About one pound of beef or veal suet should be first chopped very
fine, then melted down in a stewpan; after it has been strained
through a napkin, pour this into the mould, turn it round in all
directions, so that the fat may touch all the angles and recesses; it
must then be poured out, and the mould should be turned upside
down on a plate, and allowed to stand in a warm place for a few
minutes, that the fat may be entirely drained off. About one pound
of the finest sifted sugar should now be immediately put into the
mould, and shaken about in it, in order that it may effectually cover
the whole of the inside of the mould with a perfectly smooth white
surface. Care must be taken to avoid leaving a greater quantity of
fat adhering to the sides of the mould than is positively necessary;
for if there be too thick a coating of sugar in the mould, the Savoy
cake will be more difficult to bake of a light colour, as the heat of the
oven being liable to partially calcine the sugar, and thus darken its hue.
When the Savoy cake is ready to be baked, tie a broad band of
paper (folded three) round the base, and put a few wood-ashes on
the baking-sheet, previously to placing the cake on the latter, before
putting it in the oven, which must be of very moderate heat; parti-
cular care must be taken to keep it closed as much as possible while
the cake is baking, and also not to increase its temperature after-
wards; this may be easily avoided, if the oven be substantially built,
by its being properly heated at first, it will then retain for some time
an even temperature.
It is impossible to determine on the exact length of time that this,
or, indeed, any other cake should remain in the oven before it is done;
this will mainly depend upon the construction of the oven, and partly
on the necessity there may be for occasionally opening it during the
process of baking the cake.