Chapter VII: Part 7

EXCELLENT CURRANT-JELLY.--The currants should be quite ripe, but not _over_-ripe. Having picked them from the stems, put the fruit into a large stone jar, or pitcher, and tie closely over the top a very thick paper, (for instance, sugar-loaf paper, or coarse brown.) Set the jar into a kettle of boiling water, the water not quite reaching the top of the jar; and let the currants remain over a moderate fire an hour after they have begun to boil. Then pour them into a linen bag, and let the juice drip into a vessel beneath. Do not squeeze the bag, or the jelly will not be clear. When the juice has ceased to drip, measure it; and to each quart allow a pound of the best double-refined loaf-sugar, broken up. Crush the sugar small, by rolling it on a clean paste-board, with a rolling-pin. Put the juice (_without the sugar_) into a preserving-kettle, and let it just come to a boil. Then take it off; and, while it is very hot, immediately stir into it the sugar, a handful at a time, using a wooden spoon to stir it with. If the sugar is of the best sort, it will require no skimming, and will have no sediment. Therefore, as nothing of it will be lost or wasted, it is more economical than sugar of inferior quality. Put the jelly immediately into tumblers, or white jars, and cover it at once; first, with double white tissue-paper, cut to fit exactly the inside of the top; and then with writing-paper, cut larger, so as to turn downward, round the outside of the top. Paste the paper firmly on, and set the jelly away in a dry, cool place. Notch the edge of the paper, with scissors.

White currant-jelly may be made as above. It will be a clear, bright, amber colour.

Raspberry, strawberry, grape, gooseberry, and cranberry-jelly, can be made in this manner. For the gooseberry, allow a pound and a half of sugar to every pint of juice; for the cranberry, a pound and a half, also.

FINE BLACK CURRANT-JELLY.--Make black currant-jelly according to the above receipt; except that when you have stemmed the black currants, and put them into the jar, to boil, you must add a little water; allowing a small half-pint of water to each quart of the stemmed currants. The juice of black currants is so very thick, that, if undiluted, the jelly would be tough and ropy.

FOUR FRUIT JELLY.--Take equal quantities of ripe strawberries, raspberries, currants, and red cherries. All should be fully ripe, and the cherries must be stoned, taking care to save the juice that comes from them in stoning. Add it, afterwards, to the rest. Mix the fruit together, and put it in a linen bag. Squeeze it well into a tureen placed beneath. When it has ceased to drip, measure the juice; and to every pint, allow a pound and two ounces of the best double-refined loaf-sugar, finely powdered. Mix together the juice and the sugar. Put them into a porcelain preserving-kettle; set it over the fire, and let it boil half an hour--skimming it frequently. Try the jelly by dipping out a spoonful, and holding it in the open air. If it congeals readily, it is sufficiently done. Put the jelly warm into tumblers or other wide-topped glasses. Cover it with double-tissue paper, which must be white, and cut exactly to fit the surface of the jelly. Lay it nicely and smoothly inside the top of the glass, pressing it down with your fingers all round the edge. Then paste white paper over the top, and a little way down the sides of the glass, notching it round with scissors to make it fit the better.

Set away the jelly in a cool dry closet.

BARBERRY JAM.--Take barberries that are perfectly ripe. Pick them from the stems; and to each quart of berries, allow three-quarters of a pound of clean rich brown sugar. Mash the barberries, and put them with all their juice into a preserving-kettle, mixing with them the sugar, and stirring it well in. Boil and skim till the scum ceases to rise, and the jam has become a thick mass, which it will not be in less than an hour. Put it warm into stone or glass jars. Cover them immediately and paste down paper over their tops. It is a cheap and good sweetmeat for family use, either on the tea-table or in tarts.

Barberries in bunches may be put loosely into jars, and sufficient cold molasses poured in to fill up the vessels, which must be kept tightly covered. Frost grapes, also, can be kept in this homely manner.

DAMSON JAM.--Fill a stone jar with fine ripe damsons that have been washed in cold water but not dried. Cover it, set it in an open kettle with water which must not quite reach the neck of the jar, and place it over a hot fire. Let the water boil round the jar, till the stones of the damsons are all loose, and falling out from the pulp. Then transfer the damsons and their juice, to a broad pan, and carefully pick out all the stones. Next mash the pulp with a broad flat wooden ladle, or with a potatoe-masher, till it is all smooth and of an even consistence throughout. Then measure it; and to every quart of the pulp allow a pound and a half, or three large closely-packed pints of the best brown sugar. Stir the sugar and pulp well together, till it becomes a thick jam. Put the jam into a clean preserving-kettle, and boil it slowly an hour or more, skimming it well. When done, put it into broad flat stone jars, pressing it down, and smoothing the surface with the back of a large spoon. Cover the jars closely, and put them away in a cool dry place. If more convenient, you can put the jam into tumblers, pasting thick white paper closely over each. If properly made it will be so firm that you may cut it down in slices like cheese.

Plum jam may be made as above; but damsons are better for this purpose, and also for jelly, as the juice is much thicker and richer than that of plums.

It is an old-fashioned error to use unripe fruit for any sort of sweet-meat. When the fruit is thoroughly ripe it has more flavour, is far more wholesome, and keeps better.

