Making Cake. — Part I 1453 



See that the oven is ready to receive the cake. Too hot an oven is 

 more destructive to good results in making cake than one that is too cool. 

 If coal is used, do not attempt to use the oven for baking just after coal 

 has been put into the stove nor after it has been nearly burned out; in 

 the latter case the coal must be replenished before the cake is done, thus 

 cooling the oven. 



Selection of a recipe 



In selecting the recipe, the housekeeper should consider the occasion 

 for which the cake is to be used, how long it is to last, and the limitation 

 of her purse. In the days of our grandmothers, pound cake was ser\^ed 

 to company at tea. That was because pound cake is rich and its richness 

 makes it keep well. Our thrifty grandmothers were thus provided for 

 the unexpected. On the other hand, for children, or when the cake is 

 to be eaten soon after baking, or in summer, when the appetite craves 

 light food, or to serve with ice cream, already rich, the less rich cakes 

 are preferable to those containing a large quantity of shortening. 



Methods oj mixing cake 



There are several ways of mixing cake, and much controversy has 

 arisen among housekeepers as to the method that will give the best results. 

 It has been the experience of the wTiter that, if the mixing of ingredients 

 has been very thorough, the method of mixing does not greatly influence 

 the result obtained. Differences in resiilts are due to variations in the 

 thoroughness with which the ingredients have been mixed, rather than 

 to the order or manner of mixing. 



Method I for mixing cake 



1. Cream or soften the fat by stirring it with a spoon or a fork until 

 it is of the consistency of thick, smooth cream. In cold weather, or if 

 the butter is cold, it may be broken into small pieces and placed in a 

 warm bowl while the creaming is being done, and time will thus be 

 saved. 



2. Add the sugar gradually to the creamed butter, and beat or stir 

 thoroughly until the mixture is light, fluffy, fine-grained, and moist. 

 This is called creaming the butter and sugar together. When much sugar 

 and little butter are used, cream only a part of the sugar with the fat 

 and do not add the remainder of the sugar until after the egg yolks have 

 been stirred into the creamed butter and sugar. 



3. Separate the whites and yolks of the eggs, and beat each separately, 

 beating the whites imtil stiff but not too dry, and the yolks until light 

 and creamy. 



