CHAPTER TWO + + + EGG AND WEDDING CAKE + + + POLYRHYTHMIA IN DIFFERENT TIME SCALES

Place five eggs yolks, four whole eggs and sugar in a large bowl. beat until the mixture thickens and then add two more whole eggs; repeat, adding the remaining eggs two at a time until all the eggs have been added. To make the cake for pedro's and Rosaura's wedding, Tita and Nacha had to multiply this recipe by ten, since they were preparing a cake not for eighteen people but for one hundred and eighty. Therefore, they needed 170 eggs, which meant they had to arrange to have that number of good eggs on the same day.
To get that number of eggs together, they preserved all the eggs laid by the best hens for several weeks. this preserving technique has been employed on the ranch since time immemorial to ensure a supply of this nourishing and immemorial to ensure a supply of this nourishing and indispensable food throughout the winter. The best time to preserve eggs is august or September. The eggs must be very fresh. Nacha preferred to use only eggs laid same day. The eggs are placed in the cask then covered completely. this will keep the eggs fresh for months. If you want to keep them more than a year, place the eggs in an earthenware crock and cover them with a ten per cent lime solution. Cover tightly to keep the air out and store in the wine cellar.
when she has beaten barely a hundred eggs, the phenomenal energy required for the task began to have a bad effect mood. To reach the goal of 170 seemed unimaginable.

A fit of trembling shook Tita's body and she broke out in goose bumps when each egg was broken. The egg whites remained her of the testicles of the chickens they had castrated the months before. Rosters that are castrated and then fattening up are called capons.

Heat the apricot paste together with a little bit of water after comes to the boil, strain it preferably through a hair of floured sieve, but a courser strainer can be used if you don’t have either of those. Place the paste in a pan, add the sugar, and heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture forms a marmalade. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before spreading it on the middle layer of the cake which, of course, had previously been sliced into layers.