ICING FOR CAKE

Dissolve 3 cups of sugar in a cup of boiling water. Cook until it spins a thread, about ten or twelve minutes. Take from fire and pour over three stiffly beaten whites of eggs, then add a cup of nut meats (blanched and chopped almonds). One cup of chopped raisins may also be added if liked. Stir until thick and creamy. Allow cake to get cold before icing.

One-half this recipe for icing will be sufficient for an ordinary cake.

AN INEXPENSIVE "WHITE FRUIT CAKE"

3 cups sugar. 3 eggs. 1 lb. seeded raisins. 1 cup milk. 1 cup butter. 1 lb. currants. 1 lb. chopped almonds. Flavor with almond extract. 4 cups flour sifted with 2 teaspoonfuls of Royal baking powder. 1/2 lb. figs. 1/4 lb. citron.

Beat to a cream sugar, butter and yolks of eggs. Then add milk and flour alternately and fruit and almonds. Lastly, add stiffly beaten whites of eggs. Flour fruit before adding. Chop figs. Cut citron fine or shave it thin. This is a cheaper recipe than the one for a "Christmas fruit cake," but this is a very good cake.

A GOOD AND CHEAP "WHITE CAKE"

2 cups sugar. 1/2 cup butter and lard, mixed. 1 cup milk. Add a few drops of almond flavoring. 3 cups flour. 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder. Whites of five eggs.

Cream together the butter and sugar, add flour sifted with baking powder alternately with the stiffly beaten whites of eggs. The five yolks of eggs left from baking white cake may be used when making salad dressing. Use five yolks instead of three whole eggs, as called for in recipe for salad dressing.

CHOCOLATE ICING (VERY GOOD)

One-quarter cup grated, unsweetened chocolate, 1/4 cup milk, half a cup sugar. Boil all together until thick and creamy. This quantity will be sufficient to ice the top of one ordinary cake. Spread icing on cake before icing cools. When this icing is used for layer cake, double the recipe.

TIP-TOP CAKE

1 lb. granulated sugar. 1 cup butter. 1 cup milk. 4 eggs. 1 lb. chopped raisins. (Citron may be used instead of raisins.) 1/2 a nutmeg, grated. 5 scant cups of flour. 5 teaspoonfuls baking powder.

Mix together same as ordinary cake and bake in a loaf. This Aunt Sarah considered one of her finest cake recipes. She had used it for years in her family. The friend who gave this recipe to Aunt Sarah said: "A couple of tablespoonfuls of brandy will improve the cake."

ORANGE CAKE

Grate the yellow outside rind of 1 orange into a bowl. Add 1-1/2 cups sugar and 3/4 cups butter and beat to a cream. Then add yolks of 3 eggs. Then stir in 1 cup milk, 2-1/2 cups flour with 2 heaping teaspoonfuls baking powder. Lastly, add the stiffly beaten whites of 3 eggs. Bake in three layers.

Use the white of one egg, the grated rind and juice of large orange and enough pulverized sugar to stiffen. Spread between layers.

CHEAP SPONGE CAKE

1-1/4 cups granulated sugar. 4 eggs. 1-1/2 cups flour. 4 tablespoonfuls boiling water. 1-1/4 teaspoonfuls baking powder. Pinch of salt; flavor to suit taste.

Cream yolks and sugar thoroughly, then add the stiffly beaten whites of eggs, then flour, then boiling water. Bake in a tube pan about 40 minutes. This is a very easily made cake, which seldom fails and was bought with a set of "Van Dusen cake pans," which Aunt Sarah said: "She'd used for many years and found invaluable."

CARAMEL CAKE AND ICING

1-1/2 cups pulverized sugar, 1 cup of butter, 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup of corn starch, 2 teaspoons of baking powder sifted through flour and corn starch, 1 cup of milk, the whites of 4 eggs. Mix like ordinary cake. Bake as a loaf cake. Ice top the following: 1 cup of light brown sugar, 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 tablespoonful of butter, 1/4 teaspoonful of vanilla. Cook all together until a soft ball is formed when dropped in water. Beat until creamy and spread on top of cake.

A WHITE CAKE

Sift together, three times, the following:

1 cup of flour. 1 cup of sugar (granulated). 3 even teaspoonfuls of baking powder.

Scald one cup of milk and pour hot over the above mixture. Beat well.

Fold into the mixture, carefully, the stiffly beaten whites of 2 eggs. Flavor with a few drops of almond extract. Bake in a _moderate oven_, exactly as you would bake an angel cake.

This is a delicious, light, flaky cake, if directions are closely followed, but a little difficult to get just right.

