Harper's cook book encyclopædia

done ; if moist, it must be returned at once to the oven. When the cake is done it should be turned out at once and placed- upon its side, or else on a sieve which has been turned upside down, until it is cold, and the paper should not be removed until the cake is to be used. This cake may be made either larger or smaller by increasing the quantity of the ingredients in their due proportions ; and it may be made less rich by using a larger quantity of flour. A pound of picked and dried currants is frequently added to the other ingredients, and the flavor may be varied by the addition of candied peel, lemon or orange, blanched and chopped almonds, pistachio kernels, dried cherries, or plums. Time to bake, one hour and a half to two hours. Pound Cake (a very old recipe). — Take i lb. of butter, I lb. of sugar, i lb. of flour, io eggs, 2 table-spoonfuls of rose-water. Beat the sugar and butter together as light as possible, then add gradually the rose-water and about one-fourth of the flour ; whisk the eggs until very thick, stir in the butter and sugar gradually, then the remainder of the flour, a small quantity at a time. Beat all well together. Line your pan with white paper, put in your batter, smooth the ■top with a knife, and bake in a moderate oven about two and a half hours. Prince Albert Cake. — Whites of twelve eggs, five cupfuls of flour, three cupfuls of sugar, one and a half cupfids of butter, one cupful of new milk or cream, two teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. Flavor the batter with the grated rind and juice of a lemon, and bake in round cake-tins. Flavor with vanilla an icing made of I lbs. of pulverized sugar and whites of three eggs, beaten very lightly. Bake half the batter just as it is in three plates. In the other half mix T/z lb. of seeded raisins, same quantity of currants, and same of shredded citron, and bake this batter in other three plates, so as to have six layers. Put the icing be- tween alternate layers of fruit and plain cake. Puff Paste. — One pound of flour, I lb. of butter, one egg. Take from the butter a lump the size of a hen’s egg, and, adding a pinch of salt, knead the flour and egg into a very stiff dough with cold water. Have ready an extra half-pint of flour for dredging, and, if possible, have a marble slab on which to roll pastry. Divide the butter into five equal parts. After kneading the dough full ten minutes, roll it out on your board or slab and put on one portion of butter cut into small bits and dotted over the dough. Dredge over a layer of flour and roll up, then out over the board again. Repeat this process until all the butter and flour are consumed, and you will have delicious, flaky pastry for the lining of pudding or patty pans.# See Pies for other paste recipes. Puffs. See Bread. Puffs, Almond. — Roll a sheet of puff paste very thin. Beat the whites of two eggs, add powdered sugar to make a stiffening, and mix in a cupful of blanched and chopped almonds. Spread the mixture on the pastry with a very sharp knife, cut it in pieces two inches long and one wide, put these carefully in a pan, and set in the stove to brown slightly. Take out and let cool. Arrange on a large, round dish in a pyramid, fill the centre with whipped cream flavored with vanilla, and serve very cold.