Take a pound of flour, a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of currans well cleaned, and a nutmeg grated; take half of the flour and mix it with sugar and nutmeg, melt the butter and put it into the yolks of eight eggs very well beat, and only four of the whites, and as the froth rises put it into the flour, and do so till all is in; then beat it together, still strowing some of the other half of the flour, and then beat it till all the flour be in, then butter the pans and fill them, but do not bake them too much; you may ice them if you please, or you may strow carraway comfits of all sorts on them when they go into the oven.  The currans must be plump’d in warm water, and dried before the fire, then put them into your cakes.

247. To make PLUMB-CAKES another way.

Take two pounds of butter, beat it with a little rose water and orange-flower water till it be like cream, two pounds of flour dried before the fire, a quarter of an ounce of mace, a nutmeg, half a pound of loaf sugar, beat and sifted, fifteen eggs (beat the whites by themselves and yolks with your sugar) a jack of brandy and as much sack, two pounds of currans very well cleaned, and half a pound of almonds blanch’d and cut in two or three pieces length-way, so mix all together, and put it into your hoop of tin; you may put in half a pound of candid orange and citron if you please; about an hour will bake it in a quick oven; if you have a mind to have it iced a pound of sugar will ice it.

248. To make a GINGER BREAD-CAKE.

Take two pounds of treacle, two pounds and a quartern of flour, and ounce of beat ginger, three quarters of a pound of sugar, two ounces of coriander seeds, two eggs, a pennyworth of new ale with the yeast on it, a glass of brandy, and two ounces of lemon-peel, mix all these together in a bowl, and set it to rise for half an hour, then put it into a tin to bake, and wet it with a little treacle and water; if you have a quick oven an hour and a half will bake it.

249. To make CHOCOLATE CREAM.

Take four ounces of chocolate, more or less, according as you would have your dish in bigness, grate it and boil it in a pint of cream, then mill it very well with a chocolate stick; take the yolks of two eggs and beat them very well, leaving out the strain, put to them three or four spoonfuls of cream, mix them all together, set it on the fire, and keep stirring it till it thicken, but do not let it boil; you must sweeten it to your taste, and keep stirring it till it be cold, so put it into your glasses or china dishes, which you please.

250. To make white LEMON CREAM.

Take a jill of spring water and a pound of fine sugar, set it over a fire till the sugar and water be dissolv’d, then put the juice of four good lemons to your sugar and water, the whites of four eggs well beat, set it on the fire again, and keep it stirring one way till it just simmers and does not boil, strain it thro’ a fine cloth, then put it on the fire again, adding to it a spoonful of orange-flower water, stir it till it thickens on a slow fire, then strain into basons or glasses for your use; do not let it boil, if you do it will curdle.