BISCUITS, TEA CAKES, GRIDDLE CAKES, &c.

Raised Biscuit.

Take a pint bowl full of light dough; break into it a fresh egg, and add a piece of butter the size of an egg. Knead in these until perfectly incorporated with the dough. It will require about ten minutes. Roll it out about an inch thick, cut it into biscuit. Lay them upon a tin sheet, or shallow baking-pan, and let them rise in a moderately warm place. They will become very light and should be baked in a quick stove, baker, or oven. They will bake in twelve or fifteen minutes, and are injured by being baked very slowly. Very nice eaten fresh, but not hot. This measure will make about two dozen. They are not so good the next day as biscuit made without an egg.

Butter-milk Biscuit.

Take a half pint of butter-milk, or sour milk, and a pint of flour. Rub into the flour a piece of butter half the size of an egg. Add a little salt and stir the milk into the flour. Dissolve a teaspoonful of saleratus in a very little hot water, and stir into it.

Add flour enough barely to mould it smooth; roll it out upon the board, and cut out and bake exactly like the tea biscuit. The advantage of putting in the saleratus after the dough is partly mixed, is, that the foaming process occasioned by combining the sour milk and alkali, raises the whole mass; whereas if it is stirred first into the milk, much of the effervescence is lost, before it is added to the flour.

Cream Biscuit.

These are to be made in the same manner as the butter-milk biscuit, except that no butter is required; the cream will make them sufficiently short.

Cream of Tartar Biscuit.

Stir into one quart of flour, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, and a little salt. Add two table-spoonfuls of thick cream, or rub in one spoonful of lard or butter. Put in a teaspoonful of soda or saleratus, dissolved in a very little hot water. Mix the whole rather soft with milk. Bake like the tea biscuit.

It is a convenient way to make the mixture soft enough with milk to enable you to stir it well with a spoon, and then drop it into the baking pan. It should spread a little, but not run. To vary these drop-cakes add an egg, and two spoonfuls of sugar. For a family of three or four, make half the measure.

Cream of Tartar Biscuit without Milk.

Rub a piece of butter the size of an egg into a quart of flour till there are no little lumps. Then add a teaspoonful of salt, and scatter in two heaping teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar. Have ready a pint of cold water, in which a heaping teaspoonful of saleratus or soda has been dissolved; pour it into the flour, stirring it quickly with your hand. Do this several minutes that the ingredients may become well mixed; then add flour enough to enable you to mould it smooth. Roll it out the same thickness as tea biscuit. If these are made right, they are as light as foam. They may be made of unbolted flour, if preferred. Make half the measure for a small family.

Litchfield Crackers.

To one pint of cold milk, put a piece of butter the size of an egg, a small teaspoonful of salt, and one egg. Rub the butter into a quart of flour, then add the egg and milk. Knead in more flour until it is as stiff as it can possibly be made, and pound it with an iron pestle, or the broad end of a flat-iron, for at least one hour; then roll it very thin, cut it into rounds, prick, and bake in a quick oven, twelve or fifteen minutes.

Jenny Lind.

Take one egg, one teacup of sugar, one of sweet milk, two and a half of flour, a dessert-spoonful of butter, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one of saleratus, and a very little salt. To mix it, stir the cream of tartar, sugar, and salt into the flour, then the milk, add the egg without beating, dissolve the saleratus, and melt the butter together in a spoonful of hot water, then stir all together a few minutes. Bake in fifteen minutes in two pans about the size of a breakfast plate. If you prefer, make it with sour milk, and omit the cream of tartar.

With the addition of one more egg, a teaspoonful more of butter, and half a cup of sugar, and some spice, this is a nice cake for the basket, and may sometimes be very convenient, because so quickly made.

Sally Lunn.

A quart of flour, a piece of butter the size of an egg, three table-spoonfuls of sugar, two eggs, two teacups of milk, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one of saleratus, and a little salt.

To mix it, scatter the cream of tartar, the salt, and the sugar into the flour; add the eggs without having beaten them, the butter melted, and one cup of the milk; dissolve the saleratus in the remaining cup, and then stir all together steadily a few minutes. Bake in three pans the size of a breakfast plate, fifteen or twenty minutes. For a family of four or five, make half the measure. Add spice, and twice the measure of sugar, and you have a good plain cake for the cake-basket.

Rusk.

