MOLa.s.sES BREAD CAKE.--On a bread-making day, when the wheat-bread has risen perfectly light and is cracked on the surface, take as much of the dough as will fill a quart bowl, and place it in a broad pan. Cut up a quarter of a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter, and set it over the fire to warm and soften, but do not let it melt to an oil. When quite soft, mix with it half a pint of West India mola.s.ses, a small table-spoonful of powdered cinnamon, and the finely-grated yellow rind of a large orange or lemon; adding also the juice. Have ready three eggs, well beaten, and add them gradually to the mixture. It must form a lump of soft dough; but not too thin to knead with your hands. Knead it well on the paste-board for a quarter of an hour. b.u.t.ter some tin pans; put an equal portion of the dough into each; cover them; and set them in a warm but not a hot place for a quarter of an hour before baking. Then bake the cakes well.
Instead of small pans you may bake the whole of the dough in one large one. This cake should be eaten the day it is baked; fresh but not warm.
All _sweet_ cakes in which yeast is an ingredient are best and most wholesome when fresh, as the next day they become hard, dry, and comparatively heavy.
BREAD m.u.f.fINS.--Take some bread dough that has risen as light as possible, and knead into it some well-beaten egg in the proportion of two eggs to about a pound of dough. Then mix in a tea-spoonful of soda that has been dissolved in a very little lukewarm water. Let the dough stand in a warm place for a quarter of an hour. Then bake it in m.u.f.fin-rings. You can thus, with very little trouble, have m.u.f.fins for tea whenever you bake bread in the afternoon.
TO FRESHEN CAKES.--Cakes when stale may be much improved, if about an hour before they are wanted for tea, you enclose them in a circular _wooden_ box with a tight-fitting lid, and place it on the marble hearth before a good coal fire; but not so close as to be in danger of scorching the box, which must be turned round, occasionally, so as to receive the heat equally on all sides. A tin or stone-ware box will not answer at all for this purpose, being too cold. If you burn wood-fires, set the box with the cake into a plate-warmer, or place it on a tall skillet, so as to be out of the way of coals or ashes falling on it, should the sticks break on the fire.
DOMESTIC LIQUORS, ETC.
GOOSEBERRY CHAMPAGNE.--Take large, fine gooseberries, that are full-grown, but not yet beginning to turn red; and pick off their tops and tails. Then weigh the fruit, and allow a gallon of clear, soft water to every three pounds of gooseberries. Put them into a large, clean tub; pour on a little of the water; pound and mash them, thoroughly, with a wooden beetle; add the remainder of the water, and give the whole a hard stirring. Cover the tub with a cloth, and let it stand four days; stirring it frequently and thoroughly, to the bottom. Then strain the liquid, through a coa.r.s.e linen cloth, into another vessel; and to each gallon of liquid add four pounds of fine loaf-sugar; and to every five gallons a quart of the best and clearest French brandy. Mix the whole well together; and put it into a clean cask, that will just hold it, as it should be filled full. Place the cask on its side, in a cool, dry part of the cellar; and lay the bung loosely on the top. Secure the cask firmly in its place, so that it cannot, by any chance, be shaken or moved; as the least disturbance will injure the wine. Let it work for a fortnight, or more; till the fermentation is quite over, and the hissing has ceased. Then bottle it; driving in the corks tightly. Lay the bottles on their sides. In six months, it will be fit for drinking, and will be found as brisk as real champagne.
GREEN CURRANT WINE.--The currants must be full-grown, but not yet beginning to redden. Strip them from the stems; weigh them; and to every three pounds allow a gallon of soft water. Mash them well, and proceed exactly as in the receipt for gooseberry champagne; except that you may use the best light-coloured brown sugar, instead of loaf. Instead of bottling it, as soon as it has done fermenting, you may, whenever the hissing is over, put in the bung tightly; and let the wine remain in the cask. In six months, it will be fit for drinking.
PEACH WINE.--Take eight pounds of ripe, juicy, free-stone peaches, of the best kind. Slice them into two gallons of soft water; and add five pounds of loaf-sugar, broken small. Crack all the stones; extract the kernels; break them up; and lay them in the bottom of a clean tub. Put the peaches, with the dissolved sugar, into a kettle; and boil and skim it, until the sc.u.m ceases to rise. Then strain it, through a large sieve, into the tub that has the kernels in the bottom. Stir all well together, and cover it closely till it grows quite cool. Then put in a large slice of toasted bread, covered all over with strong, fresh yeast.
