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Cake Mixtures and Puddings

CAKES.

Cake are divided into two classes:-butter cakes and butterless cakes or sponge cakes. Butter Cakes.

The ingredients used in butter cakes are the same as those used for griddle cakes, plain muffins, etc., the difference being in the amount of each ingredient used. The fine texture desired in butter cakes and the quantity of butter used, make it necessary to use a different method of mixing from those used for griddle cakes, muffins and biscuits.

Cake Method of Mixing. 1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. 2. Cream the butter; that is, work the butter with a wooden mixing spoon until it becomes soft and creamy. 3. Add sugar gradually, creaming it with the butter. As the butter becomes thick with sugar add part of the egg yolks, well-beaten. Continue adding sugar and egg alternately until all has been added. Keep the mixture the same consistency throughout the process of mixing. 4. Add the flavoring and beat well. 5. Add one-third of the dry material and one-third of the milk. Beat well. 6. Add another third of the dry materials and another third of the milk and beat again. 7. Add the rest of the dry materials and after beating them into the mixture, add enough more milk to make a soft drop batter. 8. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, add them to the cake mixture and cut and fold them in. The whites should be well mixed with the rest of the batter but the air cells formed by beating the whites of the eggs must not be broken down. The expansion of the air by the heat of the oven is to help to make the cake rise.

Note. Cakes are lighter if the whites are added last, but a very good plain cake can be made by beating the whites and yolks together and adding them to the butter and sugar.

Cutting and Folding.

To cut and fold two mixtures together, pour one mixture onto the other, then put the edge of the spoon into the center of the dish, lift a spoonful of the batter and turn it over. Continue doing this until the two mixtures are well blended. A tablespoon is better for this purpose than a mixing spoon, as the sharp edge of the tablespoon will cut through the batter without mashing as many of the air cells as the broad edge of the wooden spoon would.

Baking.

The same oven tests and methods of baking are used for butter cakes as are used for muffins. Layer cakes and cup cakes will need a hotter oven than will be needed for a loaf cake. Cake will bake more quickly and more evenly in a "Turk's head" pan (one with a funnel through the center) than it will in a large solid loaf. If the cake contains molasses, it needs a slower fire towards the end of the baking to keep it from scorching. Cookies.

Cookies are cake doughs mixed thick enough to roll out or thick enough to hold their shape when dropped by spoonfuls on a greased baking sheet.

Cookies should be baked in a quick oven.

PUDDINGS.

The French word "boudin" from which our word pudding is supposed to have come, means sausage. Though we still have a few meat sausages that are called puddings, the word is generally understood to mean a boiled, baked or steamed dessert, composed of several different foods as apples and bread crumbs, biscuit dough and fruit, rice, milk and eggs, etc.

Puddings are usually served warm with a pudding sauce or cream poured over them.

Left over pieces of cake, stale bread, stewed fruit, boiled rice, etc., can be made into palatable and nourishing puddings that will not be recognized as "warmed over" foods.

Care should be taken to have a light pudding follow a heavy meal and the hearty, nourishing pudding to supplement the light meal. The time honored plum pudding to complete a five or six course Christmas dinner is a crime against good digestion.