Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/1617

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RECIPES FOR BREAD, BISCUITS, AND CAKES
1445

Time.—10 minutes, to bake. Average Cost, 3d. Sufficient to make 6 cakes.

3413.—SCOTCH SHORTBREAD.

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of flour, ¼ of a lb. of cornflour, or ground rice, 1 lb. of butter, ¼ of a lb. of castor sugar, 1 oz. of sweet almonds, a few strips of candied orange-peel.

Method.—Beat the butter to a cream, gradually dredge in the flour, and add the sugar, and sweet almonds, which should be blanched and cut into small pieces. Work the paste until it is quite smooth, and divide it into 6 pieces. Put each cake on a separate piece of paper, roll the paste out square to the thickness of about 1 inch, and pinch it round the edges. Prick it well with a skewer, and ornament with 1 or 2 strips of candied orange-peel. Put the cakes into a moderately heated oven, and bake from 25 to 30 minutes.

Time.—25 to 30 minutes. Average Cost, for this quantity, 2s. Sufficient to make 6 cakes.

3414.—SCRAP CAKES.

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of flead, or the inside fat of a pig, 1½ lbs. of flour, ¼ of a lb. of moist sugar, ½ a lb. of currants, 1 oz. of candied lemon-peel, ground allspice to taste.

Method.—Cut the flead, or leaf as it is more generally called, into small pieces, put it into a large dish, place it in a quick oven, taking care that it does not burn, and in a short time it will be reduced to oil with the small pieces of leaf floating on the surface; it is of these that the cake should be made. Gather all the scraps together, put them into a basin with the flour, and rub them well together. Add the currants, sugar, the candied peel, cut into thin slices, and the ground allspice. When all these ingredients are well mixed, moisten with sufficient cold water to make the whole into a nice paste; roll it out thin, cut it into shapes, and bake the cakes in a quick oven from 15 to 20 minutes. These are very economical and wholesome cakes for children, and the lard, melted at home, produced from the flead, is generally better than the purchased article. To prevent the lard from burning, and to ensure its being of a good colour, it is better to melt it in a jar placed in a saucepan of boiling water, thus preventing its discolouring.

Time.—15 to 20 minutes. Average Cost, 1s. 10d., for this quantity. Sufficient to make 3 or 4 dozen cakes.

3415.—SEED CAKE, VERY GOOD.

Ingredients.—¾ of a lb. of butter, 6 eggs, ¾ of a lb. of castor sugar, pounded mace and grated nutmeg to taste, 1 lb. of flour, ¾ of an oz. of caraway seeds.

Method.—Beat the butter to a cream, add the sugar, mace, nutmeg,