AN EXCELLENT WAY OF PRESERVING STRAWBERRIES.--Select the largest and finest strawberries. Having hulled them, or removed the green tops, weigh the strawberries; and allow to each pound a pound of the best double-refined loaf-sugar, finely powdered. Divide the sugar into two equal portions. Put a layer of strawberries into the bottom of a preserving-kettle, and cover them with a layer of sugar; then a layer of strawberries; then a layer of sugar; until half the sugar is in. Next set the kettle over a moderate fire, and let it boil slowly, till all the sugar is melted. Then put in, gradually, the remainder of the sugar; and after it is all in, let it boil hard for five minutes, taking off the scum with a silver spoon; but there will be little or no scum if the sugar is of the very best quality. Afterwards remove the kettle from the fire, and take out the strawberries, one at a time, in a tea-spoon. Spread out the strawberries on large flat dishes, so as not to touch each other, and set them immediately in a cold place or on ice. Hang the kettle again on the fire and give the syrup one boil up; skimming it, if necessary. Place a fine strainer over the top of a mug or pitcher, and pour the syrup through it. Then put the strawberries into glass jars or tumblers; pour into each an equal portion of the syrup. Lay at the top a round piece of white paper dipped in brandy. Close the jars tightly, and paste paper over them.

Raspberries may be preserved as above. Also large ripe gooseberries. To each pound of gooseberries allow a pound and a half of sugar.

VERY FINE PRESERVED PEACHES.--Take fine ripe free-stone peaches; pare them; cut them in half and remove the stones. Have ready a sufficiency of the best double-refined loaf-sugar, finely powdered. Weigh the sugar and the peaches together, putting the sugar into one scale and the peaches into the other, and balancing them evenly. Put the peaches into a large pan or tureen, and strew among them one-half of the sugar. Cover them, and let them stand in a cool place till next morning. Then take all the juice from them, and put it into a porcelain preserving-kettle with the remainder of the sugar. Set it over a moderate fire, and boil and skim it. When it is boiling well, and the scum has ceased to rise, put in the peaches and boil them till they are perfectly clear, but not till they break; carefully skimming them. Boil with them a handful of fresh clean peach-leaves tied in a bunch. When quite clear take the peaches out of the syrup, and put them on a flat sloping dish to drain into a deep dish placed below it. Take this syrup that has drained from the peaches, put it to the syrup in the kettle, and give it one more boil up. Then throw away the leaves. Lay the peaches flat in small glass jars. Pour an equal portion of the hot syrup into each jar, and put on the top a table-spoonful of the best white brandy. Cork the jars, and paste down paper closely over the mouth of each.

COMMON PEACH JAM.--Take good ripe free-stone peaches, pare them, and cut them into small pieces, seeing that none are blemished in the least. Cover the bottom of a stone jar with a _thick_ layer of powdered sugar, (very good brown sugar will do when strict economy is expedient,) then put in a layer of the cut peaches, (without any cooking;) then another of sugar; then one of peaches, and so on till the jar is filled; packing the contents down as closely as possible. The top layer must be of sugar, spread on thickly. Cover the jar immediately, and paste paper down closely over the cover. This jam will be found very good for children; and for family use when fresh peaches are not to be had. It may be put into plain pies, or spread over the paste of a rolled-up pudding. If the peaches are free from decay-spots, and the sugar in sufficient abundance, the jam will keep many months; always excluding the air from the jar.

TO PRESERVE GREEN GAGES.--Take gages that are perfectly ripe. Weigh them; and to each pound of fruit allow a pound of the best double-refined loaf-sugar, broken up. Put a layer of grape-leaves in the bottom and round the sides of your preserving-kettle. Then put in the gages, interspersing them thickly with vine-leaves, and covering them with a thick layer. Pour in just enough of water to keep them from burning. Set the kettle over the fire, cover it, and let it simmer slowly till the gages are well greened. Then take them out, and spread them on a large dish to cool. Afterwards prick them in several places with a needle. Having washed the kettle clean, put the sugar into it with a very little water,--about half a pint to each pound of sugar. Set it over the fire, and boil and skim it till no more scum rises. Then put in the gages, and boil them half an hour. When done, and cold, put them into glass jars, and pour the syrup over them. Paste paper closely down over the lids of the jars.

FINE BRANDY PEACHES.--Take large ripe free-stone peaches: the white ones are best for this purpose. Having rubbed off the wool with a clean flannel, put the peaches whole into boiling water, just to scald, but not to boil them. Having remained in about five minutes, take them out, and put them into cold water for an hour or more. After which, drain them in a sieve, and wipe them dry. While the peaches are cooling, prepare a syrup for them; allowing two pounds of the best double-refined loaf-sugar, and the white of two eggs, and a pint of water, to two dozen large peaches. Having broken up the sugar, put it into a preserving kettle. Beat the white of egg to a stiff froth, and stir it into the water. Then pour the water on the sugar, and let it dissolve before you set the kettle over the fire; stirring it several times. Boil and skim it well. When it is nearly up to the top, throw in a small tea-cup of cold water. When it rises again, take it off the fire, and let it stand close to it for a quarter of an hour; then skim it well, and pour it carefully into a pitcher, taking care not to disturb any sediment that may remain at the bottom of the preserving kettle. Put the peaches into wide-mouthed glass jars, and pour into every jar an equal portion of the syrup. Then fill up the jars with the best white brandy. Cork them tightly, and paste paper closely over the tops; or tie on each a piece of bladder, that has first been soaked to make it contract and fit the closer when dry.

