Mary at the Farm and Book of Recipes Compiled during Her Visit Part 25

3 eggs.

1/2 cup mixture b.u.t.ter and lard.

1 yeast cake (Fleischman's).

About 7 cups flour.

Set to rise early in the morning. When well risen (in about 3 hours), roll dough into a sheet about 1/4 inch in thickness, cut with a half-pound baking powder can into small, round biscuits, brush top of each one with melted b.u.t.ter (use a new, clean paint brush for this purpose), place another biscuit on top of each one of these, and when raised very light and ready for oven brush top of each biscuit with a mixture consisting of half of one yolk of egg (which had been reserved from the ones used in baking), mixed with a little milk. Biscuits should have been placed on a baking sheet some distance apart, let rise about one hour until quite light, then placed in a quick but not _too hot_ an oven until baked a golden brown on top.

Mary gave these the name of "Quaker Bonnet" Biscuits, as the top biscuit did not raise quite as much as the one underneath and greatly resembled the crown of a Quaker bonnet.

From this quant.i.ty of dough was made three dozen biscuits. These are not cheap, but extra fine.

BUCKS COUNTY CINNAMON "KUCHEN"

Explicit directions for the making of these excellent raised cakes was given Mary by an old, experienced Pennsylvania German cook. They were prepared from the following recipe: Early in the morning 1 pint of milk was scalded. When lukewarm, add 3-1/2 cups of flour and 1 cake of Fleischman's compressed yeast (which had been dissolved in 1 tablespoonful of lukewarm water). Beat the mixture well. Cover and stand in a warm place to rise. When well risen, which should be in about 2 hours, add the following mixture, composed of 3/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of b.u.t.ter, creamed together; 1/2 teaspoonful of salt; 1 egg was beaten into the mixture, and about 2 cups of flour were added, enough to make a dough as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon. Dough should not be as stiff as for bread. Let stand about 1 hour. When well risen and light, divide into four portions. Roll out each piece of dough to thickness of one inch. Place cakes in medium-sized pie tins and allow them to stand about one hour. When well risen, doubled in bulk, make half dozen deep impressions on top of each cake with the forefinger. Brush top of each cake with 1/2 tablespoonful of melted b.u.t.ter. Sprinkle over 2 tablespoonfuls of soft A sugar and sift over a little pulverized cinnamon, if liked, just before placing cakes in oven. Bake cakes from 20 to 25 minutes in a moderately hot oven. From this dough may be made four cakes.

Excellent biscuits may also be made from this same dough, by simply moulding it into small biscuits and place in a pan some distance apart. Let rise and brush tops of biscuits with a mixture composed of a part of an egg yolk, a tablespoonful of milk and 1/2 teaspoonful sugar. This causes the biscuits to have a rich, brown color when baked.

The sponge from which these cakes or biscuits were made was mixed and set to rise at 6 o'clock in the morning, and the baking was finished at 11 o'clock. Sponge should be set to rise in a warm room. If these directions are carefully followed the housewife will invariably have good results. Always use hard Spring wheat for bread or biscuits, raised with yeast; and Winter wheat, which costs less, will answer for making cake and pastry. In cold weather always warm flour before baking, when yeast is used for baking raised cakes. Soft A sugar or a very light brown is to be preferred to granulated.

MORAVIAN SUGAR CAKES

At 5 o'clock P.M. set a sponge or batter, consisting of 1 cup of mashed potatoes, 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of sweet milk, scalded and cooled, 1/2 cake of yeast, dissolved in 1 cup of lukewarm water, 2 eggs 3/4 cup of a mixture of lard and b.u.t.ter, add 3 cups of flour, beat well, stand in a warm place to raise; at 9 o'clock add about 6 cups of flour. Stand until morning in a warm place, near the range.

The following morning turn out on a floured bake-board, roll out cakes one inch thick, place in pie tins, when ready for the oven; punch half a dozen small holes in the top of cakes, in which place small bits of b.u.t.ter. Sprinkle sugar over liberally and cinnamon if liked. Bake in a moderate oven.

