Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 15 September 1921, Page 41

Domestic

By Maureen

FAIRY BUNS. Ingredients: Seven ounces of flour, 4 ounces of butter, 4 ounces of sugar, 2 ounces of currants, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoonful of baking "powder. Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well, then the currants and flour and baking powder. Beat for a few minutes; put into well-greased tins, and bake in a moderate oven. BANANA TRIFLE. Well cover the bottom of a glass dish with thin slices of bread and butter then cut three or four bananas into round slices and place these on the top of the bread and butter; make a pint of custard, and pour over. Beat half a pint of cream to a stiff froth, and pour over the trifle when cold. Decorate with almonds. Small sponge cakes may be used in place of the bread and butter if desired. SCRAP-BREAD PUDDING. Ingredients: One pound of scraps of bread, 4 ounces of flour, 4 ounces of brown sugar, 3 ounces of currants, 3 ounces of chopped suet, a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoonful of baking powder. Soak the bread in milk and water, squeeze thoroughly, and beat up with a fork; then add the flour, suet, sugar, and currants, and lastly the baking powder. Cover with a greased paper and steam two hours. SODA CAKE. Required: One pound of flour, 3 ounces of sugar, 5 ounces of margarine or butter, £ a pound of currants, a little candied peel, 4 ounces of sultanas, 2 teaspoonsful of carbonate of soda, a pinch of salt, a little milk. Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt, rub in the fat, and add the fruit. Beat the eggs and pour into the centre; form into a nice batter with milk. Now place the soda in a cup, pour in a small tablespoonful of boiling water, and while fizzing stir into the mixture. Put into two wellgreased cake tins, and bake two hours. When done, the cakes will be a rich browny color, and will taste as well as if they contained five or six eggs. ~ BEAT, YORKSHIRE PUDDING. Ingredients: Four ounces of flour, 1 tablespoonful of water, 1 large egg, £ pint of milk, : \ teaspoonful of salt. Put the flour and salt in a basin, break in the egg, stir gradually a little of the milk until it forms a stiff batter; now beat well, then stir in remainder of milk and water. Let it stand for at least half an hour (longer if possible). Pour some dripping from the joint into the Yorkshire pudding tin, and place the tin on the shelf at the bottom of the oven; when the fat is hot stir the hatter round,

and pour it into the tin. It should be about a quarter of an inch in depth. Bake 12 minutes in a hot oven, then slip the carving knife under the pudding and turn over; cook for five minutes longer. Cut into squares and serve as soon as possible with some hot gravy. It is usually served before the meat and vegetables. APPLE PASTY. i Ingredients: ljlb of dough pastry, a little milk or water, Bor 9 large baking apples, sugar. Divide the dough pastry into two portions (two-thirds and one-third). Peel, core, and slice the apples. Roll the larger portion of pastry out on a floured board to a square of about 12 inches, lift carefully on to a greased baking sheet; if there are any broken places cover with a little more paste. Brush round with a little milk or water, next spread quickly with the prepared apples, leaving the moistened border intact, now sprinkle liberally with sugar (three or four handfuls). Roll out remainder of the pastry very thinly, place on the top of the apples, etc., press the edges together and fold over for about a quarter of an inch, prick the top lightly with a fork in several places, bake in a quick oven for half an hour. Sift a little fine sugar over the pasty, cut into squares, and serve hot or cold. HOUSEHOLD HINTS. When making a steampd pudding, put a piece of wellgreased paper over the top before tying on the cloth. This will prevent the cloths from becoming greasy, and they are no trouble to wash. Worn emery paper should never be thrown away.* Instead, place the used paper in a warm oven for a few minutes, and much of its former rough surface will be restored. To avoid chapped hands, dust them over with oatmeal every time you wash. Imperfect drying is the most frequent cause of chaps. For cracked lips borax and honey is a splendid remedy. Take half a teaspoonful of finely-powdered borax and mix it with a tablespoonful of honey.