Layer Cakes and Fillings
General Directions
The tins for these cakes should be about 8 inches in diameter with a very shallow rim. They should be kept perfectly clean, and before being used should be slightly warmed and well greased with butter, lard or good sweet oil.
Three layers are sufficient for a cake. They should not be thick.
Cool each layer when baked on a perfectly flat surface and spread with the filling when cold.
Layer Cake—I
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
Butter size of an egg
1 cup flour
1 even tea-spoon baking powder
Beat the butter and sugar to a cream. Add the well beaten yolks and then the flour, in which the baking powder has been thoroughly mixed. Beat the whites till stiff.
Bake in three round shallow buttered tins in a moderate oven. When cold, place one round on a large plate and spread it with jelly, jam or other filling. Cover it with another round and spread this. Ice the top. If jam is used it should be beaten or warmed a little in order that it may spread more easily.
Layer Cake—II
¹⁄₂ lb. butter
5 eggs
6 ozs. flour
2 ozs. cornflour
¹⁄₂ lb. powdered sugar
1 tea-spoon vanilla
2 table-spoons sherry
Beat butter to a cream. Add sugar gradually, beating all the time. Then add the yolks, the flour and corn starch. Beat the whites to a stiff froth. Add them and the flavourings to the mixture. Bake in three tins for fifteen minutes, in a moderately quick oven.
Layer Cake—III
8 ozs. sugar
5 eggs
¹⁄₄ lb. butter
1 tea-cup milk
12 ozs. flour
1 tea-spoon baking powder
Beat the sugar with the eggs for fifteen minutes. Melt the butter and add it. Beat again very thoroughly. Add the baking powder to the flour and sift it. Add it and the milk to the mixture, beating continually.
Layer Cake—IV
6 eggs
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 heaped table-spoons butter
¹⁄₃ cup milk
2 tea-spoons cream of tartar
1 scant tea-spoon carbonate of soda
Beat the yolks and whites separately. Add the sugar to the yolks. Beat thoroughly. Add the butter, which should be softened but not melted. Dissolve the soda in a tea-spoon of boiling water. Add it to the milk. Sift the cream of tartar with the flour. Add the flour and milk to the mixture and then the whites. Bake in a moderate oven in shallow round tins.
Almond Cream Filling
1 lb. sweet almonds
1 small cup cream
2 table-spoons corn starch
Powdered sugar to taste
Cook the corn starch for ten minutes in as small a quantity of milk as is possible. Blanch the almonds and pound them to a paste. Beat the cream. Mix the almonds, cream and corn starch together and beat thoroughly. Add the powdered sugar.
Chocolate Filling—I
3 whites of eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup grated chocolate
Vanilla
Beat the white of eggs slightly. Mix all well together.
Chocolate Filling—II
5 table-spoons grated chocolate
¹⁄₂ cup cream
1 cupful sugar
1 egg
1 tea-spoon vanilla
Beat the egg well. Add it to the chocolate and cream. Stir over the fire till thoroughly mixed. Flavour with vanilla.
Cocoanut Filling—I
¹⁄₂ cup cream
¹⁄₂ cup grated cocoanut
¹⁄₂ cup powdered sugar
1. Beat the cream slightly. Add the sugar and cocoanut.
2. Add a small cup of finely grated cocoanut to some plain icing (see p. 65).
Cocoanut Filling—II
¹⁄₂ cocoanut
Whites of three eggs
1 cup powdered sugar
Grate the cocoanut. Add it with the sugar to the whites beaten to a stiff froth.
Cream Filling—I
1 pint milk
2 eggs
3 table-spoons sifted flour
1 cup powdered sugar
Cook the flour, mixed smooth, in a little milk for ten minutes. Add it to the milk in which the eggs (or yolks only) have been beaten up. Put all in an enamel saucepan. Add the sugar. Stir continually but take off before it boils. Add flavouring.
Cream Filling—II
¹⁄₂ cup cream
2 table-spoons powdered sugar
Flavouring
Whip the cream. Add the sugar and a very little flavouring.
Fig Filling
1 lb. figs
1 tea-cup water
¹⁄₂ tea-cup sugar
Chop the figs finely. Cook them with the water and sugar until soft and smooth.
Fruit Filling
4 table-spoons citron
4 ” raisins
¹⁄₂ cupful chopped almonds
¹⁄₄ lb. chopped figs
3 whites of eggs
¹⁄₂ cup sugar
Chop the citron and stoned raisins very fine. Chop the almonds and figs. Beat the whites to a stiff froth. Add the sugar. Mix together thoroughly. Add the other ingredients.
Orange and Cocoanut Cream Filling
1 egg
1 cup whipped cream
¹⁄₂ cup powdered sugar
1 cup grated cocoanut
Juice of one orange
Grated rind of half an orange
Mix all together.
Strawberry Cream Filling
¹⁄₂ pint cream
¹⁄₂ cup powdered sugar
¹⁄₄ oz. gelatine
1 cup mashed strawberries
Whip the cream. Set it on ice. Add the sugar to the strawberries. Mash them. Mix them with the cream. Dissolve the gelatine. Add it carefully to the cream and strawberries. Stir over the ice until the cream begins to set. Leave the mixture on the ice until the cake is ready to serve. Spread it thickly between each layer.