To a pint bowl of light dough add a gill of sugar, half as much butter, and either a little cinnamon, allspice, or lemon. Work these ingredients together, and then add flour enough to enable you to mould it smooth and roll it out. Let it be about an inch thick; cut it into biscuit, and lay them into a baking-pan to rise. They should become very light before being baked; and, therefore, in cold weather it is well to let the dough stand, after the ingredients are added, until the next day, then roll out the biscuit, and raise them in the bake-pan. Their appearance is improved by wetting the top with a mixture of sugar and milk, when they are nearly baked; then return them to the oven for a short time. They require fifteen or twenty minutes to bake.

A double measure may be made in cold weather, and when light be set in a cool place, but where it will not freeze, and a pan be baked whenever needed. Each day it will be better than the previous one.

Another (extra nice).

To one tumbler of milk, put half a gill of yeast, three eggs, one coffee-cup of sugar, two ounces of butter, and one small nutmeg. Beat the sugar and eggs together, rub the butter into the flour, of which use enough to enable you just to mould it. Let it rise over night; and when very light, roll out and put it on tins to rise again, after which, bake as above.

Whigs.

Half a pound of butter, the same of sugar, six eggs, two pounds of flour, a pint of milk, a gill of yeast, and a little salt. Melt the butter in the milk, and pour into the flour; beat the sugar and eggs together and stir in. Add the yeast last, and be careful to mix the whole very thoroughly. Bake in tin hearts and rounds, in the stove, or baker.

Waffles.

To a quart of milk, put six eggs, a quarter of a pound of butter, a large gill of yeast, a little salt, and flour enough to make a batter the thickness of griddle cakes. The iron must be heated on hot coals, and then buttered or greased with lard, and one side filled with batter, then be shut and laid on the fire. After a few minutes turn it upon the other side. It takes about twice the time that it would to bake them on a griddle, and they are really no better, but look more inviting.

Sour Milk Muffins.

To a pint of sour milk put one egg, without first beating it; a little salt, a teaspoonful of saleratus, and one of butter, melted with the saleratus in a spoonful of hot water. Make rather a thick batter. To bake well in rings, have the griddle of a moderate heat, grease it, and also the rings, lay them on, and fill them only half full of the batter; increase the heat a little. In about eight minutes, turn them and let them lie two or three minutes more.

To turn them without spilling requires some dexterity.

Cream of Tartar Muffins.

A quart of flour, a small pint of rich milk, two eggs, a table-spoonful of sugar, a teaspoonful of saleratus, two of cream of tartar, half a teaspoonful of salt.

Mix the salt, the cream of tartar and the sugar, dry, in the flour, add the eggs without beating, then the milk with the saleratus dissolved in it, and beat these ingredients very thoroughly. Half fill the rings, and bake in a quick oven.

Raised Muffins.

Melt a table-spoonful of butter in a pint of milk, add a little salt, two eggs, and a large half gill of yeast, then stir in flour enough to make a thick batter. In cold weather this may stand two or three days without becoming sour.

Another.

A pint of milk, one egg, a piece of butter as large as an egg, one teaspoonful of salt, half a gill of yeast, and flour enough to make a thick batter. Let it rise over night, and bake in rings. Like the other, can be kept a day or two in cold weather.

Drop Cakes.

Break four eggs into a pint of sweet milk, melt a piece of butter the size of an egg and add it, with a little salt, and flour enough to make a batter about as thick as cup-cake. Beat all together several minutes. If the cakes are to be eaten cold, add two spoonfuls of brown sugar. Bake in very small scalloped tins, or in cups.

Rye Drop Cakes.[5]

To a pint of sour-milk, or butter-milk, put two or three eggs, not quite a teaspoonful of saleratus, a little salt, and sifted rye meal (this is much better than rye flour), enough to make a batter that will spread a little, but not run. Drop them in muffin-rings with a spoon. They will require about twice as much time to bake as common griddle cakes. They will bake very nicely in a stove in fifteen minutes. Graham flour may be substituted for rye if preferred.

GRIDDLE CAKES.

White Flour.

To a quart of milk, put four eggs, a little salt, a large spoonful of butter, melted into the milk, a small gill of yeast, and flour enough to make a batter about as thick as for buckwheat cakes. Some persons eat them with a sauce made of butter, sugar, water, and nutmeg. Made in the morning they will be light for tea.

