Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1919-09-09
(By Ruth Fargo.)

Aunt Anna's Company Cake.
(By Ruth Fsrgo)
"Oh, am too lateP' The little brid,
from across the street flashed into Aun
Annals kitchen like shaft of welcome
sunshine. She was bit breathless, anC
stood painting q moment with her bacl
against the shut door, her hands still
clasping the knob.
"Lste? Dear me, no." assured the
older woman plaoidly. II just beer
getting things together" with which she
placed two big blue mixing bowls on the
kitchen table.
~ went down to the corner with Jer
ry," explained Dorotbea Dent, with 9
pretty little bride-blush, "snd I wal
poking along as slow coming back, jusl
enjoying out-of.doors. Then saw
Uncle Jonas at the kitchen door. he
said he'd been knocking most all day.
dimpling adorably, "and that you were
going to make company cake, and wai
to come over. ran every STEP"
"Pshaw," deprecated Aunt Anna
"Jonss amt been gone more'n Q minuit
he just wanted to be saying suthin',' y
serenely.
"But it's company cake? You are 60
ing to make company cakep"
"Yes-that's what I told Jonas tC
say"
1.-THE plain kind?-with blackberries9'
eagerly.
"With blaokberries," agreed Aunt
Anna. "And it's 80 plain donno as 9
body ought to call 1t company cake,
by rights. I donno's they had," doubt.
fully.
"It's q good name," affirmed the
younger woman stanchly. Everybody
likes your berry cake, and everybody
asks for the recipe. Now don't they?-
Course It's company cakew
easy to make-easy's fallin' off q
log" voiced Aunt Anna.
"All the better for me-" giggled Doro.
thea. "I'll be more apt to make q sue,
cess Of mine."
Dorothea, indeed, had depended much
on her pleasant neighbor for help along
lines dietetic, for when the little bride
had first come to the house across the
street she knew precious little about
cooking. 'I've always been 80 busy at
something else that I never had time to
learn" she had explained to motherly
Aunt Anna, "but If you would just show
me-some." And Aunt Anna had said,
"Why, child, I'd just love to do it.
Cooking sort Of comes second nature to
me, ! done 1t 80 much. But, I reckon,
you'll have to come over and see.
amt good at telling how l do things.
Like as not I'd leave the baking powder
out'n the biscuit, or the sugar out'n the
rhubarb pie, If I depended on telling.
But allus do 1t right-somehow, l
seem to allus do" And Aunt Annals
husband had grinned over the top of his
paper and asserted positively-nobody
supposed he was listening-"Yes, you
bet; you en- depend on Annie's doing 1t
right. Annie allus could cook. That's
why cum to marry her." composedly.
"The very ideal" had exclaimed Doro-
thea, Indignantly; but Uncle Jonas, with
satisfied chuckle, had gone back to the
reading of politics. But ever since that
day, Dorothea Dent had come over and
taken lessons In cooking from Aunt
Anna, and TO- day it was to be company
cake.
~ got the recipe, first, that time
visited my sister out in Oregon" said
Aunt Anna. "There they called i,
'Loganberry Cake because they used
loganberries to make it. But I use
blackberries, or sometimes raspberries,
since I haven't got the other. / guess,
truth to say, body could use most any
kind of cooked or canned berries"
Aunt Anna paused and looked over
her utensils.
81 guess We are all ready" she said.
Then, suitiDg the action to the word,
"Sift one level teaspoonful of soda with
two cups of -four. Soda and not baking
powder, because the berries are acid.
They take the same thing as buttermilk
Dorothea busily wrote in her blank
cook book. Soda" she murmured
"Now in the other bowl put one cup
of sugar and one-half cup of shortening,
butter substitute am using. And have
it warmed little bit. 1t creams easier
with the sugar and quicker. When it is
Dreamed, add the yOlk of one egg and
one whole egg, aud cream some more.
Save one egg-white to make an icing
with. I'm going to put it out on this
big platter, and while the cake Is baking
I'll beat up the white, fluffy and dry, and
make the icing" explained Aunt Anna.
But coming back to our creamed sugar
and egg and shortening, add one-hslf
of ground cloves aud one
level teaspoonful of ground cinnamon.
Mix we'll, add one cup of berries, juice
and fruit, just as 1t comes, and stir
WE'LL"
'Do you ever use the uncooked ber-
RESP" questioned the little bride.
NO." said Aunt Anna. "They must
be cooked, fresh stewed and cooled, or
canned. Either ones good. Now stir
the contents of the two bowls together.
beat we'll and quickly, aud pour into a
well-oiled loaf tin, and bake in a moder-
ate oven till done. 1t makes q good
sized cake, but body wants good-sized
cake when company is coming. 1t lie
sort Of like fruit cake, too," went on
Aunt Anna. "Maybe that's why 80
many folks like it. Most people like
fruit cake, though some don't. And
hen, too, this kind OF cake keeps we'll;
It don'tdry out like other kinds, and
ion Wout W 10 Cudiucu W uy kltCu6u
when folks come, as 1 want to visit bit
with. I want my cake made and put
oy, and ready to use. That's why Jonas
has got to calling black berry cake my
Company Cake"
Jerry liked it so much, the last you
'ent over to Us to try. Remember"
nused the little bride.
"Men mostly do" assented Aunt
Anna, sliding her cake into well.heated
wen, and pushing an asbestos mat into
ust the right spot to set 1t on. "Cake
lint near so apt to burn on the bottom
{ a mats under it," she said. "And I
10 hate cake burned on the bottom.
But sometimes they will, spite of fate.
But when that happens, I wait till my
AXE Ia cold and then CRATE of the
burned part with q nutmeg crater. 1t
lon't crumble the cake, and leaves 1t
leat and trim; and 1t does the work |
letter than anything else I ever found.
Yes, just an ordinary nutmeg
,rater."
Aunt Anna began putting sugar In q
IAN. "One cup" she said out loud,
and one-third cup of water. That's for
he fCinp LET the auOar and uatar hoil |