TEA AND TOAST

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 June 1938, Page 4

TEA AND TOAST

SOME POPULAR RECIPES. On a cold, wet, winter’s afternoon, what is more delightful than to come in from golf, or a long tramp, or a round of shopping in town or country, to a blazing fire, and tea, Served with the' typically English accompaniments of hot crumpets, toast or muffins, or in the American way, with their favourite cinnamon toast, sandwiches and hot “biscuits” of various kinds? Here are a few popular recipes for hot, crisp tea-table dainties which you may like to try. BAKING POWDER BISCUITS Sift together 2 breakfastcups of flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon castor sugar. With the hands, rub in 1 tablespoon butter. Moisten as soft as can be handled with milk, of which about one cup will be required. Pat the dough out an inch thick, cut with a small cutter—the top of the bakingpowder tin will do. Place in greased pans and bake about 20 minutes in a hot oven. Serve very hot. The tops of all biscuits should be moistened with milk, as they brown more quickly. These can be varied by adding a large tablespoon of dried currants, or half the amount of citron cut into pieces. CINNAMON TOAST. This sounds very simple, but is not as simple as it sounds, because overdone, or with too much cinnamon, it is not good at all. Cut the required number of slices from a fresh loaf of milk bread, remove crusts, toast lightly on both sides, butter, sprinkle with a mixture of 1 teaspoon cinnamon to 1 tablespoon fine castor sugar, slip under grill for a second, and resprinkle with cinnamon mixture. Serve very hot. HOT TEA ROLLS Sift Jib plain flour into a bowl with a dessertspoon baking powder and | teaspoon salt. Rub in finely 2oz butter, and add a dessertspoon castor sugar. Beat an egg with J teacup milk, and add to the flour. Make quickly into a light, soft dough, which can be rolled out. Add a little more milk if necessary. Roll out on a floured board as lightly as possible, about Jin thick. Make into small rolls, prick with a fork and brush over with beaten. egg. Bake in a hot oven for about 20 minutes. Pull apart and put a generous lump of butter inside each. POPOVERS. One cup of flour, 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder, 1 cup of milk, 1 large or 2 small eggs, i teaspoon salt, ’1 teaspoon sugar. Stir all together and beat for a couple of minutes; drop into well-buttered muffin tins, only halffull as the popovers rise very high; bake in a hot oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Muffin tins are what are used in England for small cakes, only deeper. If they cannot be found, the ordinary cake tins will do. RASPBERRY FINGERS. Half a pound of flour, a teaspoon of baking powder, Jib of butter, 3oz of icing sugar, 1 egg, J teaspoon of raspberry essence, and some raspberry jam. Mix the baking powder with the flour and rub in the butter lightly with the tips of the fingers until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs and there is no dry flour left in the basin. Stir in the sugar. Beat the egg and mix the essence with it. Stir this in and knead to a smooth dough. Roll out rather thinly and cut into fingers. Spread half of them with raspberry jam and press the others on top. Place on a buttered tin and bake a golden brown in a moderate oven. HERMITS. Mix well i cup castor sugar with J cup of butter, then add 1 egg beaten to a froth, pinch salt, i cup cooking molasses or golden syrup, 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, a scant teaspoon mixed spices, 1 cup of chopped raisins, 2 2-3 cups of sifted flour, 2-3 cup of sour milk. When thoroughly mixed drop by spoonfuls on a greased baking sheet or ordinary roasting pan. Bake in hot oven for about 15 minutes and serve hot. TEA CAKE. Halfcup of butter, soft enough to mix with other ingredients; 1 cup of sugar and a generous pinch of salt; yolks of 2 and white of 1 egg, 1 scant cup of milk any flavouring; 2 cups flour sifted twice, last time with 1 teaspoon baking powder (generous). Mix the ingredients as given; stir until smooth; bake in two layer tins in a hot oven for about 20 minutes; remove from the tins, and ice.