Evening star., 1897-01-02
THE LAND oasscAkE 81
Three Kinds That Give Scotland That
Sobriquet :.
How to Make Scotch oatmeal Cakes,
the Famou. Bins and >.'.-
shortbread.

My patriotism and mys pride as a Scot
tish housewife are sadly ruff1ed over an ar
ticle appearing in the january number of
The Ladies Home Journsi that purports to
give a few of the national New Year cakes
of Scotland The first glaring error is made
in referring to Scotland as 1.-The land O.
cakes" in a manner that suggests that it is
a land of sweet cakes, which it is less, 1
believe, than any country of modern civili-
cation. The cakes referred to in the sobri-
quet are, of course, the oat cakes which
form the bread of life of the Scottish labor
er, and are no more allied to cakes in the
sense in which the word is used in the ar
ticle referred to than is the hoe cake Of
"Old Virginny.'
Again our delicious shortbread is con-
tcrted into a mongrel "shortcake," term
and cake utterly unknown to Scotland,
ard, further, any description of the compo-
siticn of the bun" also mentioned-the
cake of all Scotch New Year sweet cakes
is entirely omitted.
Oatmeal Cakes.
The cakes which have given to Scotland
it's name of 1.-The land O. cakes are made of
oatmeal-and here it should be said that the
oatmeal which forms so important an ar
tcle of diet of the Scot is ground much
finer than that used in this country which
is too coarse to make oat cakes-with salt
to sea son and cold water stirred in to make
the compound of consistency that it may
be rolled out. 1t is then turned out on the
baking board and rolled out very thin, gen.
orally with a corrugated rolling pin. 1t is
made round to fit the big round "griddle''
that has been busted with the f1oury meal
and hangs hot from the crook over the
opeE peat fire Thus it is cooked until it is
crisp. Freshly baked and spread with but
ter it is fine, with something of the tooth
sc meness of the crust of the hoecake. 1t
Is baked once or twice a week in large
patches. which are kept in the meal
bowie for daily use.
The New Year Dun.
New Year day is regarded as the most
important holiday of the year among the
laboring classes Of Scotland. Christmas
Is but slightly observed, remnant of the
disdain Of the old Scottish Covenanters for
any observance of holy day of the times
before the reformation. The "guid New
Year" is ushered in with many quaint
ceremony, and the bun" referred to is
freshments that are offered to the caller
during the day of festtvity and generally
throughout the week following. 1t is rather
a rich compound, and is usually baked
week or two before the important day. as
1t is decidedly improved by being kept for
while. What remains after the holiday
season is over is put care fully by for spe-
cial occasions during the year, and the
bun" frequently lasts from one New
Year to another. Here fs its receipt: Four
pounds raisins, 2ls pounds'cufrants. u pound
almc nds, II pound orange peel, u ounce
Cloves " ounce ginger, o1s oounce alspice,
% ounces butter. pounds bread dough.
Directions for preparing:2 Work the butter
into the dough, then lay aside one fourth
Of the dough for the cover Roll out the
rest and lay the fruit on II. and sprinkle
the spices over the fruit and knead all into
the dough. When 1t Is weif-kneaded, roll
out the cover, and with 1t line a large
bread pan, leaving enough OF the dough to
form top; lay the bun fnto this, then
cover IT neatly with top, trim it round
set In a pretty quick oven, and just before
you take it out glaze the top with the
beaten white Of an eggi!t Ef
.l Scotch shorthread.
The following is t,n1e-f1bnored receipt
for the most delicious Of Scotch slnortbread:
To two quarts Of -four take six ounces of
sifted sugar and of candied citron, orange
peel and blanched almonds two ounces
each. Cut these in rather large slices and
mix them with the flour. Rub down among
the flour q pound of butter in very small
bits, melt half pound more, and, with
this, work up the flour, etc. The less
kneading it gets the more short and crisp
the shortbread will be. Roll out the paste
into a large well-shaped oval cake, about
half an inch thick, and divide this the
narrow way, SO as to have two cakes some
what the shape of a Gothic arch. Pinch
the cakes neatly around the edges and
prick them on the top with a fork. Cara
way comfits aud few strips Of citron peel
may be strewn over the top. Bake on pa
per or on baking sheets rubbed with flour.
SUSAN HUNTER.