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Cake Making and Baking

Specially prepared for the Five Roses Cook Book MIXING CLEAR the kitchen table of every non-essential. Perfect cleanliness should be observed in every detail. Have sleeves rolled up above the elbows, and have hands and nails in perfect condition. Read the recipe thoroughly at least once. Collect all necessary ingredients and utensils beforehand.

All measurements are level, unless otherwise specified. Have flour perfectly dry; sift and measure. In fact, all dry ingredients should be measured after sifting.

Have pans ready greased. For this purpose fresh lard is preferred to butter. If the cake is large and requires long baking (for instance, a fruit or loaf cake), line the bottom with well-greased paper and sprinkle inside with a little flour, shaking out all loose flour before putting in the mixture.

The best utensil for mixing or beating is an earthen or stone bowl. It should be slightly warmed. A wooden spoon is also preferable.

Do not stir the cake; always beat thoroughly, bringing the batter up from the bottom of the bowl at every stroke. A consistent upward motion tends to improve the texture considerably.

All ingredients should be the best obtainable, quite up to the Five Roses standard. Butter that is watery or oily and not well worked should never be used. It is useful also to remember that too rich a cake breaks up easily; that too much sugar makes a thick, hard crust; too much egg a tough cake. Sour milk makes a spongy, light cake; sweet milk, one that cuts like pound cake. With sour milk, soda alone should be used; with sweet milk, baking powder or soda and cream of tartar. Cream of tartar and soda are often substituted for baking powder, in which case allow 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar and a smaller one of soda to every 3 cups of Five Roses flour, and sift well together two or even three times.