Required: Half a pound of butter.

Three-quarters of a pound of flour. Half a pound of currants. Half a pound of peel. Quarter of a pound of almonds. Six ounces of moist sugar. Quarter of an ounce of mixed spice. One lemon-rind. One orange-rind. Three eggs.

Half a wineglass of brandy or home-made wine. A little saffron. (Sufficient for a medium-sized cake.)

Beat the butter and sugar together till they are quite soft and creamy; then beat in the eggs one by one. Add the flour lightly. Clean and stalk the currants, chop the peel, shell and shred the almonds; add all these, with the grated rinds of the orange and lemon, to the butter, etc. Now add the spice and the wine, and colour the mixture carefully with a little saffron. Mix all very thoroughly.

Work the mixture into a lump, drop this into a greased cake-tin, tie over it a cloth which has been scalded and then floured. Put it in a saucepan of fast-boiling water and boil it for three hours.

Next, take it out of the pan, remove the cloth, and take the cake out of the tin. Work the edge of the top of the mixture up like a rough wall. Brush it over with beaten egg, put it on a greased baking-tin in a slow oven, and bake until it is a nice brown and has a hard, crisp crust. Sprinkle with a little icing sugar, and serve when cold.

Cost, about 2S.