"DUTCH" CURRANT CAKE (NO YEAST USED)

4 eggs. 2 cups sugar. 1 cup butter. 1 cup milk. 1/2 teaspoonful baking soda. 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar. 1 teaspoonful cinnamon. 1/4 teaspoonful grated nutmeg. 1 cup dried currants. 4 to 4-1/2 cups flour.

Make about as stiff as ordinary cake mixture. The butter, sugar and yolks of eggs were creamed together. Cinnamon and nutmeg were added. Milk and flour added alternately, stirring flour in lightly; sift cream of tartar in with the flour. Add the baking soda dissolved in a very little water, then add the well-floured currants, and lastly add the stiffly beaten whites of eggs. Bake in a large cake pan, generally used for fruit cake or bake two medium-sized cakes. Bake slowly in a moderately hot oven. These cakes keep well, as do most German cakes.

AN "OLD RECIPE" FOR COFFEE CAKE

5 cups flour. 1 cup sugar. 1 cup raisins. 1 cup of liquid coffee. 1 cup lard. 1 cup molasses. 1 tablespoonful saleratus. Spices to taste.

Mix like any ordinary cake. This is a very old recipe of Aunt Sarah's mother. The cup used may have been a little larger than the one holding a half pint, used for measuring ingredients in all other cake recipes.

A CHEAP BROWN SUGAR CAKE

1 cup brown sugar. I tablespoonful lard. 1 cup cold water. Pinch of salt. 2 cups raisins. 1/2 teaspoonful cloves. 1 teaspoonful cinnamon.

Boil all together three minutes, cool, then add 1 teaspoonful of soda and 1/2 teaspoonful of baking powder sifted with 2 cups of flour.

FRAU SCHMIDT'S "GERMAN CHRISTMAS CAKE"

Cream together in a bowl half a pound of pulverized sugar and half a pound of butter; then add yolks of five eggs, 1 grated lemon rind, 1 pint of milk, 1-1/2 pounds of flour sifted with 4 teaspoonfuls of baking powder, 2 teaspoonfuls of vanilla extract. Bake at once in a moderately hot oven. Mary baked an ordinary-sized cake by using one-half of this recipe. The cake was fine grained, similar to a pound cake, although not quite as rich, and she added a couple tablespoonfuls of thinly shaved citron to the batter before baking. This is a particularly fine cake.

"AUNT SARAH'S" SHELLBARK LAYER CAKE

1-1/2 cups sugar. 1/2 cup butter. 3/4 cup water. 3 eggs. 1-1/2 teaspoonfuls baking powder. Flour to stiffen.

Save out white of one egg for icing. Bake cake in three layers. Chop 1 cup of hickory nut meats and add to the last layer of cake before putting in pan to bake. Use the cake containing nut meats for the middle layer of cake. Put layers together with white boiled icing.

IMPERIAL CAKE (BAKED FOR MARY'S WEDDING)

1 pound sugar. 1 pound butter. 3/4 pound flour. 1 pound raisins, seeded. 1 pound almonds. 1/2 pound thinly shaved citron. 1 lemon. 1 nutmeg. 12 eggs.

Mix ingredients as for pound cake. A fine cake, but expensive.

A LIGHT FRUIT CAKE (FOR CHRISTMAS)

1 pound butter, scant measure. 1 pound pulverized sugar. 1 pound flour (full pound). 10 eggs. 1 pound English walnut kernels. 1 pound raisins. 3/4 lb. citron, candied orange and lemon peel. 1 cup brandy. 1 teaspoonful baking powder.

Bake 2-1/2 to 3 hours. This is an excellent cake.

ENGLISH CAKE (SIMILAR TO A WHITE FRUIT CAKE)

5 eggs. The weight of 5 eggs in sugar. The weight of 4 eggs in flour. 1 cup raisins. 1 cup currants. The weight of 3 eggs in butter. 1/2 teaspoonful baking powder. 2 tablespoonfuls of brandy. 1/2 cup finely shaved citron. 1/2 cup English walnut or shellbark meats. Small quantity of candied orange and lemon peel.

This recipe was given Mary by an English friend, an excellent cook and cake-baker, who vouches for its excellence.

GRANDMOTHER'S FRUIT CAKE (BAKED FOR MARY'S WEDDING)

1 pound butter. 1 pound sugar. 1 pound flour. 2 pounds raisins. 2 pounds currants. Spices of all kinds. 1/4 pound thinly sliced citron. 8 eggs. 1 tablespoonful molasses. 1 cup sour milk. 1 teaspoonful soda.

