Snowballs

Ingredients

• About 12 cakes
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup cake flour(sift before measuring)
• 1 1/2 tsp. tartrate or phosphate baking powder OR 1 tsp. combination type baking powder(double-acting)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 egg whites
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• Flour
• Powdered sugar
• Unhulled strawberries
• Strawberry Hard Sauce*(or Rum Sauce,or Butter Sauce)
• Grated Coconut

Directions

Sift the 1/2 cup of sugar. Beat the butter until soft; add the sugar gradually. Blend these ingredients until they are light and creamy. Add the vanilla. Resift the cake flour twice with the baking powder. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 parts alternately with thirds of the milk. Beat the batter until it is smooth after each addition. Whip the egg whites with the 1/8 tsp. of salt until stiff but not dry. Fold them lightly into the batter. Grease small molds or cups. Dust them with flour. Pour the batter into them. Fill them 2/3 full.Cover the tops with heavy waxed paper. Hold it in place with rubber bands. Place the molds in a pan of hot water. Steam the snowballs in a moderate oven 350 degrees F. for about 35 minutes. Invert them. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Garnish them with unhulled strawberries.Serve them with Strawberry Hard Sauce. If strawberries are not available, substitute rasberry juice, logenberry juice, etc. Or serve with Rum sauce, or Butter Sauce. The snowballs may be rolled in coconut.

Strawberry Hard Sauce: About 1 2/3 cupfuls
1 cup powdered sugar 1/3 cup butter 2/3 cup crushed strawberries 1/4 cup cream(optional) 1 stiffly beaten egg white(optional)

Sift the powdered sugar. Beat the butter until soft; add the sugar gradually. Beat these ingredients until they are well blended. Beat in the crushed strawberries. Chill the sauce thoroughly. This makes a good sauce but it is better with the addition of 1/4 cup cream and the stiffly beaten egg white.

Rasberry Sauce: Follow the recipe for Strawberry Sauce except substitute 1/2 cup crushed rasberries

Submitted 6/13/05.
Source: The Joy of Cooking
Submitted By: Linda Wilson
lwilson@gatecom.com
Snowballs