Cake.
Rules for Cake.—Have every thing ready before mixing the material—i. e., the ingredients all measured and prepared, and the tins buttered. The sooner the cake is mixed (after the ingredients are ready) and put into the oven, the better. Sift the flour, and have it dry. Mix baking-powder or cream of tartar, if used, well into the flour, passing it through the sieve several times, if particular. Roll the sugar; mix sugar and butter together to a cream. The eggs must then be very, very well beaten separately. If one person makes the cake, beat the yolks first. If soda is used, dissolve it in the milk, or, if no milk is used, in a little lukewarm water; add it the last thing, unless fruit is used, when it should always be rolled in flour, and added the last thing. Cake, to be light, should be baked slowly at first, until the batter is evenly heated all through. Many leave the oven door slightly open for the first ten or fifteen minutes. The prepared flour is especially good for cake.