Butter-milk, or Sour milk.

Make a thin batter with a quart of sour, or butter-milk, white flour, a spoonful of fine Indian meal, a teaspoonful of salt, another of saleratus, and an egg. Try a spoonful on the griddle before you proceed to bake them, so that you may add more flour, if it is too thin to turn easily, or more milk if too thick.

Another (without an egg).

Make a batter just like the last receipt, only without the egg. Omit the Indian meal if you choose.

Indian Meal.

These are made like the sour milk cakes, only that the milk is chiefly thickened with Indian meal. A spoonful or two of flour should be added, and it is well to use two eggs instead of one, but not necessary.

Note.—In all these various kinds of cakes in which sour milk is used, it is an improvement to substitute buttermilk. But that which is sold in cities as buttermilk, is often adulterated.

Rice.

Put a teacupful of rice into two teacupsful of water, and boil it till the water is nearly absorbed, and then add a pint and a half of milk. Boil it slowly until the rice is very soft. When cool, add a small gill of yeast, three eggs, a little salt, and flour enough to make a batter of suitable thickness to bake on a griddle. Let it rise very light. To bake in muffin rings, make it a little thicker.

Ground Rice.

Boil a quart of milk. Rub smooth a teacupful of ground rice, in a gill or two of cold milk, and stir it into the boiling milk. Add salt, and when cool, add a teacup of yeast, four eggs, and flour to make it the right thickness for baking. Let it rise light.

Buckwheat.

For a family of four or five, take a quart of warm water, a spoonful of scalded Indian meal, a heaping teaspoonful of salt, and a gill of yeast. Stir in buckwheat flour enough to make a thin batter. Let it rise over night. In the morning add a quarter of a teaspoonful of saleratus or soda. Do this whether the cakes are sour or not. Buckwheat cakes cannot be made in perfection without this addition; but it should never be put in till just before they are baked. Such cakes are often made too thick, and fried with too much fat. They should be as thin as they can be, and be easily turned with a griddle shovel, and no more fat should be used than is necessary to keep them from sticking. To prevent the use of too much, tie a soft white rag, tight, round the tines of a large fork, and keep it for this purpose. If a gill of the batter is left, it will raise the next parcel.

Buckwheat cakes are as much better made with milk as other cakes are; but no others are so good made with water. They are very nice made of sour milk, with nothing added but salt and saleratus. These should be made only a short time before being baked.

Fritters or Pan-Cakes.

Make a batter of a pint of milk, three eggs, salt, and flour to make a rather thick batter. Beat it well, then drop it with a spoon into hot fat, and fry like doughnuts. These, and the snow fritters are usually eaten with sugar and cider, or lemon juice.

Snow Fritters.

Stir together milk, flour, and a little salt, to make rather a thick batter. Add new-fallen snow in the proportion of a teacupful to a pint of milk. Have the fat ready hot, at the time you stir in the snow, and drop the batter into it with a spoon. These pancakes are even preferred by some, to those made with eggs.

Corn Cake.

To a pint of sour milk, two cups of Indian meal, one of flour, one egg, two table-spoonfuls of molasses, a teaspoonful of salt, and one of saleratus. Mix it thoroughly, and bake twenty-five minutes in two shallow pans, or thirty-five in a deep one.

Another.

Take a pint of sweet milk, half a gill of yeast, one gill of flour, a teaspoonful of salt, and half a teaspoonful of saleratus; stir in Indian meal enough to make it rather stiffer than griddle cakes; let it rise over night, and in the morning bake as directed above.

This kind of cake has the advantage over those made without yeast; that if a piece of it is left, it is not heavy when cold, but is as palatable a lunch as a slice of good bread.

Another.

Take a pint of sour milk, or butter-milk, break an egg into it, stir in a spoonful or two of flour, and add Indian meal enough to make a thick batter; put in a teaspoonful of salt, stir it five or six minutes, and then add a heaping teaspoonful of saleratus dissolved in hot water. If it is the season for berries of any kind, put in a gill or two; bake in a pan or on the griddle.

Another.

A pint of sweet milk, two eggs, a pint of Indian meal or corn flour, half a pint of white flour, one teaspoonful of tartaric acid, or cream of tartar, and one of soda, mixed dry in the flour. Bake in a pan, about an inch thick, or in drop cake tins.