quantity of cake to be
baked, for fear of its being so light as to rise above the pan, that
can be remedied by thoroughly greasing a piece of thick glazed letter
paper with soft butter. Place or fit it around the sides of the
buttered tin, allowing it to reach an inch or more above the top. If
the oven heat is moderate the butter will preserve the paper from
burning.

FROSTING OR ICING.

In the first place, the eggs should be cold, and the platter on which
they are to be beaten also cold. Allow, for the white of one egg, one
small teacupful of powdered sugar. Break the eggs and throw a small
handful of the sugar on them as soon as you begin beating; keep adding
it at intervals until it is all used up. The eggs must _not_ be beaten
until the sugar has been added in this way, which gives a smooth,
tender frosting, and one that will dry much sooner than the old way.

Spread with a broad knife evenly over the cake, and if it seems too
thin, beat in a little more sugar. Cover the cake with two coats, the
second after the first has become dry, or nearly so. If the icing gets
too dry or stiff before the last coat is needed, it can be thinned
sufficiently with a little water, enough to make it work smoothly.

A little lemon juice, or half a teaspoonful of tartaric acid, added to
the frosting while being beaten, makes it white and more frothy.

The flavors mostly used are lemon, vanilla, almond, rose, chocolate
and orange. If you wish to ornament with figures or flowers, make up
rather more icing, keep about one-third out until that on the cake is
dried; then, with a clean glass syringe, apply it in such forms as
you desire and dry as before; what you keep out to ornament with may
be tinted pink with cochineal, blue with indigo, yellow with saffron
or the grated rind of an orange strained through a cloth, green with
spinach juice and brown with chocolate, purple with cochineal and
indigo. Strawberry, or currant and cranberry juices color a delicate
pink.

Set the cake in a cool oven with the door open to dry, or in a draught
in an open window.

ALMOND FROSTING.

The whites of three eggs, beaten up with three cups of fine, white
sugar. Blanch a pound of sweet almonds, pound them in a mortar with a
little sugar, until a fine paste, then add the whites of eggs, sugar
and vanilla extract. Pound a few minutes to thoroughly mix. Cover the
cake with a very thick coating of this, set in a cool oven to dry,
afterwards