the eggs on to it, being careful to smell each one as you break it, as a bad or musty egg would spoil the preparation. Add to this the grated rind of 1 small lemon, and beat the whole for 20 minutes. The best whisk for this purpose is the spoon-shaped kind, the bowl being composed of open wire-work. Then sift in the flour, stirring as lightly as possible till all is mixed in. Put into a well-buttered tin and a brisk oven immediately.
Time.—½ to ¾ hour. Average Cost, 9d. Sufficient for 1 cake.
3425.—SPONGE CAKES, SMALL.
Ingredients.—1 lb. of castor sugar, 1 lb. of flour, 1 pint of eggs, or equal weights of eggs, flour and sugar, essence of lemon or other flavouring.
Method.—Let the flour be perfectly dry, and the sugar sifted. Put the eggs and the sugar into a basin together, and set it over a saucepan of hot water. Whisk the mixture until it is white and creamy, for about 15 or 20 minutes. Add the flour very quickly, with the flavouring, mix lightly with a spoon, butter the tins well, pour in the batter, sift a little sugar over the cakes, and bake them in rather a quick oven, but do not allow them to take too much colour, as they should be rather pale. This is a very good way to mix all kinds of light cakes in which there are a good many eggs. Remove the cakes from the tins before they get cold, and turn them on to a wire sieve, where let them remain until quite cold, when store them away in a closed tin canister, or wide-mouthed glass bottle. They are apt to stick to the tins, which should not be washed, but well greased with suet, over which fine flour or sugar is dusted.
Time.—10 to 15 minutes in a quick oven. Average Cost, 1d. each. Sufficient for 3 dozen small cakes.
3426.—SPONGE CAKES. (Another Method.)
Ingredients.—½ a lb. of castor sugar, not quite ¼ of a pint of water, 5 eggs, 1 lemon, ½ a lb. of flour, ¼ of a teaspoonful of carbonate of ammonia.
Method.—Boil the sugar and water together until they form a thick syrup; let it cool a little, then pour it to the eggs, which should be previously well whisked; and after the eggs and syrup are mixed together, continue beating them for 15 minutes. Grate the lemon-rind, mix the carbonate of ammonia with the flour, and stir these lightly to the other ingredients; then add the lemon-juice, and when the whole is thoroughly mixed, pour it into small buttered moulds, and bake in rather a quick oven for 1 hour. The remains of sponge or savoy cakes answer very well for trifles, light puddings, etc., and a very stale one makes an excellent tipsy cake.
Time.—Rather more than 1 hour. Average Cost, 9d. Sufficient to make 12 cakes.
