Sift four pounds of dried flour onto a marble or slate slab, put a quarter of it into a basin, and pour in the center one ounce of German yeast dissolved in a teacupful of warm water. Mix well with the fingers, adding a little more water if required to make a stiff paste. Roll into the shape of a ball, and again place in the basin, score it on top in the form of a cross, set in a warm place, and let the dough rise for about ten minutes, or until it is quite light. Make a cavity in the center of the three pounds of flour, adding two and a half pounds of butter, slightly warmed, half an ounce of salt and half a teacupful of water, together with fifteen eggs. Work the eggs and butter well together, then mix the whole into a paste, keeping it rather soft. In a few minutes, add six more eggs singly, and work lightly with the hand for ten minutes, sprinkling a teaspoonful of powdered saffron over the dough, and mixing it in. Put four ounces of Smyrna and eight ounces of Malaga raisins, together with four ounces of cleaned currants, and a small quantity of mixed candied peels cut into thin slices into a basin, pour over a breakfast cupful of Madeira wine and three wineglassfuls of brandy or rum, whichever may be preferred, and let these ingredients soak for a few minutes. Then mix them all in with the paste, using the hand lightly, and allow it to stand for a few minutes. Put a strip of paper about three inches above the rim of a well-buttered mould, pour in the mixture to about three-quarters the height of the mould, and set it in a warm place, and when the paste has risen to the top of the mould, place in a slack oven and bake until done, say about three hours. Turn out carefully onto a sieve, and serve either hot or cold. Care should be taken not to have the paste too thin, or the fruit will fall to the bottom of the cake, and the effect will be lost. As the fruit in some cakes has a tendency to stick to the mould when cooked, the latter may be masked with a coating of plain paste before placing the mixture in it.

Baba With Madeira

Prepare a baba cake as described in the foregoing, but do not glaze it. Slit the cake into halves and remove the top piece. Pour a little cold water into a clean pan, adding a little sugar and lemon, and place it on the stove, boiling well for three minutes; then remove and at once add a gill or so of good sherry wine and half that quantity of curacoa. Lay the top part of the cake in a flat-bottomed vessel - a wire basket is recommended, to avoid breaking it, as it can be carefully lowered into the pan. Pour the prepared sauce gradually over it, and let it stand for a couple of minutes, then replace carefully on top of the other half of the cake. Arrange tastefully on a dessert-dish, garnish with candied cherries, the border being decorated with candied pineapple.

Baba With Vanilla Cream Sauce

Prepare a baba cake as previously described, and when removed from the mould and laid on a dish, cut it into six equal parts. Take a small quantity of apricot marmalade, taking one piece of the cake in the hand and cover the sides where cut with the marmalade, spreading it smoothly with a knife. Then arrange the six pieces together on a dish, giving them the same form as before. Serve with vanilla cream sauce.