EXCELLENT BRANDY PEACHES.--Take fine large free-stone peaches, quite ripe, but not too soft. Put them into a pan containing a weak solution of sal-eratus and water; and let them lie in it till you find, upon trial, that the wool can be easily rubbed off with a coarse clean towel. Weigh them; and to each pound of peaches allow a pound of broken-up loaf-sugar,--the best double-refined. Then crush the sugar by rolling it with a rolling-pin. Have ready some large glass jars, with lacquered tin covers. Put a layer of sugar into the bottom of each jar; then a layer of peaches; then sugar; then peaches; and so on till the jar is very nearly full,--the upper layer being of sugar. Then pour in some of the best white brandy till the jars are filled quite to the top. Cover them closely, and set them into a large flat-bottomed kettle of cold water. The water must be a little below the tops of the jars. Place the kettle over a moderate fire, and keep the peach-jars boiling in it half an hour after they have come to a boil. Then set them away in your sweetmeat closet.

As the lids of glass jars seldom fit tightly, put beneath each lid a round of thick, soft white paper, and cover the top of the outside with a piece of bladder tied down.

BRANDY PEARS may be done as above. It is customary to leave the stems on. Rub off, upon some lumps of the sugar before crushing it, the yellow rind of several fresh lemons, and squeeze the lemon-juice among the crushed sugar. Allow the rind and juice of one large lemon to a small jar of pears. In whatever way pears are cooked, they should always be flavoured with lemon; otherwise they will be insipidly sweet.

To colour them a fine red, tie up a little cochineal, or some well-picked alkanet, in a very thin muslin or bobbinet bag, and boil it with the pears. When done, take out the bag.

BRANDY PEACHES THE FRENCH WAY.--Put large white peaches (a few at a time) into scalding lye. Let them rest for a minute or two, till the skin loosens so that it can be easily peeled off. Next put the peaches into cold water, and let them remain till you have hot water ready to scald them. After scalding, put into a large, broad preserving kettle as many peaches as will lie side by side in the bottom. Pour on as much cold water as will rather more than cover them; set the kettle over a clear fire; and let them boil till they are soft enough to be easily dented when pressed by your finger. Take them out; place them with the stem end downward, on an inverted sieve set on a large dish. Then put some more peaches into the kettle; add more cold water; boil them; and put them to drain afterwards. Repeat this till all your peaches have had a boil. Spread them on large dishes, and let them stand all night in a cold place. Mix together some of the best white brandy and the best loaf-sugar, powdered fine,--allowing a pound of sugar to every pint of brandy. Stir it well while the sugar is dissolving; and when melted, set it also in a cold place, and let it stand all night. In the morning, put the peaches into glass jars, which should be all of the same size, and fill them up with the brandy syrup; allowing an equal portion to each jar. Cover the jars closely, and paste white paper over their tops.

BRANDY GREEN GAGES.--Take the largest and finest green gages, quite ripe. Prick every one with a needle in several places. Spread fresh grape-leaves over the bottom, and round the sides of a preserving kettle. Put in a layer of green gages and a layer of grape-vine leaves, alternately, adding to each layer a bit of alum but little larger than a grain of indian corn. Cover the last layer of fruit thickly with vine-leaves; fill up the kettle with cold water, and place it over a moderate fire. Simmer the fruit slowly, but do not let it break. When the gages are hot all through, take them out, and throw them into _cold_ water. Afterwards weight them; and to every pound of fruit, allow a pound of the best double-refined loaf-sugar, powdered. Remove the vine-leaves from the preserving-kettle, and put into it the sugar, with barely sufficient water to keep it from burning. Stir the sugar well with the water till it is dissolved, adding to every three pounds the beaten white of an egg. Place the kettle over the fire, and boil and skim till very clear, and the scum ceases to rise. Then take it off, measure it, and to every pint of syrup allow a large half-pint of the best and clearest brandy. Mix the syrup and brandy together. Having well drained the green gages from the cold water, put them (two-thirds full) into glass jars. Fill the jars up to the top with the liquor, poured on warm. Cover them closely, pasting paper over the lids, and set them in a dry, cool closet.

If the gages are not green enough with the first simmering, get fresh vine-leaves, and simmer them again very slowly, hanging the kettle high.

Instead of vine-leaves, you may green any preserves by boiling them with layers of the green husks that surround the ears of young indian corn.

BRANDY GRAPES.--For this purpose the grapes should be in large close bunches, and quite ripe. Remove every grape that is the least shrivelled, or in any way defective. With a needle prick each grape in three places. Have ready a sufficiency of double-refined loaf-sugar, powdered and sifted. Put some of the sugar into the bottom of your jars. Then put in a bunch of grapes, and cover it thickly with sugar. Then another bunch; then more sugar, and so on till the jar is nearly full; finishing with a layer of sugar. Then fill up to the top with the best white brandy. Cover the jars as closely as possible, and set them away. They must not go over the fire. The grapes should be of the best quality, either white or purple.