Leave it to ferment; and, when the fermentation is over, strain it into a keg, and add a bottle of muscadel or sweet malaga wine. Let it stand six months. Then draw off a little in a gla.s.s, and, if it is not quite clear, take out a pint of the wine; mix with it an ounce of powdered gum-arabic; dissolve it in a slow heat; and then add an ounce of powdered chalk. When they are dissolved, return the pint of wine to the keg, stirring it in, lightly, with a stick; but taking care not to let the stick go down to the bottom, lest it should disturb the lees, or sediment. Let it stand three days longer, and then bottle it. It will be fit for use in another six months.
Apricot wine may be made in the same manner.
DOMESTIC FRONTINIAC.--Put into a large kettle, twelve pounds of broken-up loaf-sugar; and pour on it six gallons of clear, soft water, and let the sugar dissolve. Take seven pounds of the best raisins, and chop them small, having first removed the seeds. Mix the raisins with the dissolved sugar; set the kettle over the fire, and let it boil for an hour, skimming it well. Have ready half a peck of full-blown elder-blossoms, gathered just before they are ready to fall from the branches. Take the kettle from the fire; pour the liquor into a clean tub; and as soon as it has cooled, (so as to be merely lukewarm,) stir in the elder-flowers. Cover it closely. Next day, add six large table-spoonfuls of lemon-syrup, and four of strong, fresh yeast. After the wine has fermented two days, strain it into a clean cask; and, after it has stood two months, bottle it. Next summer, it will be in fine order for drinking, and will be found a delicious wine; very similar to the real Frontiniac.
MORELLA WINE.--Take a sufficiency of large, fine morella cherries. They must all be perfectly ripe, and free from blemish. Extract the stones; carefully saving all the juice. Return it to the cherries; put them into a clean tub; and let them stand, in a cold place, undisturbed, till next morning. Then mash and press them through a cullender, or sieve, or put them into a thin linen bag, and squeeze out all the juice; then measure it. To every quart of juice, allow a large half-pound of fine loaf-sugar, and mix them well together, in a clean cask. Crack the stones; tie them up in a thin bag; and suspend the bag in the cask, in the midst of the liquor. Leave it to ferment; and, when the fermentation ceases, stop it closely. Let it stand four months, leaving the bag of cherry-stones in the cask. Then bottle it, and in three months it will be fit to drink.
DOMESTIC TOKAY.--Take fine grapes, that are all _perfectly_ ripe; pick them carefully from the stalks, omitting all that are blemished; put them into a large hair sieve, placed over a large, deep pan, or a clean tub. Mash the grapes, with your hand, squeezing and pressing out all the juice. To every quart of juice, allow a pound of sultana raisins, chopped small, or of bloom raisins, seeded and chopped. Let the grape-juice and raisins stand twelve days; stirring it twice or three times every day. Then strain the liquor into a cask; but do not stop it closely till after three days. Let it stand eight months; then bottle it. If it is not clear, take out a pint of the wine; mix with it half an ounce of isingla.s.s, shaved fine, or an ounce of powdered gum-arabic. Set it in a warm place, and, when dissolved, add an ounce of fine chalk.
This will be sufficient to fine a barrel of wine. Stir it lightly into the rest. Let it stand three or four days, and then bottle it.
BLACKBERRY WINE.--The blackberries must all be full ripe, and without blemish. Measure them; and to every quart of fruit allow a quart of clear, soft water. Boil the water by itself. Put the blackberries into a clean tub, and mash them with a wooden beetle, or a mallet. When the water has boiled, pour it on the blackberries, and let it stand, till next morning, in a cool place, stirring it occasionally. Then press out all the juice, measure it, and to every quart of liquid allow half a pound of sugar. Put the sugar into a cask, and strain the liquid upon it, through a linen bag. Stir it frequently, till the sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Let the cask remain unstopped, till the liquor has done working. Then add half an ounce of isingla.s.s, or an ounce of gum-arabic, dissolved in a little hot water. You may subst.i.tute, for the isingla.s.s, or gum-arabic, the beaten whites of four eggs. Keep it open till next day. Then bung it. It may be bottled in two months.
Raspberry wine may be made as above.
Black currant wine, also.
