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Tea-Cakes (Butter the size of an egg)

of butter the size of an egg, a little pounded sugar (4 lumps), a pinch of salt, 2 tablespoonfuls of brewer's yeast, or better still 1 oz. of German. Do not knead it, but work it up to a light dough. Put it in muffin rings on a tin; half fill them and set to rise about 10 minutes. Bake in a quick oven. Shortbread. (Mrs. Young.) Take 8 lbs. of flour, keeping back about 1 lb. to work up the cakes; 1½ lbs. castor sugar. Take ½ lb. each of orange peel, citron, and blanched almonds cut all in long pieces, and mix them well in the flour; then make a hole in the middle of the flour, and put in 4 lbs. 2ozs. of melted butter. Work it up, but not too much. Divide into 8 cakes, and roll them out.

Prick them on the top with a feather, strew sugar - plums, orange peel, and citron over them.

Bake them on a paper, dusted with flour, in a moderate oven. Shrewsbury Cakes. (Mrs. Adams, Washington. 1880.) These are cinnamon biscuits.

To 4 eggs take ½ lb. butter, 1 lb. sugar, 1 lb. or more flour, for the flour must be added till the dough is just stiff enough to roll out, and a tablespoonful of ground cinnamon. Stir butter and sugar till very light, then add the eggs well beaten, and the cinnamon; lastly add the flour.

Roll out as thin as a sheet of paper. Cut with a tin cutter, and bake a good dark brown in a rather quick oven.

Sultana Tea-cakes. (Mrs. Emslie. 1897.) Bake in ribbed quenelle moulds. ¼ lb. butter, ¼ lb. sugar, ¼ lb. flour, 2 ozs. sultanas, 2 eggs, a little candied peel, and baking powder.

Mix same as for a cake; bake in small ribbed quenelle moulds. When they are done cover them with icing of sugar and water, and put them on a wire sieve to dry. Tea-cakes. No. 1. 1 lb. flour, 1 egg very well beaten, 2 ozs. butter, 2 large spoonfuls of yeast, ½ pt. milk. Rub the butter in the flour, mix the milk warm, add the yeast and the egg, and beat the whole 10 minutes.

Butter the tins and quarter fill them for tea-cakes; for luncheon half fill them; let them rise to the top before the fire, and bake 10 or 12 minutes. Tea-cakes. No. 2. Excellent.

To 1 lb. flour add ½ lb. butter, ¼ lb. sugar and 2 eggs. Mix them well into a paste; roll them out thin and cut them with a round cutter and bake in a quick oven. Tea-cakes. No. 3. (Mrs. Brandreth. 1887.) 1 lb. of fine flour - into it rub an oz. of fresh butter, add a little salt and an oz. of baking powder. Mix very lightly into a dough with milk. Roll out till quarter of an inch thick; cut out with a cutter and bake in rather a quick oven on a buttered baking sheet until it is a nice gold colour.

Have ready some warmed butter on a plate, split the cakes as you would a muffin, and dip each half into the hot butter or spread butter over inside with a silver knife. Clap the halves together when enough buttered, cut across, and serve hot in a heated muffin dish with cover; each cake will make four pieces (not eight). Watford Cakes. 1 lb. flour, 3 ozs. white sugar, 3 ozs. butter, 1 oz. German yeast, ³¼ lb. sultanas, a little mixed candied peel and spices, 2 eggs.

Mix with warm milk; will take about 2 hours to rise. Bake. Yorkshire Cakes.

Beat well together 3 lbs. of flour, a pt. and a half of warm milk, 4 spoonfuls of yeast and 4 eggs, to rise in tins. Bake in a slow oven. (See also Birk Hall Rolls, under Bread.) Yorkshire Tea-cakes. (Miss Bowers.) To 2 lbs. fine flour put 2 spoonfuls of good fresh barm, 2 teaspoonfuls of sugar with 2 eggs beaten to a froth. Warm 2 ozs. butter in a pt. of milk, knead all into a light paste, then make up the tea - cakes and let them stand before the fire till well risen. Bake them in a slow oven. (We use this recipe omitting the eggs and sugar. C.C.)