THE HOME OFFICE

Southland Times, Issue 20011, 27 October 1926, Page 13

THE HOME OFFICE

STOCKS FOR SOUP. “Dorothy,” Riverton, sends the following in answer to “E.D n ” Waimahaka:— Take half a shin of beef, put into large pot, cover with water and boil gently for about four or five hours. Strain and skim fat before using. Three or four mutton knuckles treated in the same way make very good stock. DOUGHBOYS. “Emma,” Riversdale, sends the following recipe in answer to “L.F.IL,” Mokotua. 1 large cup flour; 1-3 cup finely chopped suet; 1 pinch salt; 1 small teaspoon baking powder. Mix with water, roll into balls and drop into boiling stew about half an hour before serving. CHRISTMAS CAKES. “Edith,” Invercargill, sends some recipes for Christmas cakes, all of which she can vouch for. Three-quarters pound butter, flour, i-lb. sugar (light brown), half pint new milk, half cup treacle, 6 eggs, 2-lb. fruit, i-lb. peel, i-Ib. almonds, 1-teaspoon soda. Beat butter to a cream, add sugar, then treacle, add eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Add flour in which soda has been mixed, then fruit. Bake slowly for four hours. Four large cups flour, 2 large cups sugar, 1-lb. butter, 6 eggs, 1-lb. currants, 1-lb. preserved ginger, 3 or 4 figs, 1 teaspoon baking powder, a little essence of lemon. Three-quarters pound of butter beaten to a cream, then add gradually 1-lb. brown sugar and the yolks of four eggs well beaten. Mix one teaspoon of soda with 1-lb. flour, then add to the other ingredients with 1-pint of milk, i-lb. citron peel, 1-lb. fruit. Last of all add the whites of the four eggs well beaten. Bake in a moderate oven and keep for a fortnight before cutting. 14-oz. butter, three cups sugar, five cups flour, one cup milk, five eggs, 1-lb. fruit, 1-lb. peel, 1-oz. almonds, one teaspoon soda. Cream butter and sugar, add milk, mix soda with flour. Bake three hours. ALMOND PASTE. “Edith” also sends this excellent recipe for Almond Paste— Ingredients: 3ozs of ground almonds, 4ozs of castor sugar, enough egg to bind, vanilla and almond essence. Put the ground almonds into a basm or mortar. Add the almond and vanilla essence and the and pound gently, adding the whole egg, or the whites or the yolks of one or two eggs by degrees. This quantity may only require the yolk of one egg. The paste should be just moist enough to handle, and should be pounded or kneaded until smooth. Roll it out the size of the cake, about an inch thick. Level the top of the cake and turn it bottom-side up on to a wire tray placed over a dish, and brush the top over with the lightly whipped white of egg and put on the almond paste. Put this into a cool oven with the door ajar for a few minutes to harden the paste. When quite cold, pour over the icing and decorate the cake with cherries and angelica. Gore, sends some delightful recipes for fillings for layer cakes. NUT FILLINGS. Blanch 3oz of any kind of shelled nuts and put them through a mincer. Mix them with about 3 tablespoonfuls of apricot, strawberry or raspberry jam previously rubbed through a hair sieve, and add vanilla, or almond essence. The cake may be iced with white glace icing and decorated with chopped nuts. ORANGE FILLINGS. Melt an ounce of butter in a pan, add 4oz of castor sugar, the grated rind of an orange, and the yolks of 2 eggs. Stir over low heat Until the mixture thickens, but do not let it boil. Add loz of cake ,

crumbs, the juice of the orange, ami a teaspoonful of lemon juice. Use ’/nen cold. Ice the cake with orange icing and decorate with slices of crystallised oranges. LEMON FILLING. Is made in the same way, using 2 lemons in place of an orange. FRUIT FILLING. Bottled or tinned apricots, peaches or pineapple, drained from their syrup, make pleasant fillings. Put a layer of whipped cream on one half of the cover with a layer of halved apricots, peaches or pineapple cut into dice. Put the other half of the cake on the top of this. Orange sections, peeled and stoned grapes, fresh strawberries or raspberries, stewed cherries, or peeled, stoned and halved greengages when ripe may be used in this manner. From “L.M.” I also received the follow- , ing useful hints:— To pack flowers so that they carry well, | pick them in the early morning. Line a firm cardboard box with tissue paper and put a thick piece of damped cotton wool at i the bottom. Arrange the flowers in the box one by one, fitting them carefully. Cover the stalks with wet tissue paper and fill up with this, so that the flowers do not shake about.

To clean a tiled hearth use a little turpen-tine,-rubbing it on with a flannel. This will remove all stains, and the tiles will look like new.