ROSOLIS.--Put four pounds of the best loaf-sugar into a large porcelain kettle; and pour on it three quarts of water. When it has melted, set it over the fire, and boil and skim it, till the sc.u.m ceases to rise. Then add the whites of three eggs, whisked to a froth; and put in the sh.e.l.ls also, broken small. Let it again come to a boil. Then take it off the fire; and, when it is only lukewarm, throw in a quart of fresh rose-leaves, stirring them well through the liquid. Cover the vessel, and let it stand till next day, till the fragrance of the roses is extracted. Then remove the first rose-leaves, with a skimmer, and put into it a second, and afterwards, a third supply. When the syrup has a fine rose-flavour, strain it through a linen bag. If not perfectly clear, filter it through blotting-paper, pinned inside the bottom of a sieve. Then add half a pint of spirits of wine, that has been coloured red, by infusing in it some alkanet root, tied up in a thin muslin bag.
Bottle the mixture; and it will be a delicate liqueur. Instead of rose-leaves, you may flavour it immediately, by stirring in a large portion of extract of roses.
This liqueur can be made very conveniently, where there is a garden abounding in roses.
HIPPOCRAS.--Put into a jar a quart of the best port wine. Beat, separately, in a mortar, a quarter of an ounce of cinnamon, two nutmegs, twelve blades of mace, and a tea-spoonful of coriander seeds. Then mix them all together; and put them into the wine. Add the yellow rind of four large lemons, pared thin, and their juice, mixed with half a pound of powdered loaf-sugar. Cover the vessel closely, and let it infuse a week, or more. Then strain the liquid through a linen bag, and bottle it.
PERSICOT.--Blanch, in scalding water, a pound and a half of bitter almonds, and pound them in a mortar, till they are broken very small.
Then put them into two quarts of the best French white brandy. Let them remain twenty-four hours in the brandy; shaking the mixture frequently.
Boil one quart of rich milk; and, when it has boiled, take it off the fire, and mix with it two pounds of white sugar-candy, pounded fine.
Then mix the whole together, almonds, brandy, milk, and sugar-candy; and let it stand for a week or two, or till very highly flavoured; shaking or stirring it frequently. Afterwards strain it through a linen bag, and bottle it. Drink it from small liqueur-gla.s.ses, with a bit of ice in each.
NECTAR.--Take a pound of the best raisins, seeded and chopped; four lemons, sliced thin, and the yellow rind pared off from two other lemons; and two pounds of powdered loaf-sugar. Put into a porcelain preserving-kettle two gallons of water. Set it over the fire, and boil it half an hour. Then, while the water is boiling hard, put in the raisins, lemons, and sugar; and continue the boiling for ten minutes.
Pour the mixture into a vessel with a close cover, and let it stand four days; stirring it twice a-day. Then strain it through a linen bag, and bottle it. It will be fit for use in a fortnight. Drink it from wine-gla.s.ses, with a small bit of ice in each.
MINT JULEP.--Put into the bottom of a tumbler, about a dozen sprigs of young and tender mint. Upon them place a large tea-spoonful of fine white sugar; and then pour on peach-brandy, so as to reach nearly one-third the height of the tumbler. Fill up with ice, pounded fine; and lay on the top a thin slice of pine-apple, cut across into four pieces.
As an ornament, stick into the centre a handsome cl.u.s.ter of mint-sprigs, so as to rise far above the edge of the tumbler. It will be the better for standing awhile, in a vessel of finely-broken ice.
VANILLA SYRUP.--Put four or five vanilla beans into a very small, clean sauce-pan, with half a pint of boiling water. Set it over the fire, (closely covered,) and boil it, till the flavour of the vanilla is thoroughly extracted, and the water tastes of it very strongly. Then take out the vanilla, and strain the liquid. Break up three pounds of the best double-refined loaf-sugar, and put it into a preserving-kettle, with a quart of hot water. When thoroughly melted, set it on the fire, and boil and skim it well; till the whole is reduced to nearly a quart.
Then stir in the vanilla liquid, and let it boil five or six minutes longer. After taking it from the fire, pour it into a pitcher, till it is cool enough to transfer to small bottles. Then cork it tightly, and seal the corks.
It will be found excellent for flavouring custards, creams, &c., or to mix with ice-water, for a summer beverage.
The extract will be stronger if the vanilla beans are split and cut into pieces before boiling, and tied up in a very thin muslin bag.