Californian Fig Cake
1 cup sugar
¹⁄₂ cup butter
1 cup flour
¹⁄₂ cup cornflour
¹⁄₂ cup sweet milk
Whites of three eggs
Filling
¹⁄₂ lb. almonds
6 ozs. figs
¹⁄₂ cup seeded raisins
2 ozs. citron
1 egg
1 glass white wine
Beat the butter to a cream. Add the sugar and beat again. Sift the flours together. Add them and the milk. Beat very well and add the whites beaten to a stiff froth. Bake in two shallow tins in a quick oven.
For the filling. Chop all the ingredients very finely together. Mix them with the egg and wine. Spread in a thick layer between the two cakes.
*Coffee Cake
7 ozs. flour, sifted and dried
¹⁄₂ lb. powdered sugar
7 ozs. butter
1 table-spoon potato flour
7 eggs
2 table-spoons brandy
Beat the butter to a cream. Add the sugar and beat well again. Beat up the yolks, add them and the flour, in which the potato flour should be mixed, to the butter and sugar. Stir in the brandy. Mix all well together. Beat the whites to a stiff froth and stir in lightly. Bake in a mould with a tube in centre.
Cream
Whites of four eggs
¹⁄₂ lb. powdered sugar
¹⁄₂ wine-glass extract of coffee
¹⁄₂ lb. butter
Beat the whites to a stiff froth. Sift in the sugar. Add the coffee extract. Beat the butter to a cream. Add the mixture to it and mix well with a wooden spoon.
Cut the cake across, when cold, into several sections, spread the cream between each layer. Put together neatly. Fill the hollow in the centre with the cream, and spread it all over the cake.
Fruit Layer Cake
1 cup sugar
¹⁄₂ cup butter
1¹⁄₂ cups flour
¹⁄₂ cup wine
1 cup stoned and chopped raisins
2 eggs
¹⁄₂ tea-spoon soda
Cream the butter. Add the sugar. Beat well. Add the flour, the well beaten yolks, and the wine gradually, beating all the time. Dissolve the soda in a very little hot water. Add it to the mixture, and the raisins chopped and floured. Stir in the wine and the whites beaten to a stiff froth. Bake in a moderate oven in three shallow round tins. Put plain icing between each layer.
*Jam Sandwich—I
2 eggs
Their weight in flour and powdered sugar
A little less than their weight in butter
1 small tea-spoon baking powder
Beat the butter to a cream. Add the eggs well beaten, then the sugar and flour and, lastly, the baking powder. It is an improvement if the sugar includes four or five lumps of sugar which have been well rubbed on a lemon and then crushed. Bake in two shallow buttered tins (about 8¹⁄₂ inches) in a moderate oven, about fifteen minutes. When cold spread one round with jam. Place the second round on it. Press it lightly down and sift powdered sugar over it.
Jam Sandwich—II
1 egg
Its weight in butter, sugar, flour and ground rice
1 tea-spoon milk
¹⁄₂ tea-spoon baking powder
Beat the butter and sugar together. Add the unbeaten egg, then the flour, ground rice, milk and, lastly, the baking powder. Bake in two shallow well-buttered round tins (8 inch) for ten to fifteen minutes. Proceed as above.
Lemon Layer Cake
10 eggs
1 lb. sugar
¹⁄₂ lb. flour
2 lemons
1 orange
1¹⁄₄ lb. icing sugar
Beat the yolks well together. Add seven whites beaten until stiff, the sugar, the rind of two lemons and the juice of one. Bake in separate layers in a moderate oven.
Beat the remaining whites (3) and add to them gradually the icing sugar. Set aside sufficient to ice the outside of the cake. To the rest add the juice of the orange and half of the rind grated. Wait until the cake is nearly cold and then spread the layers with the mixture.
Add a little lemon juice to the icing for the top and sides and spread it on as thickly as possible.
Ribbon Cake
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups flour
1 table-spoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1 tea-spoon vanilla
1 tea-spoon mixed mace and cinnamon
1 cup stoned and floured chopped raisins and currants
1 table-spoon molasses or treacle
1 dessert-spoon brandy
Beat the butter to a cream. Add the sugar. Add the well beaten yolks and beat all together thoroughly. Add the flour (with which the baking powder has been thoroughly mixed) and the milk. Beat the whites to a stiff froth. Stir them lightly into the mixture. Add the vanilla.
Divide the mixture into three parts. To one part add the spice, raisins, currants, molasses and brandy. Mix thoroughly.
Bake the three parts on separate shallow, round or oblong tins for half-an-hour in a moderate oven. When cold spread a layer of light cake with plain icing or red-currant jelly. Put the layer of dark cake over it. Ice this layer or spread jelly on it and cover with the second layer of light cake. Press lightly together and trim.
Swiss Roll
2 eggs
Their weight in powdered sugar
3 ozs. flour
1 small tea-spoon baking powder
Break the eggs on to the sugar. Beat until light and creamy. Add the flour gradually, beating continually. Stir in the baking powder. Bake in a large flat tin which should be thoroughly greased. Spread the mixture over it and bake quickly for seven to ten minutes. Turn out at once on to a board on which sugar has been sifted. Spread with jam and roll.