MARY'S POTATO CAKES

1 cup freshly-boiled mashed potatoes.

1 cup scalded sweet milk.

1 cup sugar.

Flour about 6 cups.

1 cake Fleischman's yeast.

2 eggs.

1/2 cup b.u.t.ter and lard mixed.

1/2 cup potato water.

At 7 o'clock in the morning Mary mixed a sponge consisting of a cup of mashed potatoes, 1 cup scalded milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1-1/2 cups of flour and the cake of Fleischman's yeast, dissolved in half a cup of lukewarm potato water. This was set to rise in a warm place near the range for several hours until light. Then she creamed together 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of b.u.t.ter and lard, or use instead the "Subst.i.tute for b.u.t.ter." Added the creamed sugar, b.u.t.ter and eggs to the well-risen sponge and about 4-1/2 cups of flour. Sift a couple of tablespoons of flour over top of sponge, and set to rise again about 1-1/2 hours. When light, take cut pieces of the sponge on a well-floured bread-board, knead for a minute or two, then roll out with a rolling-pin inlo pieces about one inch thick, place in well-greased small pie tins, over which a dust of flour has been sifted, set to rise about 1-1/2 hours. When light and ready for oven brush top with milk, strew crumbs over or brush with melted b.u.t.ter and strew sugar over top; after punching half dozen holes in top of each cake, bake in a moderately hot oven from 20 to 25 minutes until a rich brown, when cakes should be baked. Five potato cakes may be made from this sponge, or four cakes and one pan of biscuits if preferred. Use soft "A" sugar rather than granulated for these cakes, and old potatoes are superior to new. Or when these same cakes were raised, ready to be placed in the oven, Mary frequently brushed the tops of cakes with melted b.u.t.ter, strewing over the following: 1 cup of flour mixed with 1/2 cup of sugar and yolk of 1 egg, and a few drops of vanilla. This mixture rubbed through a coa.r.s.e sieve and scattered over cakes Mary called "Streusel Kuchen."

GERMAN RAISIN CAKE (RAISED WITH YEAST)

Place in a bowl 1 cup of milk, scalded and cooled until lukewarm; add 1 tablespoonful of sugar and dissolve one cake of yeast in the milk.

Mix in 1 cup of flour and stand in a warm place to raise 3/4 of an hour. Then cream together in a separate bowl 1/2 cup soft "A" sugar, 1/2 cup of b.u.t.ter or "b.u.t.ter subst.i.tute," add 1 egg and a pinch of salt; stir in 1-1/4 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of well-floured raisins, and 1/2 teaspoonful of vanilla flavoring. Add the yeast mixture and allow it to raise about 2 hours longer. At the expiration of that time turn the well-risen sponge out on a floured bake-board. After giving the dough several deft turns on the board with the hand, place in a well-greased fruit cake pan, which has been dusted with flour. Stand pan containing cake in a warm place, let rise until very light, probably 1-1/4 hours, when brush the top of cake with a small quant.i.ty of a mixture of milk and sugar. Sift pulverized sugar thickly over top. Place the cake in a moderately hot oven, so the cake may finish rising before commencing to brown on the top. Bake about 35 minutes.

"KAFFEE KRANTZ" (COFFEE WREATH)

1 cup sugar.

3/4 cup b.u.t.ter and lard.

4 eggs.

1 pint milk.

1 Fleischman's yeast cake.

4 cups flour.

Cream together the sugar, b.u.t.ter, lard and eggs, add the milk, which has been scalded and allowed to cool; flour, and yeast cake, dissolved in a half cup of lukewarm water; beat well. Set this sponge to rise in a warm place, near the range, as early as possible in the morning.

