The century cook book

the oven. Then mix in lightly the currants, almonds and candied peel, with the wine and brandy; and having lined a hoop with buttered paper, fill it with the mixture, and bake the cake in a tolerably quick oven, taking care, however, not to burn it; to prevent this, the top of it may be covered with a sheet of paper. To ascertain whether the cake is done, plunge a clean knife into the middle of it, withdraw it directly, and if the blade is, not sticky and looks bright, the cake is sufficiently baked. These cakes are usually spread with a thick layer of almond icing, and over that another layer of sugar icing, and afterward ornamented. In baking a large cake like this, great attention must be paid to the heat of the oven; it should not be too fierce, but have moderate heat to bake the cake through. Fruit Cake. Take three cupfuls of brown sugar, one of butter, one pound of raisins, one of currants, one-half pound of citron, one quart of flour, one teaspoonful of currant jelly, eight eggs beaten separately, two teaspoonfuls of sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda, a piece of lard the size of a walnut, one tablespoonful of ground cloves, one of cinnamon, and two grated nutmegs. Stir the butter and sugar to a cream, then stir in the milk, lard, jelly and spices, then stir in the fruit (the raisins must be stoned and cut in two, the currants picked, washed and dried, and the citron shaved fine), then the soda dissolved in a little water, next the flour, and last of all the beaten whites of the eggs; mix all thoroughly together, and bake for three hours in pans lined with buttered paper. Fruit Cake No. 2. Beat together four cupfuls of sugar, with one and one-half cupfuls of butter, then stir in six beaten eggs, two cupfuls of sweet milk, one pound of stoned and chopped raisins, one pound of chopped or sliced citron, six and one-half cupfuls of flour, and two teaspoon- Cake 119 fuls of soda, dissolved in a little warm water; line the baking pans with buttered paper and bake from two to three hours. Pork Cake. Chop one pound of fat pork very fine, and pour over it a pint of boiling hot water, then stir in three cupfuls of brown sugar, one of molasses, one tablespoonful of ground cinnamon, one of ground cloves, one pound of stoned raisins, eight cups of flour, and two teaspoonfuls of soda dissolved in a little water; stir four or five minutes and bake same as fruit cake. Clove Cake. Stir together one cup of soft butter with one of sugar and molasses, add one cupful of strong black coffee, in which has been dissolved a teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of ground cloves, two of cinnamon, four cupfuls of flour, and two well beaten eggs; mix well, and bake in a moderate oven Bread Cake. Beat together one cupful The Clove. of butter with two of sugar, add two well beaten eggs, two cupfuls of stoned raisins, two-thirds teaspoonful of soda in one of milk, and last of all stir in three cupfuls of light bread dough; work until thoroughly mixed, line a baking pan with buttered paper, put in the dough, set in a warm place to rise, and when light bake in a moderate oven for an hour or more.