POUND CAKE.

[Illustration: POUND CAKE.]

1770. INGREDIENTS.—1 lb. of butter, 1-1/4 lb. of flour, 1 lb. of pounded loaf sugar, 1 lb. of currants, 9 eggs, 2 oz. of candied peel, 1/2 oz. of citron, 1/2 oz. of sweet almonds; when liked, a little pounded mace.

Mode.—Work the butter to a cream; dredge in the flour; add the sugar, currants, candied peel, which should be cut into neat slices, and the almonds, which should be blanched and chopped, and mix all these well together; whisk the eggs, and let them be thoroughly blended with the dry ingredients. Beat the cake well for 20 minutes, and put it into a round tin, lined at the bottom and sides with a strip of white buttered paper. Bake it from 1-1/2 to 2 hours, and let the oven be well heated when the cake is first put in, as, if this is not the case, the currants will all sink to the bottom of it. To make this preparation light, the yolks and whites of the eggs should be beaten separately, and added separately to the other ingredients. A glass of wine is sometimes added to the mixture; but this is scarcely necessary, as the cake will be found quite rich enough without it.

Time.—1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Average cost, 3s. 6d.

Sufficient.—The above quantity divided in two will make two nice-sized cakes.

Seasonable at any time.