The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-11-28

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Baked. She baked a fruit cake for
Thanksgiving and this is the way it
began and ended.
First the woman secured a recipe for
extra fine fruit cake. The recipe was
copied by friend of hers from the
Woman Who Baked promised her
friend a large cut of the fruit cake for
being so kind as to copy the recipe for
har.
| Whoever wrote the recipe expected
that the person who was to bake the
cake would have house as big as the
White House. stocked with the neces-
sary ingredients. The recipe called for
"a varieties of indigestib1e things to
go into that cake.
The Woman Who Baked started in
| to collect the things necessary for the
cake. First she found that she had
to have some wine. She didn't have
drop of wine in the house. So she went
| to another neighbor to borrow just a
| half a cup of wine. Of course she ex-
| planned why she wanted the wine. and
| to make the neighbor an accessory to
the deed she promised her copious
portion of the cake. when baked. for
| her kindness.
| The next thing was that the Woman
Who Baked found that she had no
blanched alraonds. She had So out of
the 81 things necessary to the mixture.
but she was without the last named.
That meant to borrow from another
neighbor and another promise of a
| large cut Oft the cake.
| Then the woman started to work. She
had three tables and two chairs loaded
down with the things that went into
| the cake. Every pan she possessed was
in service holding something. She ran
short of pans and had to use the tops
of some baking powder tins. When she
was all ready she began mixing the 81
varieties. Of course. like all recipes,
be regulated by the size of the cake.
| The Woman Who Baked started in with
six pounds of citron as the basis. She
built the cake with that citron as the
corner stone. Right in the middle of
operations she found she was short
about a quart of raisins. Another trip
| to another neighbor TO borrow and an
other promise of a slice of the cake.
Then she had four pans filled with
four different mixtures, which were to
| be comingled for the final grand mix
ture which was to be the cake. Then
| The Woman Who Baked found that she
| didn't have a pan in the house, unless
it would be a washtub that would hold
the dough and the f1xings.
Another trip to another neighbor and
the borrowing of an extra large dish
| pan, in which to put the raw material
/ which was to make the cake, meant the
promise of another eopious portion of
1.-The cake.
Then when The Woman Who Baked
had put the mixture in the pan she
found that the pan wouldn't go in the
oven to her stove! She was almost
/
her head and ran to another neighbor
who owned a large range. She nego-
tiated another hunk off the cake for the
use of the range to bake the cake in.
Finally cake was baked and put away
for Thanksgiving.
/ The cake was cut I'D into sections
and quarter sections and the different
sections of the cake which had been
bartered and traded before the cake
was made were distributed around the
Ineighborhood. the family was called
together to eat the Thanksgiving din
ner. which was to close with that Won
| derfuI cake.
At the last minute some friends
dropped in and of course they had to
| have cake, If they didn't have anything
else The result was that little
Johnny, the youngest, and The Woman
Who Baked didn't get a taste of the
cake. but the neighbors and the friends
who ate it said it was good: all but
the woman who lent the dishpan, and
she thought there was a little too much
wine in It. and the woman who loaned
the wine thought there was too much
citron. and the woman who loaned the
use of her range thought the raisins
were too thick. and the woman who
furnished the almonds thought the top
was burned too much, and-but The
Woman Who Baked that cake resolved
never to bake another. She thinks
that fruit cakes bring on nervous dys-
lpeDsia.