The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1898-07-08
HOUSEHOLD TALKS.
Rules of an Old Housekeeper for
Making Real Strawberry
ShOrtcalke.

The baskets of crimson berries that
we see piled on the hucksters' stalls
now suggest the enticing shortcake.
This is characteristic American del
icacy, and is found at it's best on the
home table. Somehow the French cooks,
who are the only ones employed by the
best hotels and restaurants, never seem
to have acquired the lknack of turning
out delicate, fakey shortcake such as
our best home cooks prepare. Their
shortcake is sort of mongrel bread,
between a sweet layer cake and a gateau
n ST. Honore, decorated with straw
berries. Some of the English restaur-
| ants serve scenes between layers of
strawberries for the famous short
cake.
Shortcake proper is q simple, de-
licious light biscuit dough, baked in
layers, which are split open after they
are baked, spread with Strawberries,
chopped a trifie to make them COM
pact, and served at once with sugar
and whipped cream. No dish is more
likely to be a failure in the hands of q
careless cook.
The shortcake may be raised with
baking powder or with sour cream
and soda. The simplest way of making
shortcake is with baking powder; the
veriest tyro in her trade can prepare
fairly good shortcake in this man.
ner:
Measure out q quart of flour, and
add four even spoonfuls of good
baking powder. Sift both together
three times, and then rub through The
mass two large tablespoonfuls of but
ter. Add two half-pint cupfuls of sweet
milk and stir the mass rapidly. Turn it
out on a pastry board, dredged with
flour. Dredge the dough and roll it out
with a roller well sprinkled with flour.
Do not rub the hand over the board
or rolling-pin; this is the mistake Of the
green" pastry cook is likely to make.
The bread or the pastry is much more
likely to stick when this is done. Do
not attempt 10 make bread or pastry
of any kind without flour dredge;
use this when it is needed, and your
bread and pastry will never stick to
the board.
For shortcake roll out the dough in
two layers each threc-quarters of an
inch thick; roll melted butter over one,
any lay the other above it. Put them
in hot oven, and bake in a Russian
iron dripping pan, in order that it may
rise before it begins to brown. If the
oven is not defective it will not be
necessary to put the cake on the upper
slide. The top crust should be a deli
cate brown, but not hard. Twenty
minutes ought to cook any shortcake of
the thickness given. AS soon as the
cake is taken from the oven, split it
apart and pile each piece with straw
berries which have been cut in two;
sprinkle them with sugar and put the
two cakes together. Heap whipped
cream over the top and cut it into tri-
angles quickly with q heated knife,
which will prevent the hot bread being
heavy, as it would be if cut with q cold
knife.
The shortcake must be served as soon
as possible after the strawberries have
been sprinkled on it.
~ uellclOuS SnOflcdKe is EllQe with
sour cream which has reached that
state of acidty when it has turned to
q jelly-like curd. This will require the
Use of baking powder as well as soda,
as the chemical ctfervcscence set up be-
tween the soda and the sour cream will
not be sufficient to raise the flour.
For this shortcake sift a quart of
-four with two teaspoonfuls of bak-
ing powder Rub two liberal table
spoonfuls of butter through the flour,
and melt scant half teaspoonful of
soda in tablespoonful of water; add
it to cup Of sour cream, and instantly
put it into the other ingredients with
out stopping to stir it. Add also
cup of sweet milk.
Stir rapidly. Success depends upon
the rapidity of your movements after
adding the melted soda to the sour
cream and stirring the sweet milk into
the flour. All cffervescence must take
place after the mixing as far as pos
sib!e. Bake and serve it in the manner
as before given. This makes tender
er shortcalie than the other rule.-N.
Y. Tribune.