Cookery for every household

To Ice the Cakes. — Either glace or fondant icing (see Icings, p. 589) will do. Colour the icing according to taste, such as yellow, very pale green, pink, chocolate, &c., according to the fruit or form you wish to represent, and add suitable flavourings. A little blue will be an improvement to the white icing ; and for fruits, such as pears and apricots, add just a suspicion of green. Dip the cakes right into the icing and lift out to drain. Then dry in the oven for a few minutes to give a gloss. The pale-coloured cakes should look just like marble. To Decorate the Cakes. — This is very much a matter of taste, and the variety is endless, as for instance : Chocolate Iced Cakes. — Pipe, with a paper cornet, tiny loops of chocolate icing, dust over with green sugar, blow oil the loose sugar, and put a silver ball in the centre. To Imitate Fruits. — Coat the cakes with the palest green icing. Mix up some slightly darker green icing on a plate with a little water, and touch up the fruit very lightly with this, using a brush, and then in the same way with pink to imitate the colours of the fruit. Little drops of pink may also be splashed on with a brush. Put a green artificial leaf at the end of the fruit, and a piece of wire for the stalk. Coat over the wire with chocolate icing, put through a forcing bag, and mark the heart at the other end with the same. Probable cost, 1 \d. each cake. 2712. Princess Cakes Grated rind of \ lemon. A few drops of vanilla essence. 2 small eggs. Decoration. — Glace icing flavoured with maraschino, crystallised violets, and rose leaves. 1J oz. butter. l| oz. castor sugar. oz. rice flour. 4 oz. cocoanut. Cream the butter and work in the sugar. Add half the rice flour, flavouring, cocoanut, and one egg, and mix well. Then the remainder of the rice flour, and the second egg, and mix again. Beat all together for about 10 minutes. Have ready ten or twelve small fancy-shaped tins, grease them with clarified butter, and coat them with fine cake or ratafia crumbs. Half fill these tins with the above mixture, and bake them in a moderate oven until nicely browned and firm to the touch. Turn the cakes out of the tins, and when cold, ice them with glace icing flavoured with a few drops of maraschino, and decorate them with violets and rose leaves. Time to bake, 12 to 15 minutes. Probable cost. Is. 2713. Queen Cakes, 1 4 oz. flour. 4 oz. butter. 4 oz. sugar. A pinch of salt. 2 eggs. h tea-sp. baking powder. A little grated lemon rind. A few currants. Prepare nine or ten small tins (see p. 550), and place a few clean currants at the bottom of each. Cream the butter, add the sugar, salt, and grated lemon rind and mix well. Sieve the flour, and add half of it to the mixture with one of the eggs. Mix Queen Cake Tins slowly, and then beat well for a few minutes. Add the second egg and the remainder of the flour, and beat again. Sprinkle in the baking powder at the last, and half fill the prepared tins with the mixture. Bake the cakes in a moderate oven until well risen and firm to the touch. Time to bake, 15 to 20 minutes. Probable cost, 9 d. 2714. Queen Cakes, 2 J lb. butter. 3 oz. castor sugar. 2 eggs. 3 oz. glace cherries. 1 or 2 table-sps. water. 5 oz. flour. \ tea-sp. baking powder.