk. Rub the butter and sugar to a white, light cream. Add the eggs, 2 at a time, beating 5 minutes after each addition. Sift the flour with the powder, which add to the butter, etc., and the milk. Mix into rather thin batter, and bake in jelly-cake tins, well greased, in hot oven 15 minutes. When cold spread pastry cream between the layers, and ice the top with clear icing. (See pastry cream, above.)

Continental Fruit Cake.—1 pound butter, 1 pound sugar, 1½ pounds flour, 1 cup cream, 1 wine-glass each brandy and wine, 1 grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoon each mace and cloves, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt, 8 eggs, ¾ pound each raisins and currants, ½ pound shred citron. Put together as for centennial cake, and bake in 2 loaves in moderate oven, lining pans with 3 thicknesses of paper.

Cup Cake.—1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, 3 cups flour, 20 drops extract bitter almonds. Rub the butter and sugar to a cream. Add the eggs, 2 at a time, beating 5 minutes after each addition. Sift together the flour and powder, which add to the butter, etc., with the extract. Mix into a smooth, medium batter. Bake in well-greased cups or muffin-pans ([fig. VII]), in a rather hot oven, 20 minutes.

Currant Cake.—1 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, 1 pint flour, 1½ cups currants, washed and picked, 2 teaspoons extract cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon extract lemon. Rub the butter and sugar to a white, light cream. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating a few minutes after each. Add the flour sifted with the powder, the currants, and the extracts. Mix into a medium batter. Bake in paper-lined cake-tin ([fig. IX]) 50 minutes, in a moderate oven.

Currant Cake, No. 2.-½ cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 3 eggs, ½ cup milk, 2 cups flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1½ teaspoons Royal Baking Powder, 1 cup cleaned currants, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix flour, salt, and baking powder, dredge the currants. Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten yolks and vanilla. Beat in flour and milk; add whipped whites and currants, and beat hard. Bake in shallow pan in moderately hot oven.

Currant Cake (English).—1½ cups butter, 2 cups sugar, 7 eggs, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, ½ cup citron, in small thin slices, the rind of an orange, peeled very thin and cut in shreds, 2 cups currants, washed and picked, 1½ pints flour, 1 teaspoon extract nutmeg. Rub the butter and sugar to a white, light cream. Add the eggs, 2 at a time, heating 5 minutes after each addition. Sift the flour and powder together. Add it to the butter, etc., with the citron, orange peel, currants, and the extract. Bake in a thickly paper-lined tin ([fig. XIII]), 1 hour and 25 minutes, in a moderate oven.

Duchesse Cake.—1½ cups butter, 1 cup sugar, 6 eggs, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, 1 pint flour, 1 teaspoon extract cinnamon. Rub the butter and sugar to a light cream. Add the eggs, 2 at a time, beating 10 minutes after each addition. Sift together flour and powder, add to the butter, etc., with the extract. Mix into a medium thick batter, and bake in small, shallow, square pans ([fig. XII]), lined with thin white paper, in a steady oven 30 minutes. When they are taken from the oven, ice them.

Soft Gingerbread.-½ cup butter, 2 cups molasses, 1 cup sugar, 4 cups flour, 1 cup milk, 4 eggs, 1 teaspoon Royal Baking Powder, ginger and cloves to taste.