Evening star., 1933-09-08

INV pc perfectly SuCCcoclui, eCCV1Oo
ing to old-fashioned standards,
shortcakes should be made with
good biscuit dough and not
with sponge cake Following Is
the old-fashioned formula: To two
cupfuls Of flour add one teaspoonful
and one-half of baking powder, half a
tablespoonful Of pure lard or melted
butter and enough milk to make the
dough. Bake the dough until the crust
has attained just the right degree Of
crispness, after which split it through
the center, spread each piece lavishly
with good butter, and when the fruit
has been piled high upon them. and
has been plentifully covered with pow
dered sugar. serve them. one on top Of
the other, with thick. yellow cream.
Shortcakes. whether made Of biscuit
dough or cake dough. should be eaten
as quickly as possible after they are
spread with fruit, or the dough will be-
come. soggy. Biscuit-dough cakes are
best served hot, but those Of cake dough
with either kind. whether whipped or
plain, should be ice cold.
Special Puff Pastry.
To be successful when making pun
pastry, the work should be done In as
cool a place as possible on a marble
slab, which should be kept especially
for this purpose. Mix the pastry with
q knife and handle it as little as pos
sible. Flour the marble slab and roll
ing-pin and never allow the pastry to
stick to them. Use q dredger to scatter
the flour If it is scattered on with the
hand, too much is liable to be used, and
it does not improve pun pastry to work
in very much dry flour. Flour for max
ing puff pastry should be first dried in
the oven and then sifted twice. Baking
powder isJrequired only with the palmer
kinds Of pastry, in which small pro-
portion Of fat is used. With a large
proportion of fat, baking powder Is not
required, as the bursting of the fat
globules in the oven aerates the pastry
sufficiently.
Puff, rough puff, and all flaky pas
tries are improved If put aside in a
cold place from time to time between
the rolls required in making them.
Roll the pastry lightly and evenly In
short, quick strokes away from you.
Puff pastry requires q hot oven. about
$40 degrees F. The heat should be
reduced slightly when the pastry has
risen. If no thermometer Is available.
test a small piece Of pastry In the oven.
II it browns quickly the oven is hot
enough. The oven door should be
opened and closed very gently and very
seldom after the pastry is put In. II
1t becomes too brown, cover 1t with
. piece of white paper.
Puff Paste Shortcakes.-Make some
paste with a pound of butter, q pound
of flour and cold water sufficient to
make a stiff dough. Chill and roll out,
fold up and roll out again for seven
times, chilling between each rolling.
Finally. roll out an eighth of an inch
thick and cut in strips two and one
half inches wide and four inches long
Butter, spread one-haf with crushed
and sweetened fruit, put the other
piece on top. brush with white of egg,
sprinkle with chopped almonds, bake
brown and decorate, when cold. with
whipped cream and any kind Of berries.
Preserves and Jams.
Don't try to hurry when making pre-
serves and jams. They require great
care combined with the best materials
and exact measurements to insure sue
cess. Use granulated sugar for all pre-
serves and jams, and heat it in the
oven before adding to the fruit juice.
Do not cover while cooking. Do not
allow tin, iron or pewter to touch jams
or preserves, as any of these are liable
to spoil the color. Boil fast to further
preserve the color of the fruit and
keep well stirred Remove all scum as
It rises. Boil until when dropping 4
little on plate it jellies.
It Is well to know that six pounds
OF peaches will yield eight pint Jars
OF preserves, seven pounds of peaches
Will yield fifteen glasses Of marmalade
and four pounds Of p1ums will yield
dve pint jars of preserves.
Fruit Buffers.
Buffers differ from Jams in that the
pulp and skins are cooked soft in water
and put through sieve before adding
the sugar
Apple Butter.-Wash, pare and core
enough apples to make one pound of
apple pulp. and wash and pare one
ounce and add. Cover the parings
with water. Cook with the water for
half an hour. Drain and add this
Juice to the apples and ounce. Cook
until the fruit is soft. Put through a
sieve. Add three-fourths pound of
sugar and the juice and rind of one
lemon or orange and cook until thick
and clear.
Plum Butter.-Wash some plums.
Add enough water only to prevent burn
ing and cook until soft. Put through a
coarse sieve or colander to remove the
stones Measure for one pound, add