ICED GRAPES.--Take large close bunches of fine ripe thin-skinned grapes, and remove any that are imperfect. Tie a string in a loop to the top of the stem. Strain into a deep dish a sufficient quantity of white of egg. Dip the bunches of grapes into it, immersing them thoroughly. Then drain them, and roll them about in a flat dish of finely-powdered loaf-sugar till they are completely coated with it, using your fingers to spread the sugar into the hollows between the grapes. Hang up the bunches by the strings till the icing is entirely dry. They should be dried in a warm place. Send them to the supper-table at a party, on glass dishes.

Ripe currants may be iced as above. Raspberries, strawberries, ripe gooseberries, plums and cherries, may be thus dipped in white of egg, and rolled in sugar.

AMERICAN PRUNES.--Take the largest and finest purple plums, (oval or long-shaped if you can get them.) They must be quite ripe. Spread them separately on flat dishes, and set them in a large oven, directly after the bread, pies, &c., have been taken out. Let the plums stay in till the oven is cool; taking them out and turning them over two or three times. If you bake every day, put in the plums as before, till they are sufficiently dry. Otherwise; set the dishes in a balcony, or on the roof of an out-house, or in some place where they will be exposed to the hot sun. It will be well to cover them with thin gauze, to keep off wasps, flies, &c. Continue to set them every day in the sun till they are well dried, and look like prunes. Then pack them down in jars or boxes; laying orange or lemon-leaves among them.

TO STEW DRIED PEACHES.--Dried peaches can be used for no purpose without first being thoroughly stewed. They should be soaked for some hours before cooking. Take a sufficient quantity, and put them over night into a pan, (having first picked out all that are defective,) and wash them well through two cold waters. Drain them, lay them in a clean pan, and fill it up with scalding water. Cover them closely, and let them stand all night. In the morning pour off the water, leaving just enough of it about the peaches to keep them from burning when stewed, and transfer them to a clean earthen pipkin or a sauce-pan. Set them over a moderate fire, or on a bed of hot coals, (renewing the live coals when necessary,) and let them stew till thoroughly done, and quite soft, so that every piece can be mashed to a jam. While stewing, stir them up frequently from the bottom, mashing them with the back of the spoon against the sides of the pipkin. Keep them well covered, except when you are stirring. When quite done, transfer them to a deep dish, and mix with them, while they are smoking hot, a large portion of brown sugar, so as to make them very sweet. Set them away to cool. They will then be ready to use for pies, puddings, or as sauce to roast meat.

DRIED APPLES should be soaked and stewed as above. They will be much improved by stewing with them some thin slips of the yellow rind of lemon or orange; or by the addition of a few cloves.

Sugar should always be added after the fruit is done stewing, and while still hot. If put in at first, it renders the fruit hard and tough; besides that much of the sweetness is wasted in evaporation.

BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES.

INDIANA BATTER CAKES.--Sift into a pan three large pints of yellow corn-meal; and add a large table-spoonful of fresh lard; or of nice drippings of roast beef, well cleared from fat. Add a small tea-spoonful of sal-eratus, or a large one of soda, dissolved in a little warm water. Next make the whole into a soft dough, with a pint of cold water. Afterwards thin it to the consistence of a moderate batter, by adding, gradually, not quite a pint and a half of warm water. When it is all mixed, continue to stir it well for half an hour. Have ready a griddle heated over the fire, and bake the batter in the manner of buckwheat-cakes; send them to table hot, and eat them with butter or molasses.

These cakes are very light and good, and convenient to make; as they require neither eggs, milk, nor yeast. They may either be baked as soon as mixed, or they may stand for an hour or more.

KENTUCKY BATTER CAKES.--Sift a quart of yellow indian meal into a large pan; mix with it two large table-spoonfuls of wheat flour, and a salt-spoonful of salt. Warm a pint and a half of rich milk in a small sauce-pan, but do not let it come to a boil. When it begins to simmer, take it off the fire, and put into it two pieces of fresh butter, each about the size of a hen’s egg. Stir the butter into the warm milk till it melts, and is well mixed. Then stir in the meal, gradually, and set the mixture to cool. Beat four eggs, very light, and add them, by degrees, to the mixture, stirring the whole very hard. If you find it too thin, add a little more corn-meal. Have ready a griddle heated over the fire, and bake the batter on it, in the manner of buckwheat-cakes. Send them to table hot, and eat them with butter, to which you may add molasses or honey.

RYE BATTER-CAKES.--Beat two eggs very light. Mix them, gradually, with a quart of lukewarm milk, and sufficient rye-meal to make a batter about as thick as for buckwheat-cakes. Then stir in a large table-spoonful of the best brewer’s yeast; or twice that quantity, if the yeast is home-made. Cover it, and set it to rise in a warm place. If too thin, add more rye-meal. When quite light, and covered on the surface with bubbles, bake it on a griddle, in the manner of buckwheat cakes. Butter them, and eat them warm, at breakfast or tea.

If you cannot obtain good yeast, and wish to have the cakes ready with as much expedition as possible, you may use patent yeast-powders, according to the directions that accompany them. In this case, the cakes must be baked in half an hour after the powders are mixed into the batter.

