The household cook book

It will please a child when making cake to make a small one for her; cover with white frosting, and when that hardens, write the child's name on top with a small brush dipped in the yolk of egg. Children will be more pleased with some simple cake, not much more than sweetened bread, and ornamented for them, than they would be 392 CAKES by the richest phim cake unornamented, and which they could not eat with safety. Any frosting left over can be made into little wafers, dried in the oven, and used for decorating various dishes. COLOKS FOR FROSTINGS, CANDIES, ETC. A Caution. — Nothing but vegetable colors should ever be used for frostings, candies, or any cooking purposes. As some of the coloring matters sold in the stores (and too often used by the uninformed) are deleterious or even poisonous, it is better, when possible, to pre- pare all coloring matters at home. We give the best of those which are adapted for domestic use, and they will meet all the ordinary wants of our readers. To Whiten Frosting. — A few drops of lemon= juice whitens frosting; BO does .a small pinch of cream of tartar. For an Amber Coloring Mixture put f oz. turmeric in 2 oz. deodor- ized alcohol; shake till dissolved, strain it, and bottle for use. Blue Frosting is colored with indigo. It does for ornamental icing, but is better not eaten. Brown Frosting may be made by adding caramel to gelatine frost- ing; or by beating the whites of the eggs with nice maple sugar. For Chocolate Color add a little chocolate or cocoa. Pink Frosting may be made by adding cranberry, strawberry, or raspberry juice from which the seeds have been strained; the jelly can also be strained and used, or a little cochineal will produce the color. Yellow Frosting may be made by adding a trifle of strong saffron tea (if to much is used it is apt to impart a bitter taste). Or grate the rind of an orange into some orange juice, let it soak about 1 hour; strain, and use for coloring. Lemon peel can be used in the same way. (These are preferable to the saffron. See what we say in the introduction to our article on cakes about how to grate orange peel.) A Very Pretty Tint for frosting white cakes is made by beating to- gether 1 cup of white sugar and the yolks, of 3 eggs; flavor with lemon. Carmine Color can be made by mixing 1^ oz. boiling water, | oz. ammonia, and ^ oz. No. 40 carmine; bottle, cork closely, and it will keep any length of time. Cochineal Coloring — In 1 cup hot water dissolve 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon powdered alum, and 2 teaspoons powdered coch- ineal; boil 5 minutes, strain through cloth, and bottle for use. Add- ing a little alcohol will make it keep any length of time. FROSTING AND ICING 393 A Red Color for confectionery, jellies, etc., is sometimes prepared by boiling sliced beetroot in a little water, and then squeezing it through a cloth. Saffron. — Boil thoroughly 1 oz. of saffron in 2 cups of water; strain through cloth and bottle for use. In using this, the shade may be varied by using more or less of it. (The objection to saffron is its tendency to impart a bitter taste if too much is used).