New-York tribune., 1912-02-05

II Is automatic that you cannot eat your
.aka and have your cake, and quite as evi-
s.0t that you cannot eat your cake unless
81, Won have IL. Having il is aasy-dead
aasy as the lads say-if you are content
.s,v extravagant and go TO the bakers for
!. Idf contrariwise. some habits of thrift
rsdsin to you, you will make your own
I'VE even though eggs and butter rule at
,r1b rates eating them recalls Cleopatra
ord her dissolved pearl. BY the way, that
,,st have been a nauseous draught-so
rahseous I like to think the story of it
onoeryphal But that is far cry from the
natter in hand. Cake as a matter in mouth
,s something more than a luxury. l re-
gard it, or some equivalent form Of sweet,
among the necessities Of good feeding.
Boughten cake worth carrying home.
much less worth eating, will range in price
from 25 TO 80 cents the pound. Two hand
some ard robust loaves. beautifully frosted
and weighing, l judge, in the neighborhocd
II six pounds, cost for material 70 cents.
The bills ran thus: Whites of twelve eggs
nwo saved out for frosting), % cents, the
nolks going into something else; one-third
nound butter, 10 cents; one pound seeded
raisins 10 cents: sugar. something more
than a pound, cents; -four cents; cne
orange. cents: havoring and baking pow
der. cents. Adding in the cost Of gas for
haking. the total is still but little more
than 50 cents. That the cake vas good
nourishing and sufficiently rich, was the
verdict of sundry connoisseurs.
The making, single handed, took an
hours time-and was a rest after labors of
wholly another sort. To succeed with cake,
as with most other things. you must give
your whole mind TO it. Know your recipe
BY heart, else have book and follow II re-
ligously. If you are forced 10 make
changes. use your intelligence. Ny cake
called for a modicum of sour cream. Hav-
ing none at hand, put in the orange juice
for wetting and increased slightly the
Quantity Of butter. Only a cupful was
called for-I gave a spoonful over. The
-four was sfted five times. after adding the
baking powder. and put in alternately with
the stiffly beaten eggs. The raisins hav-
ing dried out slightly, were scalded with
boiling water drained. dried and well
Toured, and of course put in next to last
thing-the very last was the flavoring. II
the batter had looked too stiff I should
have thinned it with a little whiskey, or
sherry, or brandy. This is with me ia
vorite expedient. The spirit, whatever it is,
gives the right consistency, which permits
Of rising, and saves from hardness in the
finished product. Since the alcohol is in
Very large measure dissipated by heat in
the baking, the most conscientious advO-
bate Of temperance need not blink at fol-
lowing my example.
If had made white sponge cake the re-
turn would have been less, since there
would have been no butter and less flour
used, but so would the first cost. Elimira-
ton OF the raisins would have fetched
down the bill still further. yet given a very
satisfying dessert. All the more satisfying
If instead of the frostlng there had been
fruit sauce, made from the Juice Of
canned things-pineapple for example. Or
the sponge cake baked in layers. with a
filing of finely chopped pineapple and dates
mixed through soft frosting, would have
been bsld a dainty Of degree something
ncvelaad to a certain extent recherche.
Pie is in much the same case as cake.
You can buy it reasonably good. for a fair
~ stiff price; you can make it very, very
good for about half that same stiff price.
ter of the best in almost equal quantity
with the -four is costly. But good pie does
not absolutely demand puff paste You
can make a very good crust with lard-l
prefer II TO butter for many things, and
rarely use more than half the weight of
my -four Also suet. finely shredded makes
very good shortening. Chicken fat, rem
dered carefully. without scorching, then
lReltsd5and cooled over clear water. can be
used both in pastry and in cake. Mixed
with its own bulk Of butter and well
ereamed you will notice hardly any differ
ence. Light crust, made with baking pow
der or sour milk and soda. answers for
many sorts of pie-especially If the baking
is quick and careful. With this sort of
crust, cook your fruit before using 1t, and
stir custard batter we'll over hot water, un-
I'll II is itself almost boiling, before filling
The pie pans Having batter thus hot makes
the baking quicker and evener-the cooked
fruit, Of course, requires only the baking
Of the crust. / am not of those who de-
claim against pie crust as subtle form
OF poison II is no such thing II properly
made and cooked Therefore make and
cook II properly. Crust left on the plates
Scooped bare Of contents is a reproach to
housewifery nobody should willingly en-
dure.
Tarts appeal TO me-the serving is so
much easier they look prettier than pie
wedges. and are more economical. They
may take trihe more crust, but require
only spoonful Of fIing-after eating two
tarts even the gluttonous rarely sigh for
more. Tart pans for baking are all very
wen but ] have found something better
one OF the stamped sheets of cake moulds,
the round sort Fill the moulds with crust
Just as though they were pans. cutting the
rounds to ft first, then filling. The sheet