Yeast-powders, put in at the last, are an improvement to all sorts of batter-cakes that have been previously raised with good _real_ yeast; also to cakes made light by eggs. But to depend _entirely_ on the powders, without either real yeast, or eggs, is not well; as the cakes, though _eatable_, are generally too tough and leathery to be wholesome. In cities, fresh yeast, from the brewers, can be obtained every day, at a very trifling cost, during the brewing season; which is usually from October till April. At other seasons, it can be procured from the bakers, or made at home; and should always be used in preference to depending solely on yeast-powders. Though they improve the lightness of batter, for which real yeast or beaten eggs have already been used, they will not, of themselves alone, give it a wholesome degree of either lightness or crispness. Too much dependence on yeast-powders is one reason that the buckwheat-cakes of the present day are so inferior to those of former times, when they were always made with real yeast.

Indian batter-cakes may be made as above.

HARLEM CAKES.--Sift into a pan three pints of flour. Warm, in a sauce-pan, a pint of milk, and cut up in it half a pound of fresh butter. When the butter is soft enough to mix with the milk, stir them well together, and remove the sauce-pan from the fire. Beat three eggs, very light, and mix them with the milk and butter, after they have cooled. Then make a hole in the middle of the flour, and pour in the mixture, and two large table-spoonfuls of strong fresh yeast. With a spoon, mix the flour into the liquid, till the whole is thoroughly incorporated. Then cover the pan with a thick woollen cloth, and set it near the fire, to rise. It should be light in about five hours; perhaps sooner. When quite light, mix in a tea-spoonful of soda, dissolved in a very little warm water; divide the dough into long oval cakes, or rolls; knead each separately. Sprinkle an iron baking-pan with flour; put in the cakes; cover the pan, and let it stand half an hour before baking. Bake the cakes in a moderate oven. Eat them fresh, with butter. They are excellent tea cakes. Of course, they must be mixed in the forenoon.

BREAD MUFFINS.--Take four thick slices of _baker’s bread_, and cut off all the crust. Lay them in a pan, and pour boiling water over them; but barely enough to soak them well. Cover the bread, and after it has stood an hour, drain off the water, and stir the soaked bread till it is a smooth mass; then mix in two table-spoonfuls of sifted flour, and a half-pint of milk. Having beaten two eggs very light, stir them, gradually, into the mixture. Grease some muffin-rings; set them on a hot griddle, and pour into each a portion of the mixture. Bake them brown; send them to table hot; pull them open with your fingers, and spread on butter. They will be found an excellent sort of muffin; very light and nice.

SWEET POTATOE PONE.--Stir together, till very light and white, three quarters of a pound of fresh butter, and three quarters of a pound of powdered white sugar, adding two table-spoonfuls of ginger. Grate a pound and a half of sweet potatoe. Beat eight eggs, very light, and stir them, gradually, into the butter and sugar, in turn with the grated sweet potatoe. Dissolve a tea-spoonful of sal-eratus or soda, in a gill of sour milk, and stir it in at the last, beating the whole very hard. Butter the inside of a tin pan. Put in the mixture, and bake it four hours, or more. It should be eaten fresh.

RICE BREAD.--To a pint of well-boiled rice, add half a pint of wheat-flour, mixing them well together. Take six eggs, and beat the whites and yolks separately. Having beaten the whites to a stiff froth, mix them, gradually, with a pint of rich milk, and two large table-spoonfuls of fresh butter, softened at the fire. Mix, by degrees, the yolks of the eggs with the rice and flour. Then add the white-of-egg mixture, a little at a time. Stir the whole very hard. Put it into a buttered tin pan, with straight or upright sides. Set it in a moderate oven, and bake it an hour or more. Then turn it out of the pan, put it on a dish, and send it warm to the breakfast-table, and eat it with butter.

This cake may be baked, by setting the pan that contains it, into an iron dutch-oven, placed over hot coals. Heat the lid of the oven on the inside, by standing it up, before the fire, while the rice-bread is preparing, and, after you put it on, keep the lid covered with hot coals.

Rice-bread may be made of ground rice-flour, instead of whole rice.

RICE-FLOUR BREAD.--Sift into a pan a pint and a half of rice-flour, and a pint and a half of fine wheat-flour. Add two large table-spoonfuls of fresh butter, or lard; and mix in a pint and a half of milk. Beat four eggs, very light, and then stir them, gradually, into the mixture. When the whole has been well-mixed, add, at the last, a small tea-spoonful of soda, or sal-eratus, dissolved in as much warm water as will cover it. Put the whole into a buttered tin pan; set it, immediately, into a quick oven, and bake it well. It is best when eaten fresh. Slice and butter it.

RICE-FLOUR BATTER-CAKES.--Melt a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, or lard, in a quart of milk; but be careful not to let it begin to boil. Divide the milk equally, by putting it into two pans. Beat three eggs, very light, and stir them into one half of the milk, with the addition of a large table-spoonful of wheat-flour. Stir in as much ground rice-flour as will make a thick batter. Then put in a _small_ tea-cupful of strong, fresh yeast, and thin the batter with the remainder of the milk. Cover it, and set it to rise. When it has risen high, and is covered with bubbles, bake it on a griddle, in the manner of buckwheat-cakes. Send them to table hot, and butter them.

Similar cakes may be made with indian-meal, instead of rice-flour.

