The economical cook book

One pound of powdered sugar, one of butter, one of flour, twelve eggs, two pounds of raisins seeded, two of currants washed and dried, half a pound of citron cut in little slips, one tablespoonful of powdered mace, one of cinnamon, one nutmeg ; mix a large wine-glass of Madeira wine and one of brandy and steep the spices in it over night. Stir the butter and sugar to a cream, add the yolks of the eggs beaten light, then the wine and spice ; beat well and add the flour alternately with the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth ; mix all the fruit together, put on them two heaping tablespoons of flour, stir it through them, and add all to the cake, when ready to put it in the pans. Bake in two cakes, slowly nearly two hours. Line the pans with buttered paper, and cover the cake with thick paper as soon as it is brown on top. (210) 280 COOKERY FROM EXPERIENCE *Brick Cake. One pound of butter, one and a half pounds of sugar and the same of flour, ten eggs beaten separately very light, a teacup of rich cream, one of molasses, a teaspoonful of saleratus; the same of cinnamon and cloves, half an ounce of powdered mace, two pounds of raisins seeded, two of currants washed and dried, and half a pound of citron cut in little strips. Stir the butter and sugar to a cream, add the spices and a tablespoonful of best brandy; beat well, then add the yolks of the eggs and stir again, add the molasses, and when that is well mixed in, add the flour alternately with the whites of eggs, leaving out a small teacup of the flour to stir in the fruit. Just before you put in the fruit, beat in the cream with the saleratus dissolved in it; now add the fruit and put in the pans ; if all in one, it will take nearly four hours to bake and must be put in a moderate oven. As soon as it browns on the top, cover with thick paper. The bottom and sides of the pan must be covered with buttered white paper. English Fruit-cake. One pound of butter, the same of sugar, the same of flour, nine eggs, two pounds of currants washed and dried, a quarter of a pound of shelled almonds, blanched, dried and chopped, a quarter of a pound of citron cut in little strips, half a pound of candied orange peel, the same of candied lemon peel, cut in small pieces, half a grated nutmeg, half an ounce of ground allspice, a quarter of an ounce each of ground cinnamon, powdered mace, ground ginger and coriander seed pounded in a mortar and a gill of good brandy. Stir the butter and sugar to a cream, add the spice, then the yolks of the eggs beaten light, then the brandy, then the flour, alternately with the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth ; beat up well, and add the fruit, with a couple of tablespoonfuls of flour, which you have left out of the pound ; line the pan with buttered paper, pour the cake in, and bake in a moderate oven nearly two hours; cover the cake with thick paper, when brown on top. If you add half a pound of stoned raisins to this cake, it is English Fanaer's Fruit-cake.