ICES AND ICING Icings for Candy and Cake. — Icing, as ordinarily made, consists of powdered sugar beaten up to a stiff froth with white of egg. Gum ara bic is frequently used to give addi tional stiffness. The addition of but ter or cream improves the flavor and prevents the icing from drying rap idly or cracking when cut, and va rious flavoring and coloring matters are added as desired. Icing may be of two sorts, either boiled or un cooked.
Uncooked Icing. — Beat up the whites of any required number of eggs to a stiff froth and whip into them Confectioners' XXX sugar un til the icing is of the desired con sistency. Generally speaking, the white of 1 egg will make. sufficient icing for a small cake or 2 eggs for a large one. And the white of I egg will require pound of sugar, more or less. Some prefer to add the sugar gradually, while the white of egg is being beaten. The addition of a little lemon juice, while beating, will improve the color and flavor. The following recipe is recommended: Beat up the whites of 2 eggs to a stiff froth, whip in pound of Con fectioners' XXX or powdered su gar, tablespoonful of starch, ounce of pulverized gum arabic or less, and 1 teaspoonful of lemon juice. Mix the sugar, starch, and gum arable together, and sift them into the white of egg. The longer the mixture is whipped or beaten the better the icing will be.
Boiled Icing.— For an ordinary cake, boil a cupful of sugar to the thread. Beat in the white of 1 egg, I tablespoonful of cream or 1 tea spoonful of butter. Now stir in, if convenient, 3 or 4 marshmallows and teaspoonful of cream of tartar. Beat the whole until cold.
To Apply Icing.—To ice the top of a cake, but not the sides, dust the top with a little flour to kill the grease, which prevents the icing from run ning, brush, blow, or dust off the ex cess of flour and cut a band of white paper long enough to go around the cake and l inches wide, grease the inside with butter, dust it with flour, and pin it around the cake so that the upper edge will be inch or more above the top. Pour on the frosting evenly, when if thin enough it will settle in a perfectly smooth and even surface. Let stand until it hardens, run a thin-bladed knife be tween the cake and the paper, and take off the paper.
Or, after dusting the cake with flour, spread the icing with a broad knife blade or thin wooden paddle dipped in iced water, and set it on the edge of an oven to harden, taking care that the oven is not hot enough to brown it.
Or a second coat of fresh icing may be added the following day or after the first layer is hardened. Any ornamentation mu4,t be added while the icing is wet, as otherwise it will not adhere.
To Ornament Icing.—For this pur pose prepare a special icing by beat ing slightly the white of 1 egg and stirring in gradually 2 cups of Con fectioners' XXX sugar. Add the juice of a lemon and beat the whole until the mixture is stiff and elastic. Now make a paper cone of stiff white writing paper, pinning the side and clipping off the point, so that the icing can come through in a pencil or point of any desired thick ness. Small tin cones are provided which may be used for this purpose, but the paper cone will answer. Fill this with the icing or full, fold in the top and press on it with the thumbs to force the icing through the small end of the funnel.
Ice the cake as above, let it stand for fifteen or twenty minutes until the icing is " tacky " but not hard, trace the design on the cake lightly with a lead pencil and follow it with the icing forced through the paper funnel. The icing may be flavored and tinted as desired.
Chocolate Icing.—A quick way to make chocolate icing for cake is to place few good chocolate creams in a saucepan, add a tablespoonful or less of hot water or milk, and place it in a pan of hot water or over the steam of a teakettle until the choco lates are dissolved. Stir thoroughly and apply.
Or add to 1 pint of boiled icing prepared in the usual way 1 ounce of grated chocolates and the yolks of 2 eggs. Mix and apply.
Or beat up the white of an egg in a bowl, dissolve pound of grated chocolate in 1 cup of milk in a double boiler, stir in a cupful of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoonful of vanilla. Pour the mixture over the white of egg and beat to a stiff froth.
Coffee Icing.—To 1 pint of icing prepared in the usual way add 2 ounces of strong black coffee, ounce of confectioners' sugar, and the yolks of 2 eggs.
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