A Little Cook Book for a Little Girl by Caroline French Benton (most interesting books to read TXT) 📖

tins, and fill each one only half-full.

Grandmother's Little Feather Cake

1 cup of sugar. 2 tablespoonfuls soft butter. 1 egg. 1/2 cup milk and water mixed. 1 1/2 cups sifted flour. 1 teaspoonful baking-powder.

Rub the butter and sugar to a cream. Beat the yolk of the egg stiff and put that in; then add part of the milk and water, and part of the flour and baking-powder, which has been sifted together; next the vanilla, and last the stiff whites of the eggs, not stirred in, but just lightly folded in. If you put them in heavily and roughly, cake will always be heavy. Bake this in a buttered biscuit-tin, and cut in squares when cold. It is nice covered with caramel or chocolate frosting.

Domino Cake

Make this feather cake and pour it into two pans, so that the bottom shall be just covered, and bake it quickly. When it is done, take it out of the pans and frost it, and while the frosting is still a little soft, mark it off into dominoes. When it is entirely cold, cut these out, and with a clean paint-brush paint little round spots on them with a little melted chocolate, to exactly represent the real dominoes. It is fun to play a game with these at a tea-party and eat them up afterwards.

Margaret's Own Cake

Margaret's mother named this cake for her, because she liked it so much to make it and to eat it. It is a very nice cake for little girls.

5 eggs. 1 cup granulated sugar. 1 cup of flour. 1 pinch of salt. 1/2 teaspoonful of lemon-juice, or vanilla.

Separate the eggs, and beat the yolks very light and foamy; then put in the sugar which you have sifted, a little at a time, and the flour in the same way, but put them in in turn, first sugar, then flour, and so on. Then put in the flavoring, and last fold in the whites of the eggs, beaten very stiff. Bake in a buttered pan.

Sponge Cake

4 eggs. 1 cup powdered sugar. 1 cup sifted flour. 1 level teaspoonful baking-powder. Juice of half a lemon.

Separate the yolks and whites of the eggs and beat them both very light. Mix the sugar in the yolks and beat again till they are very foamy; then put in the stiff whites, and last the flour, sifted with baking-powder; then the lemon-juice. Bake in a buttered biscuit-tin. You can frost and put walnut-halves on top.

Velvet Cake

This is a large cake, baked in a roasting-pan; it is very light and delicious, and none too large for two luncheons, or for a picnic.

6 eggs. 2 cups of sugar. 1 cup of boiling water. 2 1/2 cups of flour. 3 teaspoonfuls of baking-powder.

Put the yolks of the eggs in a deep bowl and beat two minutes; then put in the sugar, and beat ten minutes, or fifteen, if you want it perfect. Put in the water, a little at a time, and next the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs. Mix the baking-powder and flour, put these in next, and add the flavoring last. This is a queer way to mix the cake, but it is right.

Easy Fruit-cake

Margaret's Other Aunt begged to have this in the book, because she said it was so simple any little girl could make it, and all the family could help eat it, as they were especially fond of fruit-cake.

  1 cup butter.
  1 cup sugar.
  1 cup molasses.
  1 cup milk.
  1 cup currants.
  1 cup raisins.
  1 egg.
  1 teaspoonful soda.
  2 teaspoonfuls mixed spices.
  3 cups flour.

Wash and dry the currants. Buy the seeded raisins and wash these, too, and then chop them. Cream the butter and sugar, add the egg beaten well without separating, then the molasses with the soda stirred in it, then the milk, then the cinnamon and cloves. Measure the flour, and then take out a half-cup of it, and stir in the raisins and currants, to keep them from going to the bottom of the cake when it is baked. Stir these in, add the rest of the flour, and beat well. Bake in two buttered bread-pans.

Layer Cake

1 cup sugar. 1/2 cup water. 2 eggs. 2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder. 1/2 cup butter. 2 1/2 cups flour. Teaspoonful vanilla.

Rub the butter to a cream in a deep bowl, and put in the sugar a little at a time, and rub this till it, too, creams. Then put in the beaten yolks of the eggs, and then the water. Beat the egg-whites well, and fold in half, then add the flour, in which you have mixed and sifted the baking-powder, and then put in the vanilla and the rest of the eggs.

Divide in two layers, or in three if the tins are small, and bake till a light brown.

FILLING FOR LAYER CAKES

Nut and Raisin Filling

Make the rule for plain icing, and add a half-cup of chopped raisins mixed with half a cup of chopped almonds or English walnuts.

Fig Filling

Mix a cup of chopped figs with the same icing.

Marshmallow Filling

Chop a quarter of a pound of marshmallows; put them over the teakettle to get soft; make a plain icing and beat them in.

Maple Filling

2 cups maple syrup. Whites of 2 eggs.

Boil the syrup slowly till it makes a thread when you hold it up; then add it slowly to your beaten egg-whites, beating till cold.

Orange Filling

1 cup powdered sugar. 1 tablespoonful boiling water. Grated rind of 1 orange. 1 tablespoonful orange-juice.

Put the sugar in a bowl, add the rind, then the water and juice, and spread at once on the cake. This icing must be very thick when made, and if is seems thin put in more sugar.

