FONDUE

See page [335].

Chapter XVII
SALADS

Drying the salad. Nearly all the meats, vegetables, and fruits may be served as salads. The essential thing is to have the salad fresh and cold; and if green, to have the leaves crisp and dry. If any water is left on leaves, the dressing will not adhere to them, but will run to the bottom of the dish, and both the salad and the dressing will be poor. All greens should be carefully washed in cold water to free them from dust and insects, and to make them crisp. After they have stood fifteen to twenty minutes in cold or ice water, free them from moisture by swinging them in a wire basket, or dry, without bruising, each leaf carefully with a napkin. The dressing is added only at the moment of serving, as the salad wilts if allowed to stand after the dressing is added. The green salads are the most simple of any, and are especially worthy the little care required to make them perfect.

Cutting the meat. Meat of any kind used for salads should be cut into dice, but not smaller than one half inch, or it will seem like hash. It should be marinated before being mixed with the other parts of the salad. Meat mixtures are usually piled in cone-shape on a dish, the Mayonnaise then spread over it, and garnished with lettuce, capers, hard-boiled eggs, gherkins, etc.

Marinating. To Marinate.—Take one part of oil and three of vinegar, with pepper and salt to taste; stir them into the meat, and let it stand a couple of hours; drain off any of the marinade which has not been absorbed, before combining the meat with the other parts of the salad. Use only enough marinade to season the meat.

French dressing is used with green vegetable salads, and either Mayonnaise or French dressing with potato and tomato salads.

Fish salads. Lettuce, water-cress, fetticus, sorrel, or other leaf salads are better with French dressing. A boiled fish can be served whole as a salad for suppers or luncheons, or in hot weather as a fish course for dinner. It may be covered, all but the head and tail, with a thick coating of green or red jelly Mayonnaise (see page [290]), and elaborately decorated with capers, olives, gherkins, hard-boiled eggs, and lettuce. Salmon, blue fish, bass, or any firm fish, serves this purpose. Fish may also be cut into cutlets of equal size and shape, and covered with jelly Mayonnaise garnished in the same way.

Nasturtium blossoms make a good garnish, and also add a good flavor to green salads.

MAYONNAISE

The receipts for Mayonnaise are given on pages [288-290]. White Mayonnaise, instead of that having the color of the eggs, is the fancy of to-day. The yolks will whiten by being stirred before the oil is added, and lemon-juice, used instead of vinegar, also serves to whiten the dressing; so it is not always necessary to add whipped cream, although the cream gives a very delicate and delicious Mayonnaise. The jelly Mayonnaise is used for molded salads, and will be found very good, as well as useful, for the class of salads served at suppers, etc.

FRENCH DRESSING

This dressing is the most simple, and the best one to use with green salads for dinner. The proportions are one tablespoonful of vinegar to three of oil, one half teaspoonful of salt, and one quarter teaspoonful of pepper. Mix the salt and pepper with the oil; then stir in slowly the vinegar, and it will become white and a little thickened, like an emulsion. Some like a dash of paprica or red pepper. When intended for lettuce salad it is much improved by using a little tarragon vinegar with the wine vinegar. More oil may be used if preferred, but the mixture should be so blended as to taste of neither the oil nor the vinegar.

LETTUCE SALAD

Use only the tender leaves. Let them stand half an hour in cold water to become crisp. Rub the inside of the salad bowl lightly with an onion. Wipe the lettuce leaves perfectly dry without bruising them, and arrange them in the bowl in circles, the heart leaves in the center. Sprinkle over them a teaspoonful of mixed tarragon, parsley, and chives, chopped fine; pour over the French dressing, and toss them lightly together. French lettuce salads always have chopped herbs mixed with them, and they are a great improvement to the salad. If all of them are not at hand, any one of them may be used alone. The salad should be put together only just before being served, or its crispness will be lost. Nasturtium blossoms, small radishes cut into flowers, or a few white chicory leaves may be used with plain lettuce salad.

WATER-CRESS AND APPLES

Prepare the water-cress the same as lettuce, letting it become crisp in cold water, then drying it thoroughly. Mix it with French dressing. A few thin slices of sour apple with water-cress makes a good salad to serve with ducks.

A chopped hard-boiled egg sprinkled over the top of water-cress is a good garnish, and improves the salad.

