The encyclopædia of practical cookery

Spider Cake with Bilberries. — Pick over 1qt. of bilberries, wash in cold water, drain quite dry, and dust them with flour ; sift together lib. of flour, 1 teaspoonful of salt, and 2 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. Into the flour chop Jib. of butter, and add the berries. See that the fire is good, and put an iron spider over it, with 1 table-spoonful of butter in it; next mix the flour and berries to a soft dough, with just enough sweet milk to form it; put the dough into the spider, making the Cake about fin. thick, and set it over a moderate fire to bake. Unless the spider is large, a second one must be used, [illustration: Cakes — continued.] in order to have the Cake the proper thickness. Bake the Cake slowly for about ten minutes on each side, shaking it about in the pan, and turning it to prevent burning; before serving try it to be sure it is done, and then serve it hot with plenty of butter. Spider- Cake Toast. — While cold spider Cake is being toasted a delicate brown, make a sauce as follows; For each Cake allow a full pint of sauce, and for each pint of sauce mix together over the fire 1 table-spoonful each of butter and flour until they bubble ; then mix smoothly into them 1 pint of milk and | pint of cream ; let this sauce boil for a moment, season with salt, and then pour it over the toasted spider Cake, and serve at once. Sponge Cakes. — (1) Large. — Boil fib. of lump sugar in 1 teacupful of boiling water ; when boiling pour it over six eggs, whisk for half-an-hour, sift in gradually 2 table-spoonfuls Fig. 293. Moulds used for large Sponge Cakes (Mathews and Son). of flour, grate the rind of one lemon and mix in. When well worked together put in a greased mould of any suitable shape (see Fig. 298) and bake for three-quarters-of-an-hour, or a little longer if required. (2) Beat well the yolks of seven eggs and add lib. of caster sugar ; then add the whites of fourteen eggs, and stir in very lightly Jib. of Vienna flour. Beat very little after putting in the flour. Put in a buttered mould and bake quickly. (3) Ten eggs, 2J breakfast-cupfuls of sugar, 2J breakfastcupfuls of pastry-flour, the juice and grated rind of one lemon. Beat the yolks and sugar together until very light, add the lemon, beat the whites to a stiff froth, and stir the flour and the whites of eggs alternately into the beaten yolks and sugar. Pour the batter about 3in. deep in a baking-tin, sprinkle with sugar, and hake for three-quarters-of an-hour in a moderate oven. If the batter is not so deep in the pan it will not take so long to bake. (4) The yolks of a dozen eggs, the whites of eight, lj breakfast-cupfuls of caster sugar, the same quantity of flour, the rind of one lemon, and the juice of two. Beat the yolks and sugar together, add the lemon rind and juice, and beat a little longer ; beat the whites to a stiff froth, and add them to the mixture. Gradually stir in the flour, pour the mixture into a Cake-tin to the depth of about 2in., and bake from thirty-five to forty minutes in a slow oven. (5) Beat the yolks of three eggs ; add 1 breakfast-cupful of caster sugar, 1 table-spoonful of lemon juice, and 1 tablespoonful of cold water, or a lump of ice melted in the lemon juice to make 2 table-spoonfuls of liquid. Add the whites, For details respecting Culinary Processes. Utensils, Sauces, <tc., referred to, see under their special heads.