LONG ROLLS.--Sift three quarts of flour into a large pan, and mix with it a tea-spoonful of salt. Warm half a pint of water, but do not let it become hot. Mix with it six table-spoonfuls of strong, fresh yeast. Make a deep hole in the middle of the pan of flour. Pour in the liquid, and, with a spoon, work into it the flour, round the edge of the hole; proceeding gradually till you have all the flour mixed in, so as to form a batter. Stir it well, for two or three minutes. Then strew the top all over with a handful of dry flour. Cover the dough with a thick, double cloth, and set it in a warm place, to rise. When it is quite light, and the surface cracked all over, mix in three table-spoonfuls (not more) of lard, or fresh butter. Knead it long and hard, and make it into long, oval-shaped rolls, making, with a knife, a cleft in the top of each. Sprinkle some square baking-pans with flour; lay the rolls in them, at equal distances; cover them, as before; and set them in a warm place, for half an hour. In the meantime, have the oven ready; put in the rolls, and bake them brown.

Their lightness may be improved by mixing in (while kneading the dough, previous to forming it into cakes) a heaping tea-spoonful of soda, or sal-eratus, dissolved in as much warm water as will cover it.

In cold weather, you may mix these rolls with milk, instead of water; but in summer the milk may turn sour, and spoil the dough. This, however, may be corrected, by adding the soda, or sal-eratus; always a good remedy for sour dough or batter.

POTATOE ROLLS.--Take fine large potatoes. Boil, peel, and mash them. Then rub the mashed potatoe through a sieve. To each potatoe allow a pint of sifted flour; a table-spoonful of strong fresh yeast; a jill of milk-warm water; a salt-spoon of salt; the yolk of an egg; and a bit of fresh butter about the size of a large hickory-nut. Mix together in a large broad pan the flour, the mashed potatoe, and the salt. Make a hole in the centre of the mixture, and pour into it the yeast mixed with the warm water. Sprinkle a little flour over the top, and mix in a little from round the sides of the hole. Cover it with a clean towel, and over that a flannel, and set it near the fire to rise. When the dough is quite light, and cracked all over the surface, knead in the butter and also the yolks of eggs, having previously beaten them well, and add a small tea-spoonful of soda dissolved in a little warm water. Then divide the dough into equal parts, make it into long-shaped rolls, and lay them in a tin or iron pan sprinkled with flour. Cover them, and again set them to rise in a warm place. When perfectly light, (which should be in about an hour,) set the pan into the oven, and bake the rolls brown. They are best when quite fresh. Pull them open with your fingers, and eat them with butter.

CAKES, ETC.

TO BEAT EGGS.--In making cakes it is of the utmost importance that the eggs should be properly and sufficiently beaten; otherwise the cakes will most certainly be deficient in the peculiar lightness characterizing those that are made by good confectioners. Home-made cakes, if good in other respects, are too frequently (even when not absolutely heavy or streaked) hard, solid and tough. This often proceeds from too large a portion of flour, and too small an allowance of butter and eggs. The richest cake that can be made (provided it is light and well baked) is less unwholesome than what are called plain cakes, if they are solid or leathery. Cakes cannot be crisp and light without a due proportion of the articles that are to make them so; and even then, the ingredients must be thoroughly stirred or beaten; and of course thoroughly baked afterwards.

Persons who do not know the right way, complain much of the fatigue of beating eggs, and therefore leave off too soon. There will be no fatigue, if they are beaten with the proper stroke, and with _wooden_ rods, and in a shallow, flat-bottomed _earthen_ pan. The coldness of a tin pan retards the lightness of the eggs. For the same reason do not use a metal egg-beater. In beating them do not move your elbow, but keep it close to your side. Move only your hand at the wrist, and let the stroke be quick, short, and horizontal; putting the egg-beater always down to the bottom of the pan, which should therefore be shallow. Do not leave off as soon as you have got the eggs into a foam; they are then only _beginning_ to be light. But persist till after the foaming has ceased, and the bubbles have all disappeared. Continue till the surface is smooth as a mirror, and the beaten egg as thick as a rich boiled custard; for till then it will not be really light. It is seldom necessary to beat the whites and yolks separately, if they are afterwards to be put together. The article will be quite as light, when cooked, if the whites and yolks are beaten together, and there will then be no danger of their going in streaks when baked. The justly-celebrated Mrs. Goodfellow, of Philadelphia, always taught her pupils to beat the whites and yolks together, even for sponge-cake; and lighter than hers no sponge-cake could possibly be.

When white of egg is to be used without any yolk, (as for lady-cake, maccaroons, meringues, icing, &c.,) it should be beaten till it stands alone on the rods; not falling when held up.

Hickory rods for egg-beating are to be had at the wooden-ware shops, or at the turner’s. For stirring butter and sugar together, nothing is equal to a wooden spaddle. It should be about a foot long, and flattened at the end like that of a mush-stick, only broader. Spoons are very tedious and inconvenient either for beating eggs or stirring butter and sugar, and do not produce the proper lightness.