Mix together in ordinary manner. Cream butter and sugar, add yolks of eggs, sour milk and soda; add flour alternately with stiffly beaten whites of eggs. Lastly, the well-floured fruit. Bake two hours in a moderate oven. This quantity makes one very large cake, or two medium sized ones, and will keep one year. Line inside of pan with well-greased heavy paper to prevent bottom of cake baking too hard.

Aunt Sarah never cut this cake until one month from time it was baked, as it improves with age and may be kept one year.

AN OLD RECIPE FOR POUND CAKE

Cream together 3/4 pound butter and 1 pound sugar and yolks of 10 eggs. Then add 10 whites of eggs well beaten alternately with 1 pound of sifted flour.

Bake in a moderate oven with a steady heat. The bottom of pan should be lined with well-greased paper.

"BUCKS COUNTY" MOLASSES CAKES (BAKED IN PASTRY)

Place in a bowl 1 cup of New Orleans molasses and 3/4 of a cup of sweet milk. Add 1 teaspoonful of baking _soda_. (For this cake Aunt Sarah was always particular to use the _Cow_-brand soda), dissolved in a very little hot water. Aunt Sarah always used B.T. Babbitt's saleratus for other purposes.

Stir all ingredients together well, then add gradually three even cups of flour, no more, and beat hard. The cake mixture should not be very thick. Pour into three medium-sized pie-tins lined with pastry and bake in a moderately hot oven. These are good, cheap breakfast cakes, neither eggs nor shortening being used.

BROD TORTE (BREAD TART)

Six yolks of eggs and 1 cup sugar, creamed together. Beat about 15 minutes. Add 1 teaspoonful allspice, 1 teaspoonful cloves, 1 cup Baker's chocolate, which had been grated, melted and cooled; 1 cup stale rye bread crumbs, crushed fine with rolling-pin. Lastly, add the stiffly beaten whites of 6 eggs, a pinch of salt and 1/2 teaspoonful of baking powder sifted over the batter. Put into a small cake pan and bake half an hour in a moderate oven. When eggs are cheap and plentiful this is an economical cake, as no flour is used. It is a delicious cake and resembles an ordinary chocolate cake.

A DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE

1/2 cake of Baker's unsweetened chocolate (grated). 1 cup granulated sugar. 1/2 cup milk. 1 teaspoonful vanilla. 1/2 cup butter. 1-1/2 to 2 cups flour. 2 eggs. 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder.

Boil together chocolate, sugar and milk. Add butter and when cool add yolk of eggs; then the flour, flavoring and stiffly beaten whites of 2 eggs. Beat all thoroughly and bake in a loaf or layers.

CHOCOLATE ICING

Boil together 5 tablespoonfuls grated chocolate, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls milk, 1 egg.

When the mixture begins to thicken and look creamy, spread on cake. If baked in layers, ice on top and between the two layers.

A WHITE COCOANUT CAKE

Cream together 3/4 cup butter and 2 cups sugar. Add whites of 5 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar, 1/2 teaspoonful soda sifted with 3 cups flour and 1 grated cocoanut. Bake in a loaf. This is an excellent old recipe of Aunt Sarah's.

A POTATO CAKE (NO YEAST REQUIRED)

Cream together:

1 cup of sugar. 1/2 cup lard and butter, mixed. Yolk of 2 eggs. 1/2 cup pulverized cocoa. 1/2 cup of creamed mashed potatoes, cold. A little ground cinnamon and grated nutmeg. A few drops of essence of vanilla. 1/4 cup of sweet milk. 1/2 cup finely chopped nut meats.

One teaspoonful of baking powder sifted with one cup of flour added to the batter alternately with the stiffly beaten whites of eggs. Bake in two layers, in a moderately hot oven. Ice top and put layers together with white icing. This is a delicious, if rather unusual cake.

A CITRON CAKE

1/2 cup butter. 1 cup sugar. 4 eggs. 2 tablespoonfuls water. 1/4 pound of thinly shaved citron. 1-1/2 cups flour. 1-1/4 teaspoonfuls baking powder. Several drops of almond flavoring.

Bake in a loaf in a moderate oven about 45 minutes after mixing ingredients together as for any ordinary cake. This is a very good cake.

AUNT AMANDA'S SPICE "KUCHEN"

1 cup butter. 2 cups granulated sugar. 1 cup of a mixture of sour milk and cream. 4 eggs. 1 teaspoonful soda. 1/2 teaspoonful cloves. 1 teaspoonful cinnamon. 1/2 teaspoonful nutmeg. 1 teaspoonful vanilla extract. 2 tablespoonfuls cocoa. 3 cups flour.

