Evening star., 1935-12-18
"Butter'' and Sponge"
Are the Basic Formulas
For All Fancy Recipes
Bureau of Home Economics Discusses the
Subject of Calculating in Great
Detail for Cooks Benefit

duced to q cup, so the batter will not
be too thin, but with all-purpose -four
a full cup is needed. This batter
makes a good rich yellow-batter cake,
or, by leaving out the egg yolks, it
makes the standard white cake. Made
with sour milk and soda instead of
sweet milk, and with less baking
powder, it is the basis for devils food
cake also.
Pound cake, the richest Of all, is
made by the old recipe of a pound of
each ingredient-butter, sugar, -four
and eggs-but there is no liquid in
this recipe and no baking powder or
soda. Pound cake is leavened little
by the air that is beaten into the eggs
and into the batter, which is leaven-
ing enough for the typical pound-cake
texture.
Fruit cake is pound cake with
nuts and fruits added to the batter,
and is heavier, of course, because the
fruits and nuts do not permit the
batter to rise. With the fruits and
nuts, this rich mixture retains
moisture so well that the Christmas
fruit cake may be made weeks in
advance and stored away in a tight
box to let the flavors blend.
Mixing the batter is, Of course,
very important part Of the cake-mak-
ing process. For one thing the in
gradients before mixing should be al
lowed to stand in the kitchen until
| they are all at room temperature. In
| the richer cakes, the longest and most
careful method mixing gives the best
and finest cake texture. Cream the
fat by itself until it is soft. Add the
sugar and cream this mixture until
| it is light and fluffy. Then add the egg
| yolks, well beaten. Next add the -four
-sifted with baking powder and salt
and liquid alternately, a little at
time, to prevent separation Of the
fat. Beat well after each addition Of
-four. Fold in the stif1y beaten egg
whites last Of all, and do not stir after
that.
"EOR plain cakes, mix the batter as
= if for muffins. Melt the fat, mix
it well with the liquid and the eggs.
Sift the dry ingredients together, and
combine the mixtures, stirring until
thoroughly blended.
Sponge cakes are a class by them
selves because they have no short
ening, and are leavened with air.
They are essentially meringues with
flour added. There is no fat, and the
] ,1xyi re
and f1avoring, with little acid. For
a plain sponge cake, or eggs, l
cup Of sugar, cup of sifted soft-wheat
-four, 3 tablespoons Of lemon juice,
half lemon rind, grated. half tea
spoon of salt Separate the egg yolks
and whites, beat the yolks and add the
sugar, lemon juice and rind, and the
flour sifted with half the salt. Add
the rest of the salt to the egg whites,
beat stiff and fold into the mixture.
"An angel food cake has little
more sugar az cup), the whites Of
to 10 eggs, a teaspoon Of cream OF
tartar Gnstead of the lemon juice
and a teaspoon of vanilla. The pur-
pose Of the acid is to make the egg
whites more extensible, so they viii
J take up more air.
! Baking temperature for cakes de-
pends upon several factors and specia
directions are needed in some cases
: Because of their size and shape, cur
cakes and most of the layer cake.
will bake evenly in a moderately hot
oven (about 375 degrees FL, but thi!
T is higher than is desirable for loa-
) cakes, especially those with a gooC
many eggs. For a white cake, bakeC
, in a tube pan, moderate tempera'
: ture (about $50 degrees F) is usual!
t best. Chocolate cakes need a yer!
. moderate oven (300-325 degrees F.
because Of the chocolate, and frui
cakes a slow oven (250-275 degree
5 FL because they are so dense.
D "a sponge cake of any kind shoul'
!, bake slowly because it contains s
r many eggs and the oven temperatur
E should be very moderate 1925 de
= prees r