2 cups brown sugar. 1/2 cup butter and lard, mixed. 2 eggs. 1/2 cup boiling water. 2 ounces Baker’s chocolate. 2 cups flour. 1 teaspoonful soda. 1/2 cup sour cream or milk.

Cream butter and sugar and add yolks of eggs; then sour milk into which the soda has been dissolved.  Add hot water, then the eggs.  Bake in layers or loaf.  Ice with boiled chocolate icing.  If a little of the sour milk is saved until last, the soda dissolved in that, and then added to the cake batter, it will give a brick red appearance.  This is an excellent cake.

A CHEAP COCOANUT LAYER CAKE

Cream together 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1 egg (white of egg beaten separately), add 3/4 cup milk, 2 cups flour sifted with 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder.  The stiffly beaten white of egg added last.  Bake in two layers.  For the filling, to put between layers, beat the white of one egg to a stiff, dry froth; add one tablespoonful of sugar, mix together, spread between layers of cake and on top and over this strew freshly grated cocoanut Grate cocoanut intended for cake the day before using.  After it has been grated toss up lightly with a fork and stand in a cool place to dry out before using.

LADY BALTIMORE CAKE

1 cup butter. 2 cups sugar. 3-1/2 cups flour. 1 cup sweet milk.  Whites of 6 eggs. 2 level teaspoonfuls baking powder sifted with the flour. 1 teaspoonful rosewater.

Mix in the usual way and bake in three layers.

ICING FOR CAKE.

Dissolve 3 cups of sugar in a cup of boiling water.  Cook until it spins a thread, about ten or twelve minutes.  Take from fire and pour over three stiffly beaten whites of eggs, then add a cup of nut meats (blanched and chopped almonds).  One cup of chopped raisins may also be added if liked.  Stir until thick and creamy.  Allow cake to get cold before icing.

One-half this recipe for icing will be sufficient for an ordinary cake.

AN INEXPENSIVE “WHITE FRUIT CAKE”

3 cups sugar. 3 eggs. 1 lb. seeded raisins. 1 cup milk. 1 cup butter. 1 lb. currants. 1 lb. chopped almonds.  Flavor with almond extract. 4 cups flour sifted with 2 teaspoonfuls of Royal baking powder. 1/2 lb. figs. 1/4 lb. citron.

Beat to a cream sugar, butter and yolks of eggs.  Then add milk and flour alternately and fruit and almonds.  Lastly, add stiffly beaten whites of eggs.  Flour fruit before adding.  Chop figs.  Cut citron fine or shave it thin.  This is a cheaper recipe than the one for a “Christmas fruit cake,” but this is a very good cake.

A GOOD AND CHEAP “WHITE CAKE”

2 cups sugar. 1/2 cup butter and lard, mixed. 1 cup milk.  Add a few drops of almond flavoring. 3 cups flour. 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder.  Whites of five eggs.