Mix all like any ordinary cake. From one-half this recipe was baked an ordinary sized loaf cake.

A GOOD, CHEAP CHOCOLATE CAKE

One cup of flour, 1 teaspoonful of baking powder and 1 cup of granulated sugar were sifted together. Two eggs were broken into a cup, also 1 large tablespoonful of melted butter. Fill up the cup with sweet milk, beat all ingredients well together. Flavor with vanilla and add 2 extra tablespoonfuls of flour to the mixture. Bake in two layer cake pans.

Place the following mixture between the two layers: 1/2 cup of grated chocolate, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup of liquid coffee. Cook together a short time until the consistency of thick cream, then spread between layers.

AN ICE CREAM CAKE

Two cups of pulverized sugar, 1 cup of butter, 1 cup sweet milk, whites of 8 eggs, 1 teaspoonful soda, 2 teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, 3 cups of flour. From same proportions of everything, only using the 8 yolks instead of whites of eggs, may be made a yellow cake, thus having two good sized layer cakes with alternate layers of white and yellow. Put cakes together with white icing. This was an old recipe of Aunt Sarah's mother, used when cream of tartar and soda took the place of baking powder.

SMALL SPONGE CAKES

For these small cakes take 6 eggs, 1 cup of sugar and 3/4 cup of flour and 1/2 teaspoonful of baking powder, a pinch of salt, flavor with lemon. Beat yolks of eggs separately, then add sugar and beat to a cream, then add the stiffly beaten whites of eggs alternately with the sifted flour and baking powder; add a pinch of salt and flavoring. Bake in small muffin tins in a very moderate oven.

SMALL CAKES AND COOKIES--"AUNT SARAH'S" LITTLE LEMON CAKES

2 cups granulated sugar. 3 eggs (not separated, but added one at a time to the sugar and shortening which had been creamed together). 1 scant cup butter and lard, mixed. 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder. Pinch of salt 1 tablespoonful sweet milk. Grated rind of 2 lemons and juice of one.

Stiffen the dough with about 3-1/2 cups flour and use about 1 extra cup of flour to dredge the bake-board when rolling out dough and for sifting over the greased baking sheets so the cakes will come off readily. Roll dough very thin and cut in any desired shape. From this recipe may be made 100 small cakes. The baking sheet (for which I gave measurements in bread recipe) holds 20 of these small round cakes. Do all young housewives know that if dough for small cakes be mixed the day before baking and stood in a cool place, the cakes can be cut out more easily and the dough may be rolled thinner, and as less flour may then be used, the cakes will be richer?

Aunt Sarah always cut these cakes with a small round or heart-shaped cutter and when all were on the baking sheet she either placed a half of an English walnut meat in the centre of each cake or cut out the centre of each small cake with the top of a pepper box lid before baking them.

OATMEAL CRISPS

2-1/2 cups rolled oats (oatmeal). 1 tablespoonful melted butter. 3/4 cup sugar. 1 teaspoonful baking powder. 2 large eggs. Pinch of salt.

Beat eggs, add salt and sugar, mix baking powder with oats and stir all together. Drop from a teaspoon on to flat pan or sheet iron, not too close together, as they spread. Flatten very thin with a knife dipped in cold water and bake in a moderate oven a light brown. These cakes are fine and easily made. Did you not know differently, you would imagine these cakes to be macaroons made from nuts, which they greatly resemble.

AUNT SARAH'S GINGER SNAPS

1 cup molasses, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup of a mixture of lard and butter, 1 egg, 1 teaspoonful of ginger, 1 teaspoonful of cinnamon, 1/2 a grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoonful of soda dissolved in 1 teaspoonful of vinegar. About 3 cups of flour should be added.

Dough should be stiff enough to roll out very thin, and the cakes may be rolled thinner than would be possible otherwise, should the cake-dough stand aside over night, or on ice for several hours, until thoroughly chilled. Cut cakes small with an ordinary cake cutter and bake in a quick oven. These are excellent and will remain crisp some time if kept in a warm, dry place.

GERMAN "LEBKUCHEN"

This is a recipe for good, old-fashioned "German Christmas cakes," from which Aunt Sarah's mother always baked. She used:

1 pound dark brown sugar. 3 whole eggs and yolks of 3 more. 1/4 pound citron finely shaved on a "slaw-cutter." 1/2 pound English walnut meats (chopped fine). 1 quart flour sifted with 2 teaspoonfuls of baking powder.

Mix well together. Do not roll thin like ginger snaps, but about a half inch thick. Cut out about size of a large coffee cup. Bake in a moderate oven and when cold ice the cakes with the following icing: