Cookery for every household

It is very important that the fire should be made up some little time before the cake is put into the oven, and in such a way that it will last, if possible, during the baking, or will not at least require fresh coal during the first hour of baking, while the cake is in process of rising, and when it is most essential for it to have steady heat. If a large cake requiring several hours’ cooking is in the oven, the fire should never be allowed to burn too low, except perhaps the last half hour when the cake is just “ soaking,” but a little coal should be added from time to time in order to keep up a uniform heat. The heat of the oven can generally be regulated by opening or shutting the damper. If shutting the damper is not sufficient to reduce the heat, the lid of the range over the oven may be opened a little way. If the oven does not become hot enough in spite of a good fire, the trouble probably is that it has not been properly cleared of the cinders and soot which collect underneath and above the oven, and prevent the heat reaching these parts. This is a point which should be attended to before cake-making is thought of. For all cakes, except where otherwise stated, a moderate oven is best ; if anything, it should be rather hotter for small and light cakes than for the thicker fruit cakes. A cake to be baked to perfection should rise evenly and be smooth on the top, and by the time it has been in the oven half its time a light bjrown crust should be formed. Owing to the variation in the heat of an ordinary oven, it is not always possible to arrive at this point of perfection ; still, by careful manipulation, it may be aimed at. When a cake rises in a cone in the centre it shows that the oven has been too hot at the commencement, with the result that the sides of the cake became hardened with a crust before the mixture had had time to rise. If the cake seems inclined to rise at one side, it shows that the oven is hotter on one side than the other, and this fault may be obviated to a certain extent by turning the cake carefully during the baking. If the bottom of the oven is found to be the hottest part, it is a good plan to place an asbestos mat below the cake to prevent its burning at the foot, or to stand the cake in another tin containing a bed of sand. When a cake shows signs of becoming sufficiently brown before it is ready, it should be covered with a double fold of wetted kitchen paper. The oven door should not be open for at least 5 minutes after the cake has been put in, and then only with the greatest care. If by slamming the oven door a draught of cold air is allowed to enter, it will be fatal to the successful rising of the cake. Any moving or turning of the cake must be done very cautiously ; it cannot have too careful handling. Moving or shaking the cake during the process of rising is almost sure to cause it to fall. Be sure the cake is sufficiently cooked before removing it from the oven. Small cakes are ready if they feel firm when gently touched with the finger. Larger cakes should be tested by running a bright and heated skewer into the centre of them. If the skewer comes out sticky the cake is not cooked Cake Cooling