A VARIETY OF CAKES EVOLVED FROM ONE

"Aunt Sarah," questioned Mary one day, "will you tell me how it is
possible to evolve a number of cakes from one recipe?"

"Certainly I will, my dear," said her Aunt. "For instance, take the
simple recipe from which I have for years baked layer cake. You may
have other recipes given you, equally as good, but I feel positive
none better. The cake made from this recipe is not rich enough to be
unwholesome, but a good, reliable, inexpensive, easily-made cake, with
which I have never had a failure.

"The recipe, as you know, consists of 1-1/4 cups of granulated sugar,
1/2 cup of a mixture of butter and sweet lard (or use all butter), 1/2
cup sweet milk, 2 cups flour and 2 teaspoonfuls baking powder. 3 eggs.

"The simplest manner of baking this cake is in two square cake pans.
When baked, take from pans and ice each cake with a boiled chocolate
icing and put together as a layer cake, or ice each cake with a plain,
boiled white icing and, when this is cold, you may spread over top of
each cake unsweetened chocolate, which has been melted over steam
after being grated. When cake is to be served, cut in diamonds or
squares. Or add to the batter 1 cup of chopped hickory nut meats, bake
in 2 layers and cut in squares.

"For a chocolate loaf cake, add two generous tablespoonfuls of
unsweetened melted chocolate to the batter just before baking. If you
wish a chocolate layer cake, use the same batter as for the chocolate
loaf cake, bake in two layer pans and put together with white boiled
icing.

"Or, add to this same batter one scant teaspoonful of cinnamon,
ginger, 1/2 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg and cloves, a cup of raisins
or dried currants, and you have a small fruit cake.

"Or, add a small quantity of thinly-shaved citron to the original
recipe, flavor with lemon, bake in a loaf and spread a white icing
flavored with lemon extract over top of cake, and you have a lemon
cake.

"Or, add chocolate and spices to one-half the batter (about one-half
as much chocolate and spices as were used in batter for fruit cake)
and place spoonfuls of the light and dark batter alternately in a cake
pan, until all batter has been used, and you will have a cheap,
old-fashioned Marble cake.

"Or, bake cake over original recipe, in two-layer pans, placing
between layers either tart jelly, a creamy cornstarch filling, grated
cocoanut, apple cream filling, or you might even use half the recipe
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