PREPARE FOR EASTER

New Zealand Listener, Volume 30, Issue 768, 9 April 1954, Page 22

PREPARE FOR EASTER

T is satisfactory to have some really good cakes away in the tins before Easter week itself, so that you have only the hot cross buns to make on Thursday, ready to pop in the oven to heat through on Good Friday morning. The buns are quite simple to make. If you haven't compressed yeast, use the dried. Packets of compressed yeast in New Zealand weigh 11% oz.; remember to use only luke-warm liquid when mixing yeast and sugar. Hot Cross Buns One pound flour, *%4 oz. yeast, 1 level teaspoon powdered cinnamon, 2 oz. mixed candied peel, 2 oz. sultanas, pinch salt, 2 tablespoons castor sugar, 1 teaspoon mixed spice, 2 oz. butter, 2 oz. currants, ¥%2 pint milk, 1 egg. Sift flour with salt and spice, rub in butter and add prepared fruit and sugar, keeping back half a teaspoon of sugar to mix with yeast. Mix sugar and yeast till liquid, then stir in luke-warm milk. Strain this mixture into centre of dry ingredients, make into soft dough, adding also beaten egg. Divide into small portions, shape into buns, put on greased slide. Mark with a cross, leave to rise until twice the size. Bake in hot oven, brush over with sugar and milk, and return to oven for 2 minutes. Royal Chocolate Sponge Cake This is the chocolate cake which the Queen specially enjoyed at the Karitane Hospital afternoon tea in Dunedin. It was made by a member of the Dominion Executive of the Plunket Society. Four eggs, 6 oz. sugar, 44/2 oz. ‘flour, 1 tablespoon cornflour, 1 small! teaspoon baking soda, 2 small teaspoons cream of tartar. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and. 1 tablespoon of milk in a saucepan. Mix in a cup 1 heaped tablespoon of cocoa in 3 tablespoons of water, and add this to the mixture in the | saucepan. Bring all to boiling point. Beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Sift in flour, cornflour, cream of tartar and baking soda. Stir with mixing spoun and lastly add the boiling mixture from the saucepan. Place in 8-inch sandwich tins and bake in oven 375 degrees, with top heat off and bottom heat at low for about 20 minutes. Fill with | mock cream, made as follows: Two tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons icing sugar. Beat butter and suger. add 1°‘% tablesvoors boiling water and 1% tablesroons cold milk..Ice with a thin layer of butter icing. mede from icing sugar and melted butter, thinned with milk and flavoured with a s~all teasnoon of nenpermint evsence. Allow to dry and ice on ton with chocolate icing. Decorate with grated chocolate. Lady Jellicoe Chocolate Cake Here is a Vice-Regal recipe, given to the Old Girls’ Association of New Plymouth High School. =lalf a pound butter, ¥2 Ib. sugar, 10 oz. flour. 6 oz. chocolate, 4 eggs, small teaspoonful baking vowder, 6 drops vanilla essence, Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and mix well. Sift in flour, checolate and baking powder, and two teaspoonfuls milk. Mix well and put in a larece tin. Bake 1 hour in medium oven. Icing (when cake is cold): 1 Ib. icing sugar, % lb. chocolate. Melt chocolate in saucepan with a little water and stir in icing sugar. Pour over hot

when the. thickness of cream. Macaroon Cake Four ounces butter, 3 ege yolks, %2

cup milk, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 4 oz. suger, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 6 oz. flour, pinch of salt. Cream butter and sugar, beat egg yolks well, and add to them the milk, and vanilla, mixing well. Add this to the creamed mixture. Fold in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt. Spread in a flat greased tin and cover the top with the following macaroon mixture. Three egg whites (beaten), 4 oz. sugar, 1 cup coconut. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 40 minutes. Viennese Cake One and a half tablespoons cocoa, 114 tablespoons (small) raspberry jam, about 3% cup boiling water, 4 oz. butter, 6 oz. sugar, 2 eggs, vanilla essence, 8 oz. flour, 2 flat teaspoons baking powder, pinch salt. Mix cocoa to thin paste with

boiling water, stir in raspberry jam, then make up to % cup with boiling water. Let it cool. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one by one, beating well. Add vanilla essence. Sift very well flour, baking powder end salt. Add alternately with the liquid. Bake in flat tin in moderate oven approximately 45 minutes. Ice with chocolete icing. Easter Horseshoes Four ounces ground almonds, 2 oz. coarsely chopped almonds, % oz. ground rice, 4 oz. castor sugar, 3 egg yolks. Mix tegether the ground a!monds, sugar and ground rice. Add besten egg yolks slowly and mix well. Roll out and cut into strips about 4 inches long. Roll these strips in the chopped almonds, and shape into horseshoes. Then put ‘on sheets of greaseproof paper or white paper. not too closely together, and bake in moderate oven about 20 minutes, Canadian Meringue Cake This is a variation of apple sauce cske, topped with a meringue baked at the same time. Half cup shortening, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 egg yolks, unbeaten, 2 cups sifted flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1% teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 14 teaspeon each cloves and nutmee, 1 cun thick unsweetened apple savce. Cream shortening with brown suear, edd epge yolks and blend well. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices, add to the creamed mixture

alternately with the apple sauce. Pour into greased pan 8 inch by 12 inch which has been lined with waxed paper, and top with meringue, made thus: 2 egg whites, 4% cup brown sugar, 2 cup nuts, chopped fine. Beat egg whites until stiff, gradually add sugar and beat again until mixture peaks. Spread over the raw batter, sprinkle with finely-chopped nuts, and bake in a moderate oven.