2 cups milk

4 tablespns. yeast

8 1/2 cups flour

2 cups ( 1 lb.) butter

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup domestic saffron, not more than 1 teaspn. of imported 1 cup water in which saffron has been steeped 1/2 hr. 3 cups currants

2 cups fine cut or ground citron 1 teaspn. lemon extract

2/3 - 1 cake compressed yeast dissolved in a very little water, with sugar, may be used instead of soft yeast, and 1 extra tablespn. of water added to the sponge.

Make a sponge at night of the milk (just warm), yeast and 4 1/2 cups of flour, and in the morning add the cup of warm saffron water. Cream the butter and sugar with a little flour, add the sponge gradually, mixing and beating, then the remainder of the flour warm (except a little which has been used to dust the fruit), beat well, add the extract and warmed, floured fruit, mix and pour into 3 good sized paper lined cake pans. Let stand until bubbles appear in the batter, usually 2-3 hrs. with soft yeast; not so long, perhaps, with compressed; when light, put into a slow oven; let cakes come up slowly and bake very moderately until they stop singing, 1 1/2 - 2 hrs., depending upon the heat of the oven, but they must bake slowly.

When cake is started in the morning, 6 tablespns. of soft, or a whole cake of compressed yeast may be used. The quantity of flour may need to be varied a little according to the brand.