BOSTON CAKE.--Put a pound of powdered white sugar into a deep pan, and cut up in it a pound of fresh butter. Stir the butter and sugar together till perfectly light. Then add a powdered nutmeg, a table-spoonful of powdered mace and cinnamon mixed together, and a large wine-glass of excellent brandy. If the brandy is of bad quality it will give the cake a disagreeable taste. If very good, it will highly improve the flavour, and also add to the lightness of the cake. Sift into a pan a pound of flour. In another pan beat six eggs till very thick and smooth. Stir them gradually into the butter and sugar, alternately with the flour, and a pint of rich milk or cream, a little of each at a time. Have ready a level tea-spoonful (not heaped) of pearlash, or sal-eratus, (or a full tea-spoonful of bi-carbonate of soda,) dissolved in as much warm water as will cover it. Add this at the last, and then give the whole a very hard stirring. Butter a large square pan. Put in the mixture. Set it immediately into the oven, and bake it thoroughly. It requires very long baking. A thick square Boston cake will scarcely be done in less than three hours. At the end of the first hour, increase the heat of the oven, and also at the second. When cool, sift powdered sugar over it, and cut it into squares.

If properly made, and well-baked, (following exactly the above directions,) this cake will be found excellent, and will seem fresh longer than any other; the milk keeping it soft.

Milk turned sour is very good for Boston cake; as by stirring the dissolved pearlash or soda into the milk, the acidity will be entirely removed, and the alkali rendered more effective in increasing the lightness of the cake. Still great care will be necessary in baking it.

The best confectioners make this cake every day without any failure.

ALBANY CAKE.--Sift three pounds of flour into a pan. Stir together a pound of fresh butter, and a pound of brown sugar. Mix together a pint of West India molasses, and half a pint of rich milk. Have ready a pound and a half of raisins, seeded, cut in two, and well dredged with flour to prevent their sinking. Beat five eggs very light, and mix them gradually with the milk and molasses, adding a glass of brandy, and a table-spoonful of cinnamon powdered. Add the mixture gradually to the beaten butter and sugar, alternately with the flour, a little at a time of each. Next stir in a small teacup-full of strong fresh yeast. Then sprinkle in the raisins. Lastly, stir in a very small tea-spoonful of bi-carbonate of soda, or a still smaller portion of sal-eratus, dissolved in as much lukewarm water as will cover it. Stir the whole mixture long and hard. Cover it, and set it in a warm place to rise. When quite light, butter a deep tin pan, put in the mixture, and bake it in a loaf. It will require very long and steady baking.

Like all others that have yeast in them, this cake is best when fresh.

AUSTRIAN CAKE.--Take a thick straight-sided pound cake about the circumference of a large dinner-plate, and cut it horizontally into slices, the whole breadth of the cake, and rather more than half an inch thick. Spread each slice, thickly and smoothly, with marmalade of peach, raspberry, strawberry, or orange. The marmalade may be all the same, or of a different sort on each slice. Lay the slices, nicely, and evenly, one upon another, taking care that none of the marmalade oozes down from between the edges. Then make a thick icing of white of egg and powdered loaf-sugar, and flavour it with rose or orange-flower water. Heap a large portion of it on the centre of the cake, and with a broad knife (dipped frequently in cold water) spread it smoothly all over the top and sides. Then set it away to harden. You may ornament it by putting icing into a small syringe and pressing it out into the form of a centre-piece and border of flowers. To do this requires practice, taste, and ingenuity.

When the cake is to be eaten, cut it down into triangular pieces; each including a portion of the different layers of marmalade.

Instead of marmalade you may use for this cake, fresh strawberries, mashed smoothly and sweetened with white sugar.

MADISON CAKE.--Pick clean two pounds of sultana raisins, (those that have no seeds,) and cut them in half. If you cannot procure the sultana, use the bloom or muscatel raisins, removing all the seeds. When the raisins are cut in two, dredge them _thickly_ on all sides with flour, to prevent their sinking or clodding in the cake while baking. Sift into a pan a pound and three quarters (_not more_) of flour. Cut up a pound of fresh butter into a deep pan. Mix with it a pound of white lump-sugar finely powdered; and stir them together till they become a thick, white, cream. Have ready a tea-spoonful of powdered nutmeg, and a table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon, and mix these spices, gradually, with the butter and sugar. Beat fourteen eggs (_not fewer_) till very light and thick. Then stir them, gradually, into the beaten butter and sugar, alternately with the flour and a pint of rich milk, (sour milk will be best.) Add at the last a very small tea-spoonful of pearlash, or of bi-carbonate of soda, dissolved in a large wine-glass of brandy. Give the whole a hard stirring, and then put it immediately into a deep circular tin pan, the sides and bottom of which have been first well greased with fresh butter. Set it directly into a well-heated oven, and let it bake from five to six hours, according to its size. It requires long and steady baking. When cool, cover it (top and sides) with a thick icing, made in the usual way of beaten white of egg and sugar, and flavoured with rose-water or lemon.

If the above directions are closely followed this will be found a very fine cake, and it will keep soft and fresh a week if the air is carefully excluded from it.

It will be still better, if in addition to the two pounds of raisins, you mix in two pounds of Zante currants, picked, washed, dried before the fire, and then well floured. Half a pound of citron cut into slips and floured, may also be added.

