Marion Harland's Complete Cook Book: A Practical and Exhaustive Manual of Cookery and Housekeeping

of butter creamed with a half-pound of sugar, a dash of ginger and as much baking-soda as will lie upon a shilling, dissolved in a little boiling water. Mix thoroughly and bake in flat pans. Grandmother’s apple cake (From an old family recipe.) Three cups of dried apples stewed slowly in two cups of molasses, then set aside to cool. Three cups of flour; two-thirds of a cup of butter; two cups of brown sugar; one-half cup of raisins; currants and grated lemon peel, mixed; eight teaspoonfuls of water, one level teaspoonful of soda dissolved in the water, three eggs, spices to taste. This cake will keep for weeks. It is better when a few days old than when first made. The apples should be carefully washed, first in warm, then in cold water, lying in this last for half an hour. Drain and toss in a towel before adding the molasses. In the “old times” the quantity of cake made by this recipe lasted the children a month. Bun loaf (An English recipe.) Cream together half a cupful of mixed butter and lard with a half-cupful of brown sugar; beat into this one egg and work both into a cupful of bread dough that has had its second rising. Work in, also, half a teaspoonful of cinnamon and quarter of a grated nutmeg, half a cupful of mixed raisins and currants, the raisins seeded and chopped, the currants washed and dried, and both dredged with flour, a tablespoonful of citron shredded and also dredged, and knead all well for three or four minutes. Make into a loaf, let it rise half an hour and bake in a moderate oven. Fruit cake (No. 1) One cupful of butter; one and a half cupfuls of powdered sugar; two cupfuls of flour; six eggs; half a pound, each, of raisins and currants; quarter-pound of citron; teaspoonful of cinnamon and nutmeg; half teaspoonful of ground cloves; three tablespoonfuls of brandy. Cream butter and sugar, beat in the whipped yolks of the eggs, stir in the flour, the spice, the raisins, seeded and chopped;