This will take about 1-1/2 hours to rise. When the sponge is light add about 3 cups more of flour. The dough, when stiff as can be stirred with a spoon, will be right. Take about 2 cups of this sponge out on a well-floured bake-board, divide in three pieces, and braid and form into a wreath or "Krantz," or they may be made out into flat cakes and baked in pie tins after they have been raised and are light. Sprinkle sugar thickly over top after brus.h.i.+ng with milk containing a little sugar, before placing in oven. These should rise in about 1-1/2 hours.

Place in a moderately hot oven and bake from 20 to 25 minutes. This recipe Frau Schmidt translated from the German language for Mary's especial benefit.

This coffee wreath is particularly fine if small pieces of crushed rock candy be sprinkled liberally over the top and blanched almonds stuck a couple of inches apart over the top just before placing the cake in the oven, after the cakes had been brushed with a mixture of milk and sugar.

"MONDEL KRANTZ" OR ALMOND CAKE (AS MADE BY FRAU SCHMIDT)

1 pint sweet milk.

3/4 cup sugar.

3 eggs.

1 yeast cake or 1 cup yeast.

1/3 cup b.u.t.ter.

2 tablespoons rock candy.

1 orange.

2 tablespoons chopped almonds.

Flour.

Set to rise early in the morning. To the scalded milk, when lukewarm, add the yeast and flour enough to make a batter, cover, set to rise until light, near the range, which will take several hours. Then add the sugar, b.u.t.ter and eggs beaten to a cream, grated rind and juice of orange, a couple tablespoons finely-chopped almonds, and add enough flour to make a soft dough, as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon; set to rise again, and when light, divide the dough in two portions, from which you form two wreaths. Roll half the dough in three long strips on the floured bake-board with the hands, then braid them together. Place a large coffee cup or bowl inverted on the centre of a large, round or oval, well-greased pan, lay the wreath around the bowl. The bowl in the centre of the pan prevents the dough from running together and forming a cake. Brush the top of the wreath with a little milk, containing teaspoon of sugar, over the top of the wreath, stick blanched, well-dried almonds, and strew thickly with crushed rock candy or very coa.r.s.e sugar.

Let rise until light, then bake. This makes two quite large wreaths.

The Professor's wife told Mary when she gave her this recipe, this almond wreath was always served at the breakfast table on Christmas morning at the home of her parents in Germany, and was always baked by her mother, who gave her this recipe, and it was found on the breakfast table of Frau Schmidt Christmas morning as regularly as was made "Fast Nacht Kuchen" by Aunt Sarah every year on "Shrove Tuesday,"

the day before the beginning of the Lenten season.

THE PROFESSOR'S WIFE'S RECIPE FOR "DUTCH CAKES"

2 tablespoons of b.u.t.ter or lard.

2 eggs.

1 cup "Soft A" sugar.

1/2 yeast cake.

1 pint milk.

1/2 teaspoonful of salt.

Flour.

She scalded the milk, added b.u.t.ter and eggs, well beaten, when the milk was lukewarm, then added yeast, dissolved in a little lukewarm water, sugar, salt and flour to make a thin batter. Beat all together five minutes, stood the batter, closely covered, in a warm place, over night. In the morning, added flour to make a soft dough, kneaded lightly for ten minutes, placed in bowl and set to rise again. When light, she rolled out dough one inch in thickness, placed in pie tins, and when raised a second time spread over the cakes the following mixture before placing in oven: 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 2 tablespoonfuls of boiling water and b.u.t.ter size of an egg, beaten well together. Bake 20 minutes.

"FARMERS' POUND CAKE" (AS AUNT SARAH CALLED THIS)

Place in a bowl 2 cups of light, well-raised bread sponge (when all flour necessary had been added and loaves were shaped ready to be placed in bread pan for final rising). Cream together 3/4 cup of a mixture of lard and b.u.t.ter, add 2 eggs, first yolks then stiffly beaten whites, also add 1-1/2 cups soft A sugar. Add to the 2 cups of bread sponge in bowl and beat well until fully incorporated with the dough, then add 1/2 cup of lukewarm milk, in which had been dissolved 1/2 teaspoonful of salaratus.