CHRISTMAS COOKERY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14250, 22 December 1909, Page 7 (Supplement)

CHRISTMAS COOKERY.

' SOME SIMPLE RECIPKS FOR YULETIDE FARE. if. CffK-tSTMAS, cakes, and crackers arc almost ii synonymous terms to the minds of the h young mid though on the second item I - feel competent to offer advice, about the " third I can only caution vow to lay in a good stock, and to try at once if you wish to secure those that are most fascinating without and within. A WORD Oil TWO AHOt'T CAKES. Bought cakes are, as a rule, expenv sive. though most, convenient in many > cases- Still, with a decent oven and a care- ■ ful cook, it will well pay you to make them at home. Rich cakes should be made at 1 once, in order that they may be put by , to mellow, until a few days before the 25th, when the icing must, be put in hand. * Plainer cakes can be made the last, week, „nd packed away 111 greaseproof paper in , tins. ~ Remember to— Buy your ingredients. Not to do so is t false economy. f Clean and stalk all fruit carefully. * Dry and sieve the flour. ' Beat, eggs well before adding them. Lino tins with three or four layers of ■ greased paper. . Stand large cakes 011 a baking-tin filled with a thick layer of salt or sand. This ?' ''is to prevent them burning underneath. Bake large cakes slowly, but all cakes g: need a very hot oven for the first ten mii, nutes, or the fruit will sink; 'then the heat i must be slackened. > THE CHRISTMAS PUPPING. * t I hope all my readers agree with me that • from all points of view it is best to make , this at home. It is certainly cheaper to do go, ami the flavouring can be altered to ; suit individual tastes. *■ lam going to give you two recipes, in . hopes that I can please all readers. First let us take the more expensive one. This should be made at once, for it improves with keeping. t , No. 1: Required Half a pound each of '" breadcrumbs, flour, and glace cherries; lib each of raisins, currants, sugar, sultanas, s apples, and mixed peel; -Jib each of corn--5 flour and sweet almonds; lib of beef suet; " loz each of bitter almonds and baking- , powder; 10 eggs: four lemons; one nut- .. meg; one gill each of milk and brandy; i one small leaspoonful of salt. Chop the - suet finely, mixing with it the flour and ti',. crumbs. ' Clean and prepare and let them boil steadily from 10 to 12 hours. Note: j: Do not forget to make a pleat in the cloth j „ across the. top of the pudding, so as to leave room for it. to rise. No. 2: Required Three-quarters of a pound each of currants, raisins, and sugar; lib of beef suet and floury |lb of mixed peel; five or six eggs; three-quarters of a pint of milk; the rinds of three lemons; • two nutmegs, grated; one glass of brandy; " half a teaspoonful of salt. Prepare and V, mix all the ingredients as for No. 1. Let ■ ,the mixture stand overnight. Put into '•'moulds, cover, and boil for about five hours.

f . . MINCEMEAT. | ' If your family approves of mince pies, ' r yon will be wise to make a good stock of mincemeat, for it will keep well, and mince „ pies are so useful to have by you. Required—Two pounds of beef suet, ap.v,ples, raisins, arid Demerara sugar; l£lb V : of currants; ilb of muscatel raisins; jib '\of mixed peel; 1 joz of sweet, almonds; one •; teaspoonful of pudding spice or grated nutmeg three lemons; quarter of a pint each 3 of port, wine and brandy, or home-made wine a pinch of salt. Mix together the chopped suet, raisins, sugar, prepared *' fruits, and grated lemon-rinds. Then add the strained lemon-juice, wine and brandy. '. Press the mixture into clean, dry jars; p cover them ,and store in a cool, dry place. * Note: If liked, finely chop or mince about : half of he currants. This makes the mincemeat darker, and some people object to , whole currants.