Miss Parloa's kitchen companion

In making the cakes it must be remembered that it is difficult to have them light and dry when they are made wholly of buckwheat flour, and that the batter, if raised with fresh yeast, will not be so good as that which is raised with some of the unused batter of the previous day. Here is a rule which should give perfect cakes : Into a deep pail or pan put a pint of buckwheat, half a cupful of Indian meal (white is best), a teaspoonful of salt, and half a cupful of liquid yeast or half a cake of compressed yeast, — the latter to be first dissolved in half a cupful of water. Add to the ingredients in the pail a little more than a pint of warm water and a tablespoonful of molasses. Beat the mixture thoroughly, and place where it will rise. The batter should rise and fall again before morning. In the morning sift into the batter one teaspoonful of dry soda. Stir well, and fry. If you have the cakes, say three times a week, you will not require fresh yeast after the first batch if you reserve a little more than a pint of the batter in a cool place, and use that instead. The griddle, for any kind of batter cakes, should be kept as hot as possible without danger of burning the cakes. * These are delicate and delicious. In making them use two cupfuls of buckwheat, two cupfuls and a half of warm water, one cupful of stale bread, one cupful of milk, one teaspoonful of salt, and half a cake of compressed yeast. Dissolve the yeast in half a cupful of the water ; then put this water with the remaining cupfuls, and pour all upon the buckwheat. Add the salt, and beat for ten or fifteen minutes ; then cover the mixture, and set it in a warm place to rise. Put the bread into a bowl with the milk, and let it soak over night in a cool place. In the morning mash it till fine and light, and add it to the risen buckwheat batter. Fry as any griddle-cakes are fried. * Sweet-Milk Griddle-cakes. For six people use a pint and a half of flour, a pint of milk, two eggs, a level teaspoonful of salt, two teaspoonf uls of baking-powder, and three table-spoonfuls of melted butter. Mix the dry ingredients, and rub them through a sieve. Add the milk and the eggs, well beaten. Now add the melted butter, and fry the cakes at once. * Indian Griddle-cakes. To make enough for six people one should take half a pint of fine corn meal, half a pint of flour, a pint of boiling water, three gills of cold milk, one teaspoonful of baking-powder, one teaspoonful of salt, and two eggs. Put the meal, salt, and sugar into a bowl, and pour the boiling water upon them. Beat thoroughly, and then add the cold milk. Let the mixture stand until it becomes perfectly cold ; then mix the flour and bakingpowder, and sift into the bowl. Blend thoroughly, and add the eggs, well beaten. The cakes should be small, well browned, and thoroughly cooked. Another kind of Indian griddle-cake is made by scalding the half-pint of meal with the boiling water and adding, when the mixture gets cold, a pint of sour milk, a cupful and a half of flour, two table-spoonfuls of sugar, and one teaspoonful of salt, and also adding, the next morning, a teaspoonful of soda, which has been dissolved in two table-spoonfuls of cold water.