A fried cake by any other name

I downloaded an eBook I found online called "Bohemian-American Cook Book," which I thought might be amusing and possibly useful. It is a translation into English of a cookbook originally published in Bohemian by one Marie Rosický in 1915. It is intended for the daughters of Bohemian immigrants who, to Mrs. Rosický's sorrow, cannot read the language of their forebears.

There are exactly 1000 recipes in 43 categories covering, literally, soup to nuts. Some are for dishes I would never prepare, much less eat (jellied carp, calf’s brains) and things I don’t even know what they are (sago soup, breaded salsify). But, to warm the heart of any grandchild of a Bohemian grandma, there are 29 recipes for dumplings.

Each recipe includes both an English and Bohemian name, and in the section on Doughnuts and Fried Cakes, Recipe No. 809 (Fried Cake, or Šišky) caught my eye. I loved my grandmother's Šišky (pronounced SHISH-key), which is a fried, hole-less doughnut. I got Grandma's recipe from an aunt who spoke but couldn't read Bohemian and who said she translated as Grandma gave her the recipe orally.

Here is what Marie  Rosický says to do:  Cream together half a cup of butter, four yolks, a dash of salt, a dash of grated lemon rind, a dash of mace, add a quart of warm flour, then a cake of compressed yeast dissolved in tepid cream enough to make a thick batter. Beat until the dough does not stick, then stir in two tablespoons of seedless raisins, sprinkle the dough with flour and let it rise. When it has risen, turn it out on a floured bread board, cut into small pieces, roll each into a small roll, let them rise again, then fry in deep hot fat. When done on both sides drain and dust with powdered sugar.

Except that there is no reference to the temperature of the flour, Grandma's recipe calls for the exact same ingredients in the exact same amounts and includes such instructions as "then the yeast dissolved in tepid cream enough to make a thick batter. Beat until dough does not stick."

I'm guessing Grandma didn't bring that recipe with her from the old country.