CELERY SALAD

Wash and scrape the tender stalks of celery, cut them into one quarter inch pieces, or into straws two inches long, or cut them in pieces one and a half inches long, and slice them in small strips nearly to the end; place them in ice-water for a few minutes to curl them. Mix the celery with either French or Mayonnaise dressing, and garnish with lettuce leaves or celery tops.

CUCUMBER AND TOMATO SALAD

Slice cucumbers and tomatoes into pieces of equal thickness, and lay them alternately around a bunch of white lettuce leaves. Pass separately either a French or Mayonnaise dressing, or both.

CUCUMBER SALAD TO SERVE WITH FISH

Peel the cucumbers, and place them in cold water to become crisp. Do not use salt in the water, as is sometimes recommended, as it wilts and makes them indigestible. Cut the cucumbers in two lengthwise, and lay them, with the flat side down, on the dish on which they are to be served. Slice them without destroying their shape, and pour on them a French dressing.

STRING-BEAN SALAD

Cut each bean in four strips lengthwise; lay them evenly together and boil in salted water until tender. Remove them carefully and drain. When they are cold and ready to serve, pile them on a flat dish, trim the ends even, and pour over them slowly a French dressing. Garnish with parsley, white chicory leaves or nasturtium leaves.

BEAN SALADS

Boiled navy beans, flageolets, or Lima beans may be mixed with French or Mayonnaise dressing, and garnished with hard-boiled eggs and parsley.

CAULIFLOWER SALAD

Break the vegetable into flowerets; season with salt, pepper, and a little vinegar and oil. Pile them in a pyramid on a dish, and pour over them a white Mayonnaise. Arrange around the base a border of carrots or beets, cut into dice or fancy shapes, to give a line of color. Place a floweret of cauliflower on the top of the pyramid.

MACÉDOINE SALAD

This salad is composed of a mixture of vegetables. The vegetables are boiled separately; the large ones are then cut into dice of equal size. The salad is more attractive when the vegetables are cut with fancy cutters or with a small potato-scoop. Peas, flageolets, string beans, flowerets of cauliflower, beets, celery roots, asparagus points, carrots, and turnips—all, or as many as convenient, may be used. Mix them lightly with French dressing or with Mayonnaise. If the latter, marinate them first. Be careful not to break the vegetables when mixing them. Arrange lettuce leaves like a cup, and place the macédoine in the center.

POTATO SALAD

Boil the potatoes with the skins on; when cold remove the skins and cut them into slices three eighths inch thick, or into dice three quarters inch thick, or cut the potatoes into balls with a scoop; sprinkle them with a little grated onion and parsley, chopped very fine. Turn over them a French dressing. They will absorb a great deal. Toss them lightly together, but do not break the potatoes, which are very tender. A Mayonnaise dressing is also very good with marinated potatoes. A mixture of beets and potatoes with Mayonnaise is also used. Garnish with lettuce, chopped yolk of hard-boiled egg and capers. In boiling potatoes for salad, do not steam them after they are boiled, as they should not be mealy. New or German potatoes are best for salad.

COLD SLAW

Shred a firm cabbage very fine. Mix it with a French dressing, using an extra quantity of salt, or put into a bowl the yolks of three eggs, one half cupful of vinegar (if it is very strong dilute it with water), one tablespoonful of butter, one half teaspoonful each of mustard and pepper, and one teaspoonful each of sugar and salt. Beat them together, place the bowl in a pan of boiling water, and stir until it becomes a little thickened. Pour this while hot over the cabbage, and set it away to cool.

HOT SLAW

Place shredded cabbage in a saucepan with enough salted boiling water to cover it. Boil it until tender, but not so long as to lose shape; turn it onto a sieve and drain it well in a warm place. Pour over the drained cabbage a hot Béarnaise sauce.

Cabbage salads are good to serve with fried oysters, meat fritters, or chops.

The boiled cabbage, cold, may be used with French dressing.

TOMATO SALADS

To remove the skins from tomatoes, place them in a wire-basket, and plunge them into boiling water for a minute. This is better than letting them soak in the water, which softens them if left too long.

No. 1.

