Preface
Reading edition
The recipes in this book are English, French, Portuguese and Dutch; while some of the best come from America, which is the true land of cakes. All are good: the best I have starred.
Amateur cooks should know that for cakes to be successful it is almost imperative that they are made and baked by the same person. Delegation too often means ruin, the bond of sympathy between maker and baker being only in very rare instances sufficiently close to defeat the imp of mischief that lurks in every oven.
Lastly, I might say that the eggs cannot be too fresh, nor the butter too pure; and molasses is better than treacle.
E. D.