cake, spread it on top only a little below the surface, or it will settle to the bottom. Never stir cake in tin; the stone china wash- bowls are very good for this purpose. You can often find odd ones at the crockery stores. Have the dishes cool that you are going to beatfthe eggs in. Use none but silver or wooden spoons to stir the cake. In using milk, note this: That sour milk makes a spongy, light cake; sweet milk, one that cuts like pound cake; remember, that with sour milk, soda alone is used; while with sweet milk, baking-powder or soda and cream-tartar are to be added. In recipes where milk is used, never mix sweet and sour milk, as it makes cake heavy, even when either alone would not do it. Butter in the least degree strong, spoils cake. An oven, to bake cake well, must have a good heat at the bottom, and not too hot on the top, or the cake will be heavy. For layer cake, you want a quick oven; if too slow, your cake will run over. Streaks in the cake are caused by unskillful mixing, too rapid or unequal baking, or a sudden decrease in the heat before the cake is quite done. As these recipes have all been proved, if they fail to make good cake, the fault is in the baking. Never move the cake, if possible, while baking, as it is liable to fall. If it browns too fast, put a paper on top. Cake should rise to full height be- fore the crust forms. Never place cake in a draught or take it out of the pan when first taken from the oven. Many fail to have good cake because they do not take pains, and are too lazy or careless to beat the eggs well. Cream the butter and sugar, and measure the ingredients. The mixing and baking have oft- entimes as much to do with success as the recipe. Most women in making fruit cake think it quite incomplete without wine or brandy, but it can be made equally as good by substituting one cupful of cold, strong, green tea. The flavor of tea is excellent in mince pie and fruit cake. To facilitate the operation of seeding raisins, pour warm water on a few at a time, and take out the seeds with your fingers. This will not injure the fruit or cake. When you cut the citron, slice it thin, and do not leave the pieces too large, or they will cause the cake to break apart in cutting. Currants should be prepared for use as follows: Wash in warm water, rubbing well, pour off, and repeat until the water is clear; drain them in a sieve, spread CAKE. 1G1 on a cloth, and rub dry; pick out bad ones, dry carefully in a cool oven, and set away for use. The best way to put in fruit is to sprinkle flour over it, then put in a layer of cake at the bottom, half an inch thick, then a layer of fruit, taking care that it does not touch the sides of the pan, and thus dry up; then a little more cake, then another layer of fruit, and thus till the cake is three inches thick (not more), and let the top layer be cake. Always dissolve soda or saleratus, in warm (cot hot water), as milk does not perfectly dissolve it, and thus there will be yellow specks made. Hot water kills the life out of it. To save repetition in cake recipes, I give below a formula which will be well to follow in making all kinds of cake in which butter is ueed.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

cake, spread it on top only a little below the surface, or it will settle to the bottom. Never stir cake in tin; the stone china washbowls are very good for this purpose. You can often find odd ones at the crockery stores. Have the dishes cool that you are going to beat the eggs in. Use none but silver or wooden spoons to stir the cake. In using milk, note this: That sour milk makes a spongy, light cake; sweet milk, one that cuts like pound cake; remember, that with sour milk, soda alone is used; while with sweet milk, baking-powder or soda and cream-tartar are to be added. In recipes where milk is used, never mix sweet and sour milk, as it makes cake heavy, even when either alone would not do it. Butter in the least degree strong, spoils cake. An oven, to bake cake well, must have a good heat at the bottom, and not too hot on the top, or the cake will be heavy. For layer cake, you want a quick oven; if too slow, your cake will run over. Streaks in the cake are caused by unskillful mixing, too rapid or unequal baking, or a sudden decrease in the heat before the cake is quite done. As these recipes have all been proved, if they fail to make good cake, the fault is in the baking. Never move the cake, if possible, while baking, as it is liable to fall. If it browns too fast, put a paper on top. Cake should rise to full height before the crust forms. Never place cake in a draught or take it out of the pan when first taken from the oven. Many fail to have good cake because they do not take pains, and are too lazy or careless to beat the eggs well. Cream the butter and sugar, and measure the ingredients. The mixing and baking have oftentimes as much to do with success as the recipe. Most women in making fruit cake think it quite incomplete without wine or brandy, but it can be made equally as good by substituting one cupful of cold, strong, green tea. The flavor of tea is excellent in mince pie and fruit cake. To facilitate the operation of seeding raisins, pour warm water on a few at a time, and take out the seeds with your fingers. This will not injure the fruit or cake. When you cut the citron, slice it thin, and do not leave the pieces too large, or they will cause the cake to break apart in cutting. Currants should be prepared for use as follows: Wash in warm water, rubbing well, pour off, and repeat until the water is clear; drain them in a sieve, spread CAKE. 161 on a cloth, and rub dry; pick out bad ones, dry carefully in a cool oven, and set away for use. The best way to put in fruit is to sprinkle flour over it, then put in a layer of cake at the bottom, half an inch thick, then a layer of fruit, taking care that it does not touch the sides of the pan, and thus dry up; then a little more cake, then another layer of fruit, and thus till the cake is three inches thick (not more), and let the top layer be cake. Always dissolve soda or saleratus, in warm (cot hot water), as milk does not perfectly dissolve it, and thus there will be yellow specks made. Hot water kills the life out of it. To save repetition in cake recipes, I give below a formula which will be well to follow in making all kinds of cake in which butter is used.

Temperance cook book