A Delicious Cream-Cake and Sweet Rusks

Instructions

1. When in very sultry weather cream becomes acid from being sent to a distance, or from other causes, it may still be made available for delicate pastry-crust, and superlative cakes, biscuits, and bread; but if ever so slightly putrid it will be fit only to be thrown away.
2. Crumble down five ounces of good butter into a pound of fine flour.
3. Mix thoroughly with them half a pound of sifted sugar, a few grains of salt, and two ounces of candied citron or orange-rind sliced thin.
4. Add something more than half a pint of thick and rather sour cream mixed with two well whisked eggs.
5. Just before the paste is put into the moulds - which should be buttered in every part and only two-thirds filled - beat thoroughly into it half a teaspoonful of the very best carbonate of soda, which has been perfectly blended with twice the quantity of sugar and of flour, and rubbed through a fine sieve, or worked to the smoothest powder in a mortar, or in any other way.
6. Sufficient cream should be used to convert the ingredients into a very lithe paste or thick batter, which can be properly worked or mixed with a wooden spoon, with the back of which it should be very lightly beaten up before it is moulded.
7. About three-quarters of an hour will bake it in a moderate oven. It should be firm on the surface - as all light cakes should be - that it may not sink and become heavy after it is drawn out.
8. Turn it from the mould, and lay it on its side upon a sieve reversed, to cool.
9. For the sweet rusks: for the convenience of having it baked in a small iron oven, this quantity was divided into two cakes, one of which was gently pulled apart with a couple of forks while still hot, then set again into the oven and crisped with a gentle heat quite through. It was thus converted into the very nicest sweet rusks.