Cassell's dictionary of cookery

American White Cake.— Beat half a cupful of butter to a cream : work in gradually two and a half cupfuls of flour, a cupful of milk, the whites of six eggs, and, last of all, a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and half a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda. Pour the mixture into a buttered tin, and bake in a quick oven. Directly it is taken out of the oven, brush whisked white of egg over the top, and sift loaf sugar on it. Time to bake, about an hour. Probable cost. Is. Sufficient for a quart mould. Anchovies. — The best anchovies are those which are small and plump. The pickle should be red, and the scales white. They are preserved in salt brine, and the bottle which contains them should be kept closely covered, as the air soon spoils them. They should be soaked in cold water before being used. Anchovies, Essence of.— Clean and remove the bones from one pound of anchovies, beat them into a pulp, and pass the soft portion through a sieve, so as to separate the flesh from any small bones, &c. Put those parts of the pulp that will not pass through the sieve into a pan with the bones, and simmer them, with the liquor in which they have been pickled, a blade of mace, a little cayenne pepper, a heaped teaspoonful of salt, and a pint of water, for twenty minutes, strain, and add the soft portion of the anchovies that passed through the sieve. Boil all together at a moderate heat for a few minutes. Then take the vessel from the fire, and add a quarter of a pint of strong vinegar. Essence of anchovies should be kept in small bottles, with the corks covered with bladder, and sealed to render them air-tight. Sufficient to make a quart. Probable cost, 4s. Anchovies, Essence of (another way). — Remove the bones from three anchovies, and beat them into a paste with four green chilies, or a small quantity of cayenne pepper, and two shalots. Then mix them -with a quarter of a pint of walnut ketchup, and hali a pint of mushroom ketchup, and preserve the essence in well-closed bottles. Time, half an hour to prepare. Sufficient for one pint bottle. Probable cost, 2s. Anchovies, Essence of (another way). Beat half a pound of anchovies with the bones into a paste, and put it into a pint of springwater; boil it quickly, till the anchovies are dissolved, then season it with black or cayenne pepper. If raisin wine be substituted for the water, the essence will be much richer. It should be strained through a coarse sieve, and kept closely corked, as the air injures it. Essence of anchovies thus made will not be of the bright colour or consistence of that generally sold by oilmen, which is thickened with starch, and coloured with bole Armenia, or poisonous Venetian red ; but the uncoloured essence is of greatly improved quality and flavour. Time to boil, half an hour. Sufficient for rather more than a pint. Probable cost, Is. 8d., if made with water. Anchovies, Essence of, Mock.— Boil