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Show ARMOUR'S HINTS ON CAKE MAKING. Heating the Oven. In making cakes, the first thing to it! ind to is the oven In order to tell if It is at the proper heat, a piece of white paper should he put in the 1 en It it remains white or turns a very pale brown, it is too coO), if it turna a prett) ahade of light brown. 1 be heat is right; and if It turns deep brown at once, it is too hot If a coal stove is used, all soot that may have collected In the oven must be remo -1 ed, as this would retard the heat -mall cakes require the hottest oven so as to be quickly baked thiough. On the other ! nd large fruit cakes do not require such a quick oven or they will ;;ef hardened on the outside before the are cooked through The baking, therefore, snould be more gradual, although an ven that Is too bot Is better than one that is too cool. Preparing Fruit. Currants and raisins must be well washed and dr ed by rubbing in a clean dry towel This will help to -e-! move the stalks and makes the picking pick-ing of the fruit much easier. It Is most essential that the fruit be quite dry, for it at all damp It will sink to tbe bottom of the cake Get the Pan Ready For a cake made with shortening, the pan should be greased with lard Butter must not be used for this purpose, pur-pose, as it burns too easily. The pan Bhould then be dusted with Hour, but if the cake is one necessitating long cooking the pan must be lined with one thickness of white paper It is not necessary to grease the pan for sponge cake; simply dust it with flour as It contains no shortening and will not stick Shortening. The shortening is a er Important Ingredient In cake making it will he I found that pure leaf lard is better than butter. This is due to its purity, wholeaomeness, and to Its uniform , quality. It is quite pure, and .he standard never varies As it containa no water (and it is well known that huttei contains sixteen per centi. it will be readily seen whv a cake made with pure leal lard will keep moist much longer than one made with butter. And, of course the economy of J its use :s apparent to every house-v house-v if'- Tn using this leaf lard in a recipe which calls for butter use a little less' and add a pinch of salt Use 1 ss be-j cat se leaf lard is richer than but-' ter. In all cake making there are definite defi-nite preparations before the actual mixing. If these are followed there Is no excuse for forgetting any ingredient in-gredient or for allowing a cake to stand the fire meanwhile burning while the pan Is being made ready or the fruit picked over. All cakes should be well mixed and beaten, as the beating allows plenty of air to, get through the mixture, thus making mak-ing it light. |