Caramel Filling

2 cups brown sugar. 1/2 cup cream or milk. Butter the size of an egg. 1/2 teaspoonful vanilla.

Mix all together and cook till it is smooth and thick.

Plain Icing

Put the white of one egg into a bowl with a half-teaspoonful of water, and beat till light. Then stir in a cup of sifted powdered sugar, and put on the cake while that is still warm, and smooth it over with a wet knife.

Chocolate Icing

Melt one square of Baker's chocolate in a saucer over the teakettle, and put in two tablespoonfuls of milk and stir till smooth. Add two tablespoonfuls of sugar and a small half-teaspoonful of butter, and stir again. Take it off the stove and put it on the cake while both are warm.

Caramel Icing

1/2 cup of milk. 2 cups brown sugar. Butter the size of an egg. 1 teaspoonful of vanilla.

Mix the butter, sugar, and milk, and cook till it is smooth and thick, stirring all the time and watching it carefully to see that it does not burn; take it off and put in the vanilla, and spread while warm on a warm cake.

Doughnuts

Margaret's mother did not approve of putting this rule in her cook-book, because she did not want Margaret ever to eat rich things; but her grandmother said it really must go in, for once in awhile very nice doughnuts would not hurt anybody.

1 1/2 cups of sugar. 1/2 cup of butter. 3 eggs. 1 1/2 cups of milk. 2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder. Pinch of salt.

Put in flour enough to make a very soft dough, just as soft as you can handle it. Mix, and put on a slightly floured board and make into round balls, or roll out and cut with a cooky cutter with a hole in the centre. Heat two cups of lard with one cup of beef suet which you have melted and strained, and heat till it browns a bit of bread instantly. Then drop in three doughnuts,—not more, or you will chill the fat, —and when you take them out dry on brown paper. It is much better to use part suet than all lard, yet that will do if you have no suet in the house.

Oatmeal Macaroons

These little cakes are so like real macaroons that no one who had not seen the recipe would guess how they were made.

2 1/2 cups rolled oats. 2 1/2 teaspoonfuls baking-powder. 1/2 teaspoonful salt. 3 even tablespoonfuls butter. 1 cup sugar. 3 eggs, beaten separately. 1 teaspoonful vanilla.

Cream the butter, add the sugar and well beaten egg-yolks, then the oatmeal, salt, and baking-powder, then the vanilla, and last the whites of the eggs. Drop in small bits, no larger than the end of your finger, on a shallow pan, three inches apart. Bake in a very slow oven till brown, and take from the pan while hot.

Peanut Wafers

1 cup of sugar. 1/2 cup of butter. 1/2 cup of milk. 1/2 teaspoonful soda. 2 cups of flour. 1 cup chopped peanuts.

Cream the butter and sugar, put the soda in the milk and stir well, and put this in next; add the flour and beat well. Butter a baking-pan and spread this evenly over the bottom, and then spread the peanuts over all. Bake till a light brown.

Tea-party Cakes

2 squares of Baker's chocolate. 1 teaspoonful of sugar. Bit of butter the size of a pea.

Melt the chocolate over the teakettle and stir in the sugar and butter and a couple of drops of vanilla, if you like. Take little round crackers, and with a fork roll them quickly in this till they are covered; dry on buttered paper. You can also take saltines, or any long, thin cracker, and spread one side with the chocolate.

Almond Strips

White of 1 egg. 1 cup chopped almonds. 2 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar.

Beat the egg just a little and put in the sugar and almonds; spread on thin crackers, and brown in the oven with the door open.

PIES

General Rule

Margaret's mother did not like her to eat pie, but she let her learn how to make it, and once in awhile she had a small piece. Here is her rule:

1 pint of flour. 1/4 cup of butter. 1/4 cup lard, 1 teaspoonful salt. 1/2 cup ice-water.

Put the flour, butter, lard, and salt in the chopping-bowl and chop till well mixed. Then add the water, a little at a time, turning the paste and chopping till smooth, but never touching with the hand. Put a very little flour on the pastry-board and lift the crust on this, and with a floured rolling-pin lightly roll it out once each way; fold it over and roll again, and do this several times till the crust looks even, with no lumps of butter showing anywhere. Put it on a plate and lay it in the ice-chest for at least an hour before you use it.

Pie-crust will never be light and nice if you handle it. Do not touch it with your fingers unless it is really necessary. When you use it, get everything ready for the pie first, and then bring out the crust, roll quickly, and spread over the pie.

In putting the pie in the pan, cut the bottom piece a little larger than you want it, as it will shrink. Sprinkle the tin with flour, lay on the crust, and after it has been fitted evenly, and is not too tight, cut off the edge. Put a narrow strip of paste all around the edge, and press it together; if you wet it with a little water it will stick. If you wish to be sure the filling of the pie will not soak into the under crust, brush that over with beaten white of egg. After you put in the filling, fold your top crust together and cut some little shutters to let out the steam. Put on the cover, wet the edges so they will stick together, and pinch evenly.

Deep Apple Pie, or Apple Tart

Fill a baking-dish with apples, peeled and cut in slices. Sprinkle with flour, cinnamon, and plenty of sugar, about half a cup. Put in the oven and bake till the apples are soft, and then cool, put on the crust, and bake till brown. Serve powdered sugar and rich cream with this.