Select tomatoes of the same size and shape; peel, and place them on ice until ready to use; then cut each one in two and place on each piece a teaspoonful of Mayonnaise. Dress them on a bed of lettuce leaves; or, slice the tomatoes without breaking their form, place each one on a leaf of lettuce, cover the tomato with Mayonnaise, and sprinkle over a little parsley chopped fine; or scoop out a little of the center from the stem end and fill it with dressing.

An attractive salad is made of the small yellow tomatoes which resemble plums. Remove the skin carefully; let them get thoroughly cold; then pile them on a dish the same as fruit, garnish with leaves of lettuce, and pour over them a French dressing.

No. 2. STUFFED TOMATOES

Select round tomatoes of equal size; peel and scoop from the stem end a part of the center. Place them on ice until ready to serve; then fill them with celery cut fine and mixed with Mayonnaise. Let it rise above the top of the tomato. Put a little Mayonnaise on small lettuce leaves, and place a stuffed tomato on the dressing in the center of each leaf. Arrange them in a circle on a flat dish. Tomatoes may be stuffed in the same way with chopped veal, celery and veal or chicken, celery and sweetbreads, or chopped hard-boiled eggs and shredded lettuce.

No. 3. TOMATOES AND EGGS

Prepare the tomatoes as above; partly fill them with Mayonnaise, and press into each one the half of a hard-boiled egg, letting the rounded top rise a little above the tomato. Serve on lettuce as above.

No. 4. MOLDED TOMATOES

Select small round tomatoes. Stuff them in any way directed above, but do not let the filling project beyond the opening. Place individual molds on ice. Small cups will do; pour in one eighth of an inch of clear aspic or chicken aspic (see page [323]); when it has set, place in each one a tomato, the whole side down; add enough jelly to fix the tomato without floating it. When that has set, add enough more to entirely cover it (see Fancy Molding, page [323]). Turn each molded tomato onto the plate on which it is to be served, and arrange around it a wreath of shredded lettuce. Pass Mayonnaise dressing separately.

No. 5. TOMATO JELLY

Boil together the tomatoes, spices, and onion until the tomato is soft; then add the soaked gelatine, and stir until the gelatine is dissolved; then strain and pour it into a border or ring-shaped mold to set. Serve with the center of the jelly-ring filled with celery cut into pieces, into straws, or curled, and mixed with Mayonnaise. Form outside the ring a wreath of shredded lettuce.

This jelly may also be molded in a solid piece and surrounded by the celery. (See illustration opposite page [384].)

CELERY AND WALNUT SALAD

Mix with the celery, cut into small pieces, one third the quantity of English walnut meats broken in two, and enough Mayonnaise to well moisten it. Garnish with lettuce.

SWEETBREADS WITH CELERY

Cut cold cooked sweetbreads into dice and mix with an equal quantity of celery. Cover with Mayonnaise and garnish with lettuce.

EGG SALAD No. 1

Cut hard-boiled eggs (see page [262]) into thick slices or into quarters. Use a sharp knife so the cuts will be clean. Arrange each portion on a leaf of lettuce partly covered with Mayonnaise, and arrange the lettuce in a circle on a flat dish, the stem of the leaf toward the center of the dish. Place a bunch of nasturtium flowers or a bunch of white chicory leaves in the middle. (See [illustration].)

No. 2

Cut hard-boiled eggs in two, making the cut one third from the pointed end. Remove the yolks without breaking the whites; mash them and mix with chicken, chopped fine, and enough Mayonnaise to bind them. Fill the large half of the egg with the mixture, rounding it on top like a whole yolk. Invert the small pieces of white. Cut the pointed ends of both pieces flat, and stick them together with raw white of egg. Place the vase-shaped eggs on a flat dish, and fill the spaces with shredded lettuce. Pass Mayonnaise, as that put in the yolks will not be sufficient. (See [illustration].)

ORANGE SALAD

Use for this salad sour oranges; if these cannot be obtained, strain over sweet oranges after they are sliced a little lemon-juice. Cut the oranges in thick slices, remove the seeds carefully, arrange them in rows, and turn over them a dressing made of one tablespoonful of lemon-juice to three of oil, with salt, and cayenne, or paprica to taste. Serve with game.

Grape fruit may be used the same way, and walnut meats used with either.

