HOW TO BAKE CAKE
[Sidenote: Rising.]
[Sidenote: Time.]
The oven should be only moderately hot at first, so that the cake can get heated through, and can rise before forming a crust; the heat should then be increased, so that when the cake has been in the oven one half the time required for baking a light crust will be formed. It should rise evenly, and be smooth on top. When it rises in a cone in the center it is because the oven is too hot, and a crust has formed on the edges before it has had time to rise. Sometimes it rises on one side, showing the oven is hotter on one side than the other, in which case it should be turned or a screen interposed; but it must be done with the greatest care. Moving or jarring the cake before the air-cells are fixed is almost sure to cause it to fall. Do not open the oven door for the first five minutes, and then open and shut it very gently, so as not to jar the cake. Cake takes from fifteen minutes to an hour to bake, according to its kind and thickness. A hotter oven is needed for a thin cake than for a thick one.
It is done when it shrinks from the pan, and makes no singing noise; or when a broom straw run into it comes out clean and smooth. Be sure the cake is done before removing it from the oven. Let it stand a few minutes in the tin, and it will then come out easily. Always handle the cake carefully.
[Sidenote: Tests for the oven.]
The following test for the oven is given by Miss Parloa. Put in a piece of white paper. If at the end of five minutes the paper is a rich yellow color, the oven is right for sponge-cake; if light yellow, it is too cool; if dark brown, too hot. For pound or b.u.t.ter-cakes, it should be light yellow at the end of five minutes. For gingerbreads and thin rolled cakes, it should be dark brown.
MIXING SPONGE-CAKES
Cream the yolks and sugar together. Add the flavoring and water; then fold in the beaten whites, and lastly the flour, sprinkling it in, and lightly folding, not stirring it in.
If baking-powder is used, it is mixed with the flour.
MIXING CAKE MADE WITH b.u.t.tER
Rub the b.u.t.ter until it is light and smooth. Add the sugar, and stir until creamy. If there is too much sugar to mix with the b.u.t.ter, beat one half with the yolks of the eggs.
Add the beaten yolks to the creamed b.u.t.ter and sugar. (If only a little b.u.t.ter is used melt it, and add it to the yolks and sugar.) Next add the flavoring, and then the milk and flour alternately, until all are in. Beat the batter a few minutes to give it fine grain; then fold in the whipped whites of the eggs lightly. If fruit is used, flour and add it the last thing. Turn it into the pans, and put it at once into a moderate oven.[465-*]
FOOTNOTES:
[465-*] Cake made with b.u.t.ter needs to have the dough quite thick with flour, as the b.u.t.ter when melted acts as a wetting.
=SPONGE-CAKE No. 1=
6 eggs.
3 cupfuls of sugar.
4 cupfuls of flour.
1 cupful of cold water.
2 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.
Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon.
1/4 teaspoonful of salt.
In this cake the beaten whites are added last. The baking-powder mixed with the flour is added to the yolks, sugar, and flavoring. This is a good cake to use for layer-cakes or rolls. It is sufficient for two loaves.
=SPONGE-CAKE No. 2=
Weigh any number of eggs; take the same weight of sugar and one half the weight of flour; the grated rind and juice of one lemon to five eggs.
For mixing this cake, see the directions given above; the mixture should be very light and spongy, great care being used not to break down the whipped whites. The oven should be moderate at first, and the heat increased after a time. The cake must not be moved or jarred while baking. The time will be forty to fifty minutes, according to size of loaf. Use powdered sugar for sponge-cake. Rose-water makes a good flavoring when a change from lemon is wanted. Almonds chopped fine mixed in the cake, and also orange rind grated over the cake before it is frosted, are good.
=SPONGE-CAKE No. 3=
10 eggs.
1 pound of powdered sugar.
1/2 pound of flour.
Juice and grated rind of 1/2 lemon.
Beat the yolks and sugar together for at least half an hour. It will not be right unless thoroughly beaten; add the lemon, then the whites beaten very stiff, and the flour last; sprinkle the top with sugar. Put it at once into a moderate oven. This is a moist cake and has a thick crust.
=WHITE SPONGE, OR ANGEL CAKE=
Whites of 6 eggs.
3/4 cupful of granulated sugar.
1 cupful of flour.
1/2 teaspoonful of vanilla.
1/2 teaspoonful of cream of tartar.
Put the cream of tartar into the flour and sift it five or six times; sift the sugar twice. Put a pinch of salt with the whites of the eggs and whip them very stiff; add the sugar to the whipped whites, placing it on the end of the platter and gradually beating it in from below; add the flour in the same way, and lastly add the flavoring. Do not stop beating after the mixing is begun, and keep the mixture light. Bake it in a perfectly bright ungreased pan, or one lined with paper; a pan with a tube in the center is best. Bake in a moderate oven thirty to forty minutes. Do not move or jar it while it is baking. Try it with a broom-straw before removing it from the oven, and do not let it get too deeply colored. Let it stand in the pan a few minutes, then loosen it around the sides, and it will fall out. Turn the cake upside down and ice the bottom and sides if desired. The usual receipt is double the above quant.i.ties, eleven eggs being used, but this one gives a cake large enough to serve six people, and as it should be used while it is very fresh, it is better not to make more than enough to serve once. It can be made with five eggs and is very good, but not quite as spongy. Do not cut the cake, but break it apart with two forks.[467-*]
FOOTNOTES:
[467-*] If baked too fast this cake will be tough. It is well to set the cake-pan in a pan of water in the oven.
=SUNSHINE CAKE=
Make the same as angel cake, adding the beaten yolks of two eggs before putting in the flour.
=GENOESE CAKE=
Three eggs, and the same weight of b.u.t.ter, of sugar, and of flour. Beat the b.u.t.ter and sugar together until very light and creamy; add one saltspoonful of salt and flavoring (one half teaspoonful of vanilla or almond, or one tablespoonful of brandy); then add the eggs one at a time and beat each one well before adding the next. Beat the mixture for fifteen to twenty minutes; then stir in lightly the sifted flour and turn it into a pan, filling it three quarters full. This cake can be used for layers, rolls, canary pudding, or can be cut into small forms for fancy cakes. Bake slowly about forty minutes.
=JELLY ROLLS=
Make a layer of Genoese, or of sponge-cake No. 1. Put the mixture on the layer tins in spoonfuls, placing it around the edges; then with a broad knife smooth it over toward the middle, making it as even as possible.
Another way is to press it through a pastry bag in lines onto the tins.
The layers should be only one half inch thick when baked, and the crust should not be hard. As soon as it is removed from the oven, and before it has had time to cool, cut off the hard edges, spread it with currant, or any jelly or jam, and roll it up evenly; then roll it in a paper and tie, so it will cool in a round, even shape.
=LAYER CAKES: CHOCOLATE, VANILLA, COFFEE=
Bake Genoese or sponge-cake No. 1 (one half the receipt will give three layers) in round layer tins, using three for each cake; when baked spread two of them with filling and pile them one on the other. Trim the outside with a sharp knife so it will show a white even edge instead of crust. Cover the top with a soft royal icing made of confectioners"
sugar and flavored the same as the filling.
=CREAM FILLING=