Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1893-02-24
CHRISTMAS CAKES.
ENGLISH PUDDlNGS AND CAKES GO
ALL OVER THE WORLD.

CnrlsJnaS cakes, New Years cakes
Twelfth cakes, christening cakes, birthday
eakes and wedding cakes all come of tn,
same wealthy family-that is to say, they
are as rich as rich can be- A high author
hy upon the whole subject chatted day OIL
two ago about them. IL was a painfully
appetizing conversation, for it took place in
a showroom of palatial proportions in
which were to be seen specimens of every
kind of cake which mankind has invented
FOR social consumption. A cake, it must be
promised, cannot be eaten in strict seclu-
sion. 1t must be enjoyed I'm pleasant com
pany or it becomes indigestible, and with
out n cake the Christmas board would be
incomplete
1--WE sell thousands Of Christmas cakes,
said the gentleman whose firm has prob
ably produced more cakes of every variety
than any one house in the world. They
closely resemble the wedding cake, which
Is a recognized institution. BY the way,
think wedding cakes are getting larger and
heavier and certainly the sugar work orna-
mentation Is more elaborate and artistically
executed Necessarily the decoration must
be in white and silver, but sometimes real
dollhouse flowers are used to adorn the
cake"
what is the largest size wedding cakef"
ave sell some weighing five hundred
weight or six hundredweight, and the
largest-for royalties-has been about ten
hundredweight. A saw edged knife is sup
piled for the ceremony Of cutting the cake,
which is frequently done, however, in ad-
vance, and a silver trOwel is used by the
bride to withdraw the segment easily"
On all sides were wedding cakes on
shelves, some Of them with light deposit
OF almond icing upon their tops. They
were all ordered Tor forthcoming marriages.
THE icing" remarked the guide, sis
done as required. A very large cake is
baked in sections and afterward fitted to-
gether. That man there is busy cutting
smaller cakes in halves, for you can never
tell from the outside appearance whether
the cake is thoroughly well baked inside.
We therefore test every one"
Now what is the real difference between
a wedding cake and a Christmas plum
cakeY"
1T is generally in the ornamentation.
The top Of a Christmas cake is coated with
sugar icing and picked out with colors-
say pink-and there is also an inscription.
A Father Christmas stands in the center,
and there are small fancy ornaments around
the figure. Some, too, have holly on the
top, but people now and then prefer sweet
meats instead
And you say that there is a great de
mand for themY"
We send them all over the world. We
occasionally export cakes and buildings TO
people abroad sufficient to last them the
whole year round. They 20 TO India, AT
rioa, China, Egypt-in fact, everywhere. A
New Years cake is similar to a Christmas
cake, with fancy decoration and figures"
DO you find that Twelfth cakes are de |
Ginning in popularity
well, perhaps we do not sell quite 81 !
many. They are as you know decorated |
with figures, and a sheet of characters and |
conundrums accompanies each cake, &C |
oording TO the old custom. They are drawn /
for"
us the plan still followed of embedding
various articles in tine cakeg"
Yes, that is still done People bring us
rings, coins and buttons to put in the cake
In fact, we have inclosed in the cake gold
watches and diamond rings But it has
generally been arranged beforehand where
they should cut for such a prize-a little
rosette or colored ribbon in the decoration
would be a sufficient guide"
Conversation then turned upon school
cakes, which are as full Of currants and
sgttanas rs eau be desired. But for peo-
pie Of maturef Years the fashion in cakes,
except on festival occasions, when the rule
may be broken through, runs upon a light
er and most digestible cake. Here in the
neat cardboard boxes are piles of Dundee
cakes, made of butter, -four and eggs, and |
better than a dough cake Of the schoolboy
kind. A Dundee cake has its due proper.
ton Of spltanas and peel, and it is rather
richer in quality than the popular Scotch
Madeira. There are other varieties OF liRht
pound cakes, such as seed and almond, and
II the taste inclines to heavier article
currant cake in various degrees OF richness
can be had, and it Is remarkable how CON
sentative successive generations are in
their liking for good substantial cake.
Before glancing at a few Of the astonish-
ing array of delcacies in the way of biscuits.
attention IL attracted to huge store of ]
plum buildings. Each pudding is in its own |
neat white basin and securely tied up in its |
cloth.
1--WE are making 1900 this year" says
the gentleman who is acting as guide
through this palace of dainties. "A great
many are sent abroad. They are dispatched
In tin lined cases, sometimes thirty to forty
I'm a case"
But can you tell me who it is who buys
your puddings"
Regular customers come year after year,
for twenty OF more at time, to give away
a. Christmas presents. Most army officers,
and those Of the navy, too. want buildings.
The puddings which are sent abroad are
not packed in basins but in cloths, for they
travel better. The puddings in these basins
are for home consumption. They are ready
boiled
And are Of all sizesi"
The largest pudding costs, say, ten gum
eas. and il would be sufficient for 500 OF coo
men---London Telegraph.