Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers

in the oven from an hour and a half to two hours, turning and looking at it from time to time; when you think it is sufficiently baked, stick a broad bright knife in the centre; if it is dry and free from dough when drawn out, the cake is likely to be done, though sometimes this is not a certain test, and you will have to draw a little from the centre of the cake with the knife. A broom straw will sometimes answer in a small cake instead of a knife. A large stone pan, with a cover, is the best for keeping cake, or a large covered bowl. Icing for Cake. Roll and sift a pound of loaf-sugar; whip the whites of three eggs; put in the sugar gradually, and beat it for half an hour; if it is so thick that it will not run, put in some rose water; let the cake be nearly cool; dry it in an oven that is nearly cool. Another Way. Put the white of one egg and a little rose water into half a pound of pulverized sugar, and heat them together till they stand; when it is nearly light enough, add a few drops of lemon juice, or a small portion of tartaric acid, dissolved in a _little_ water. It must be beaten in a bowl which has never had any thing greasy in it, (either cream or butter). The cake must have a little flour sifted over it, and wiped off with a towel, then cover it with a thin coat of the icing, set it under the stove or in a place that is a little warm, and let it harden; then add the second coat thicker; this will he perfectly white, but the first is always dark and has crumbs through it. A Rich Fruit Cake. Have the following articles prepared before you begin the cake: dry and sift four pounds of flour, four pounds of butter with the salt washed out, two pounds of loaf-sugar pounded, one ounce of nutmegs grated, an ounce of