Speaker 1: Christmas cakes. As the holidays draw near again, the busy
housewife begins to turn her thoughts toward Christmas. Sweets and
goodies for Christmas would not be complete for the kiddies
without the usual cakes and candies which mother is sure
to prepare. What kind of cake shall we have this year?
This question is being asked in many homes, and the
answer to it may be found in part, at least
in the suggestions that follow. There are several new cake
recipes and two attractive and unusual designs for decorating Christmas cakes,
which will make an especial appeal to the little ones.
The orange marmalade cake that follows is delicious and has
the advantage of keeping well. In fact, it improves with age,
just as the fruitcake does. This cake may be made
a week or more before Christmas and frosted on all
sides with brown sugar frosting. The marmalade keeps the cake
moist and fresh, and it will remain so for some
time even after it is cut. Orange marmalade cake one
third cup butter or one quarter cup vegetable fat, one
cup sugar, two eggs, one half cup milk, one cup
orange marmalade one in three quarter cup sifted flour, three
teaspoonfuls baking powder, one teaspoonful cinnamon, cream the butter, add
the sugar gradually, and eggs well beaten. Mix and sift
the dry ingredients and add alternately with the milk. Add
orange marmalade, and bake in a loaf pan. This cake
requires a moderate oven and should be baked about fifty minutes.
Frost with brown sugar frosting, and wrap in paraffin paper
if the cake is to be kept any length of time.
Eggs are scarce in the winter months, and this recipe
for eggless fruitcake should make a strong appeal. Fruitcake without eggs.
One cup sour milk, one cup sugar, two cups flour,
one half teaspoonful salt, one half teaspoonful cinnamon, one half
teaspoonful cloves, one half teaspoonful nutmeg, two tablespoonfuls soda, one
half cup raisins, one half cup sliced citron, four tablespoonfuls
melted butter. Add the sugar to the sour milk, Mix
and sift the dry ingredients and add gradually. Add fruit
and melted butter last be well. Bake in a slow
oven for one hour. Dates or figs may be substituted
for one half the citron or other combinations of fruit
made instead. Four minute fruit cake. Two thirds cups soft
butter or chicken fat, two and a half cups brown sugar,
four eggs, one cup milk, three and a half cups
sifted flour, two tablespoonfuls cocoa, one half teaspoonful mace, one
teaspoonful cinnamon, two tablespoonfuls baking powder. One half pound raisins,
one quarter pound stoned dates, cut fine, one quarter pound currants.
Put all the ingredients in to a bowl together and
beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for four minutes. Bake
in loaf pans for forty five minutes. This is a
very satisfactory fruit cake and a great timesaver. Orange jelatin
cake baked sponge cake in deep round layer cake pans.
Mold orange jelly in the same pans which have first
been moistened with cold water. Have one layer of the
jelly to every two layers of the cake. When the
jelly is firm, dip the pan for a second in
hot water, then place one of the sponge cake layers
on top of the jelly, and on top of this,
place a large cake plate upside down. Hold the three
firmly together and turn the plate over so that the
cake will rest on it and the jelly will turn
out from the mold on top. Now, place another layer
of sponge cake on top of the jelly and frost
with orange frosting. Milk chocolate frosting makes a nice change
for Christmas cakes and is always a favorite with children
since it produces quite a different flavor from ordinary chocolate frosting.
Milk chocolate frosting one cup sugar, one half cup boiling water,
whites of two eggs, one teaspoonful lemon juice, one large
cake milk chocolate which has been melted over hot water.
Put sugar and water into a saucepan, Stir until it boils,
and then boil without stirring, until the syrup will spin
a thread when dropped from a fork. Remove from fire
and pour slowly over the whites of eggs that have
been beaten until stiff. Beat until thick enough to spread.
Spread this frosting on the cake, and when dry, cover
it with milk chocolate, which has been melted over hot water.
The water under the chocolate must be considerably below the
boiling point. The chocolate will make a thick coating over
the white frosting and will dry quickly. Another use for
milk chocolate in making Christmas sweets may be found in
substituting it for confectioner's chocolate when dipping bonbons. Try dipping
white and pink marshmallows in melted milk chocolate and allowing
them to dry on paraffin paper. One could hardly find
a more simple form of candy for the kiddies than this,
and yet they resemble the rich French candies in appearance.
Decorating Christmas cakes, the attractive appearance of the Christmas cakes
is of prime importance, and children especially are interested in
fancy decorations. The cake illustrated on page three hundred fifty
nine is baked in a pan made to represent a
Christmas star. These six pointed star cake pans may be
purchased at any ten cent store. The cake is frosted
with white frosting and decorated with tiny red candies. The
candies outline the star and are put on just as
the frosting begins to dry, A pair of tweezers will
be found convenient for handling the candies. The top of
the cake is decorated with candies and with some of
the frosting forced through pastry tubes in various fancy sh shapes.
A sprig of evergreen completes this very attractive Christmas cake.
The cake on page three hundred sixty, made to represent
a snow covered house, is quite suitable for a children's
Christmas party. The little house is worked out in considerable detail,
even to the chimney for Santa Claus. The cake is
made in two sections and is baked in two bread pans.
When the cake is cold, cut the top from one
of the loaves so that an even rectangular piece is
formed with a flat surface on top. This is the
body of the house. The roof is made by cutting
the other loaf to form the sloping sides as shown
in the illustration. Place the roof on top of the
body and secure with several toothpicks so there will be
no danger of slipping. The cake left over after cutting
the roof may be kept and served with a hot
sauce for a dessert. The chimney of the house is
made from a piece of stale bread. Cut the chimney
the correct shape with the sharp knife, and then oust
the bread lightly to give it firmness. Secure this chimney
to one end of the house with toothpicks. The entire
cake may now be frosted with white frosting. Just before
the frosting begins to dry, sprinkle coarse granulated sugar over
the sides of the roof to represent snow. This will
glisten and give a very attractive appearance. The door and
windows are outlined with angelica cut into thin strips. The
lower edge of the roof is also outlined with angelica,
and the door knob made from a tiny red candy.
If one wishes to make it even more realistic, the
chimney may be frosted with red frosting made by the
addition of vegetable coloring to white frosting. A small figure
of Santa Claus, either standing near the base of the
chimney or on the roof, would give an added touch
to the cake and of Christmas cakes.