ORANGE MILK.--Take two dozen large ripe oranges. Cut them in two; remove the seeds; and squeeze the juice into a very large and clean _stone_ jar. Never use earthen-ware, to hold any thing acid, as the lead glazing may produce the most deleterious effects. Have ready four pounds of the finest loaf-sugar, dissolved in a gallon of the best rum or brandy. Pour it into the jar that contains the orange-juice; stir the mixture well; and add the yellow rind of the oranges, cut into little slips. Cover the jar, and let it stand four days; stirring it frequently. Then take a gallon of new, unskimmed milk, (the morning"s milk of that day,) boil it, and, when it has come to a hard boil, pour it, hot, into the mixture. Cover it closely, and let it stand till it gets quite cold.
Then strain it into another vessel, through a linen jelly-bag. Bottle it immediately, and seal the corks. It improves by keeping, and will continue good for many years.
To use it, mix a sufficient quant.i.ty, in a tumbler, with ice-water; or take it, undiluted, in a small cordial gla.s.s.
ORANGE SYRUP.--Take large fine ripe oranges, with smooth thin rinds, and roll each orange under your hand upon the table to increase the juice.
Set a very clean sieve upon a large bowl, and cut the oranges over it; first halving them, and then notching each half to let out as much juice as possible when squeezing them. Press them with all your strength in a wooden squeezer, letting the juice drain through the sieve into the bowl. To each pint of juice allow a pound and a half (a quart and a pint) of the best double-refined loaf-sugar broken up. Put the sugar into a preserving-kettle; pour the juice upon it; cover it, and let it stand till all the sugar is quite soft, and can be easily mixed with the juice. Next set the kettle over a moderate fire that has no blaze or smoke, and boil it slowly; skimming it carefully till the sc.u.m ceases to rise. Then take it off, remove the syrup from the kettle, and when it is milk-warm, put it into very clean bottles, (new ones will be best,) cork them tightly, and seal the corks. Keep it in a dry, cool place. It is very fine for flavouring cakes, puddings, sweet sauces, &c. Or for mixing with ice-water as a pleasant beverage. Also for ice-cream or water-ice, when oranges are not to be had. Or for mixing with powdered sugar to make the confection called orange-drops. Some persons, to increase the strength of orange syrup, add the yellow rind of the oranges grated on lumps of the sugar. This will do very well if the syrup is to be used up soon. But by long keeping, the peel will give it a very disagreeable taste and odour, resembling turpentine; unfitting it for all purposes.
Lemon syrup may be made as above. To _this_ the addition of the yellow rind of the lemons grated on sugar will be an improvement; as lemon rind never acquires a turpentine taste.
IMITATION LEMON SYRUP.--Break up twelve pounds of the best double-refined loaf-sugar. Put it into a preserving-kettle, and pour on it a gallon of very clear soft water. When it has dissolved set it over a moderate fire, and boil and skim it till the sc.u.m ceases to rise. Then take it off, and stir in immediately, while the syrup is hot, six large tea-spoonfuls of the best oil of lemon, and a quarter of an ounce of tartaric acid. When cold, bottle the liquid, and cork it tightly. The bottles for this purpose should either be quite new, or such as have been used before for lemon syrup. Mixed with ice-water it is a wholesome and refreshing beverage, and if you stir into a half tumbler of the mixture a half tea-spoonful, or more, of carbonate of soda, it will foam up, and be just like the soda-water you buy in the shops at six cents per gla.s.s.
The above is the lemon syrup generally used for this purpose by the druggists and confectioners.
CARBONATED SYRUP WATER.--Put into a tumbler lemon, raspberry, strawberry, pine-apple, or any other _acid_ syrup, sufficient in quant.i.ty to flavour the beverage very highly. Then pour in _very cold ice-water_ till the gla.s.s is half full. Add _half_ a tea-spoonful of bi-carbonate of soda, (to be obtained at the druggists",) and stir it well in with a tea-spoon. It will foam up to the top immediately, and must be drank during the effervescence.
By keeping the syrup, and the carbonate of soda in the house, and mixing them as above with ice-water, you can at any time have a gla.s.s of this very pleasant drink; precisely similar to that which you get at the shops. The cost will be infinitely less.
FINE RASPBERRY CORDIAL.--Fill a large stone jar with ripe raspberries.
Cover the jar closely, and let it stand in a corner of the hearth near the fire, or on the top of a stove, till the fruit is heated so as to break. Then put the raspberries into a linen bag, and squeeze the juice into a pan beneath. Measure the juice, and to every quart allow a pound of loaf-sugar, broken very small. Do not use the white sugar that is sold ready-powdered; it is generally so adulterated with pulverized starch, as to be unfit for any thing that is to be set away for keeping.