STRAWBERRY CAKES.--Sift a small quart of flour into a pan, and cut up among it half a pound of the best fresh butter; or mix in a pint of butter if it is soft enough to measure in that manner. Rub with your hands the butter into the flour, till the whole is crumbled fine. Beat three eggs very light; and then mix with them three table-spoonfuls of powdered loaf-sugar. Wet the flour and butter with the beaten egg and sugar, so as to form a dough. If you find it too stiff, add a very little cold water. Knead the dough till it quits your hands, and leaves them clean. Spread some flour on your paste-board, and roll out the dough into a rather thick sheet. Cut it into round cakes with the edge of a tumbler, or something similar; dipping the cutter frequently into flour to prevent its sticking. Butter some large square iron pans or baking sheets. Lay the cakes in, not too close to each other. Set them in a brisk oven, and bake them light brown. Have ready a sufficient quantity of ripe strawberries, mashed and made very sweet with powdered white sugar. Reserve some of your finest strawberries whole. When the cakes are cool, split them, place them on flat dishes, and cover the bottom piece of each with mashed strawberry, put on _thickly_. Then lay on the top pieces, pressing them down. Have ready some icing, and spread it thickly over the top and down the sides of each cake, so as to enclose both the upper and lower pieces. Before the icing has quite dried, ornament the top of every cake with the whole strawberries, a large one in the centre, and the smaller ones placed round in a close circle.

These are delicious and beautiful cakes if properly made. The strawberries, not being cooked, will retain all their natural flavour. Instead of strawberries you may use raspberries. The large white or buff-coloured raspberry is the finest, if to be eaten uncooked.

PEACH CAKES.--Pick clean and wash a quart of dried peaches, and let them stew all night in as much clear water as will cover them. In the morning, drain off most of the water, leaving only as much of it about the peaches as will suffice to prevent them from burning after they are set over the fire. It will be best to have them soaked in the vessel in which you intend to stew them. Keep them covered while stewing, except when you take off the lid to stir them up from the bottom. When they are all quite soft, and can be mashed into a smooth jam or marmalade, mix in half a pound of brown sugar, and set the peaches to cool. In the mean time, soften a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter in half a pint of warm milk, heated on the stove, but not allowed to come to a simmer. Sift a pound of flour into a pan; pour in the warm milk and butter (first stirring them well together) and a wine-glass of strong, fresh yeast. Mix the whole into a dough. Cover it, and set it in a warm place to rise. When quite light and cracked all over the surface, flour your paste-board, put the dough upon it; mix in a small tea-spoonful of sub-carbonate of soda, and knead it well; set it again in a warm place for half an hour. Then divide the dough into equal portions, and make it up into round cakes about the size in circumference of the top of a tumbler. Knead each cake. Then roll them out into a thin sheet. Have ready the peach jam, mashed very smooth, and with a portion of it cover thickly the half of each cake. Fold over the other half, so as to enclose the peach jam in the form of a half-moon. Bring the two edges closely together and crimp them neatly. Lay the cakes in buttered square pans, and bake them brown. When done grate sugar over the top. These cakes are nice for children, being very light, if properly made and baked. They are by no means rich, and are good substitutes for tarts.

Similar cakes may be made with stewed apple, flavoured with lemon and sweetened. Or with raspberries, or any other convenient fruit stewed to a jam.

SMALL LEMON CAKES.--Break up a pound of fine loaf-sugar, and on some of the lumps rub off all the yellow rind of four lemons. Then powder all the sugar. Beat to a stiff froth the whites of three eggs. Mix the sugar, gradually (a tea-spoonful at a time) with the beaten white of egg, so as to make a paste, stirring it very hard. Spread some white paper (cut exactly to fit) on the bottom of a square shallow baking-pan. Place equal portions of the paste at regular distances on this paper, making them into round heaps, and smoothing their surfaces with the back of a spoon or a broad-bladed knife, dipped frequently in cold water. Put the cakes into a moderate oven and bake them a light brown. When cool take them off the paper.

You may make orange cakes in this manner.

Strawberry cakes may be made as above, mixing the juice of ripe strawberries with the sugar. Raspberry cakes also.

FINE HONEY CAKE.--Mix a quart of strained honey with half a pound of powdered white sugar, and half a pound of fresh butter, and the juice of two oranges or lemons. Warm these ingredients slightly, just enough to soften the butter. Then stir the mixture very hard, adding a grated nutmeg. Mix in, gradually, two pounds (or less) of sifted flour. Make it into a dough, just stiff enough to roll out easily. Beat it well all over with a rolling-pin. Then roll it out into a large sheet, half an inch thick; cut it into round cakes with the top of a tumbler, (dipped frequently in flour,) lay them in shallow tin pans, (slightly buttered,) and bake them well.

CHOCOLATE CAKE.--Scrape down three ounces of the best and purest chocolate, or prepared cocoa. Cut up, into a deep pan, three-quarters of a pound of fresh butter; add to it a pound of powdered loaf-sugar; and stir the butter and sugar together till very light and white. Have ready fourteen ounces (two ounces _less_ than a pound) of sifted flour; a powdered nutmeg; and a tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon--mixed together. Beat the whites of ten eggs till they stand alone; then the yolks till they are very thick and smooth. Then mix the yolks and whites gradually together, beating very hard when they are all mixed. Add the eggs, by degrees, to the beaten butter and sugar, in turn with the flour and the scraped chocolate,--a little at a time of each; also the spice. Stir the whole very hard. Put the mixture into a buttered tin pan with straight sides, and bake it at least four hours. If nothing is to be baked afterwards, let it remain in till the oven becomes cool. When cold, ice it.