For all cake the temperature should be even. For this reason avoid stirring the fire or crowding on heat during the process of baking, and if the fire is replenished add a little fuel at a time to keep the heat uniform. If the oven is too hot, slip one of the stove lids partially ofP for a little while, thus checking the draft. If the oven bakes too rapidly on the bottom, an inverted drip- ping-pan may be placed in it, or if required, the bottom of the oven can be covered with hard=baked bricks. If it bakes too rapidly at the top, placing a thin hard^wood board, or a thick piece of paste^board on the top grate, over the cakes, is much better than covering the cakes with paper, which is likely to interfere with the crust as the cake rises. Open the oven as little as possible, and do not let a draft of cold air strike the cakes or they will fall, and do not move them till they " set " or brown a little on top. Thin cakes (flat loaves) may be turned in the oven, if neces- sary, after baking 10 minutes; thick loaves of rich cake should not be moved in less than 20 or 30 minutes, and then the turning should be very gently done or they may be heavy in the center. The old " test " for cake was to insert a piece of clean broom=straw or a fine knitting-needle free from rust, and if the cake was done it would come out free from dough; another test is to hold the cake to the ear and listen closely; if done it will be silent; if there is the least noise return it at once to the oven. Another sign is its settling down a little and shrinking from the pan. Fruit Cake — It is better to steam fruit cake 3 hours and then transfer it quickly to a well heated oven and bake 1 hour✪ Fruit Cake, than to rely on baking alone. It is also a good plan to allow fruit cakes to stay in the oven until the fire dies down, after they are baked, plan- ning to bake them the latter part of the day, and leaving until even- ing. CAKE 355 Gingerbread — Mix soft gingerbreads as soft as they can be han- dled, and keep the molding-board well floured to prevent the dough from sticking. Use New Orleans molasses as we explained for other cake. Watch the oven closely, as molasses cakes burn more easily than others. If, before rolling out the dough, it gets too stifP, set it before the fire. Lemon or orange flavor can be added when desired, and many think it an improvement, and the same with raisins, fruit, etc. Ginger can be replaced by other spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg, by those who prefer their flavor to ginger. Yolks of eggs✪ Gingerbread improve gingerbread even when not prescribed in the recipe; and yolks left from other cooking can be worked into gingerbread to advantage; 2 yolks equal one egg, and can be so used for this purpose. EXTKACTS AND FLAVOKINGS. These are often adulterated. Many of them can be easily and successfully made at home, and much cheaper than to buy them, while their purity will then be assured. In making extracts use deodorized alcohol always. If the oils used are not pure and fresh they will spoil the extract by giving it a tur- pentine taste. If a little extract is dropped on anything after it is baked, less will be needed, because heat partially destroys the flavor. It is therefore better not to add extracts to anything while hot. Essence of Allspice — Add to a wine=glass of strong spirits, 1 drachm of the oil of allspice.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

For all cake the temperature should be even. For this reason avoid stirring the fire or crowding on heat during the process of baking, and if the fire is replenished add a little fuel at a time to keep the heat uniform. If the oven is too hot, slip one of the stove lids partially off for a little while, thus checking the draft. If the oven bakes too rapidly on the bottom, an inverted dripping-pan may be placed in it, or if required, the bottom of the oven can be covered with hard-baked bricks. If it bakes too rapidly at the top, placing a thin hardwood board, or a thick piece of pasteboard on the top grate, over the cakes, is much better than covering the cakes with paper, which is likely to interfere with the crust as the cake rises. Open the oven as little as possible, and do not let a draft of cold air strike the cakes or they will fall, and do not move them till they " set " or brown a little on top. Thin cakes (flat loaves) may be turned in the oven, if necessary, after baking 10 minutes; thick loaves of rich cake should not be moved in less than 20 or 30 minutes, and then the turning should be very gently done or they may be heavy in the center. The old " test " for cake was to insert a piece of clean broomstraw or a fine knitting-needle free from rust, and if the cake was done it would come out free from dough; another test is to hold the cake to the ear and listen closely; if done it will be silent; if there is the least noise return it at once to the oven. Another sign is its settling down a little and shrinking from the pan. Fruit Cake — It is better to steam fruit cake 3 hours and then transfer it quickly to a well heated oven and bake 1 hour, than to rely on baking alone. It is also a good plan to allow fruit cakes to stay in the oven until the fire dies down, after they are baked, planning to bake them the latter part of the day, and leaving until evening. Gingerbread — Mix soft gingerbreads as soft as they can be handled, and keep the molding-board well floured to prevent the dough from sticking. Use New Orleans molasses as we explained for other cake. Watch the oven closely, as molasses cakes burn more easily than others. If, before rolling out the dough, it gets too stiff, set it before the fire. Lemon or orange flavor can be added when desired, and many think it an improvement, and the same with raisins, fruit, etc. Ginger can be replaced by other spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg, by those who prefer their flavor to ginger. Yolks of eggs improve gingerbread even when not prescribed in the recipe; and yolks left from other cooking can be worked into gingerbread to advantage; 2 yolks equal one egg, and can be so used for this purpose. EXTKACTS AND FLAVOKINGS. These are often adulterated. Many of them can be easily and successfully made at home, and much cheaper than to buy them, while their purity will then be assured. In making extracts use deodorized alcohol always. If the oils used are not pure and fresh they will spoil the extract by giving it a turpentine taste. If a little extract is dropped on anything after it is baked, less will be needed, because heat partially destroys the flavor. It is therefore better not to add extracts to anything while hot. Essence of Allspice — Add to a wine=glass of strong spirits, 1 drachm of the oil of allspice.

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