Fruit cakes always need two coats of icing. Common glaze or sugar only, melted with white of egg, may do for the first, and it to be very nice, mix some minced almond in it. The first coat will dry in an hour in a warm place.

Cake icing is the same as the star kiss mixture or meringue, at No. 5, only it is surer to beat sugar and whites to-gether in a bowl, and powdered sugar makes the smoothest icing. Put into a deep bowl two whites and a cupful of sugar, which makes a stiff paste, and beat them with a wooden paddle fifteen minutes. Add some flavoring extract. To smooth over the cake cut a strip o writing paper an inch wide and, stretching it between the hands, draw the edge over the top of the cake.

To make a border put some of the ing into a cornet made of writing paper and pinned. Clip of the point, and the pipe of icing that is pressed out can be laid on the edge of the cake like a braid Leaves and flowers can be bought ready made.