CHICKEN SALAD

Cut cold cooked chicken into dice one half inch square, or into pieces of any shape, but not too small. Use only the white meat, if very particular as to appearance, but the dark meat is also good. Veal is sometimes substituted for chicken. Wash and scrape the tender stalks of celery. Cut them into small pieces, and dry them well. Use two thirds as much celery as chicken. Marinate the chicken as directed at the head of chapter. Keep it in a cold place until ready to serve; then mix with it the celery, and add lightly a little Mayonnaise. Place the mixture in a bowl, smooth the top, leaving it high in the center; cover it with Mayonnaise. Garnish with hard-boiled eggs, the whites and yolks chopped separately; also with sliced pickle, stoned olives, capers, lettuce-leaves, celery-tops, etc. Arrange any or all of these in as fanciful design as desired. Shredded lettuce may be used instead of celery if more convenient.

LOBSTER SALAD

Cut the boiled lobster into one inch pieces or larger. Marinate it, and keep in a cool place until ready to serve; then mix with it lightly a little Mayonnaise. Place it in the salad bowl; smooth the top, leaving it high in the center. Mask it with a thick covering of Mayonnaise. Sprinkle over it the powdered coral of the lobster. Place on top the heart of a head of lettuce, and around the salad a thick border of crisp lettuce-leaves, carefully selected.

Shad roe, canned salmon, or any firm white fish mixed with Mayonnaise, and garnished with lettuce, may be served as a salad.

OYSTER SALAD

Scald the oysters in their own liquor until plump and frilled. Drain, and let them get very cold and dry. If large oysters, cut each one with a silver knife into four pieces. Just before serving mix them with Mayonnaise or Tartare sauce, and serve each portion on a leaf of lettuce. Celery may be mixed with oysters, and served the same way.

BOUILLI SALAD

Cut beef that has been boiled for soup into half-inch dice. Marinate it, using a little grated onion with the marinade. Mix it lightly with some cold boiled potatoes cut into half-inch dice, and some parsley chopped fine. Pour over it a French dressing, or Mayonnaise. Garnish with hard-boiled eggs and lettuce.

RUSSIAN SALAD

Fill the outside of a double mold with clear aspic jelly (see page [321]), and the center with a macédoine of vegetables, or with celery, or with any one vegetable. Marinate the vegetables; then mix them with Mayonnaise made with jelly instead of eggs (see page [290]). Cover the top with jelly so the vegetables will be completely enclosed (see directions for double molding, page [325]). Turn the form of salad on a flat dish, and garnish with shredded lettuce.

INDIVIDUAL RUSSIAN SALADS

Ornament the bottom of small timbale-molds with carrot cut into fancy shape in the center, and a row of green peas around the edge. Add enough clear aspic or chicken jelly to fix them, then fill the mold with jelly; when it has hardened, scoop out carefully with a hot spoon some of the jelly from the center, and fill the space at once with a macédoine of vegetables mixed with jelly Mayonnaise as above. Serve each form on a leaf of lettuce. Pass Mayonnaise separately.

Note.—Molds of salad in aspic may be elaborately decorated with rows of different-colored vegetables, or they may be arranged in layers like the aspic of pâté.

Individual salads, when served for suppers, buffet lunches, etc., may be placed around graduated socles in a pyramid. Decorations of capers and parsley, also of truffles and tongue, are suitable for Russian salads.

ASPIC OF PÂTÉ EN BELLEVUE

Ornament the bottom of individual timbale molds with a daisy design made of hard-boiled egg as directed, page [326]; fix it with a little jelly; then add a layer of jelly one quarter inch thick, and a layer of pâté de foie gras alternately until the mold is full. Any forcemeat may be used in the same way. Turn the molds onto a flat dish and surround them with shredded lettuce, or place them on an ornamented socle. Pass Mayonnaise. (See illustration facing page [328].)

CHICKEN ASPIC WITH WALNUTS

Make a clear chicken consommé (see page [100]). To one and one half cupfuls of the consommé add one half box of Cox’s gelatine soaked for one half hour in one half cupful of cold water. Ornament the bottom of a quart Charlotte mold with a daisy design with leaf, as given page [326]. Add a layer of jelly one quarter inch thick, and then fill the outside of double mold with jelly. (See double molding, page [325].) Fill the center with one and a half cupfuls of celery cut rather fine, and one half cupful of English walnuts, broken to same size as the celery. Mix them with a dressing made of

Cover the top with jelly, so as to completely enclose the celery mixture. Turn it onto a flat dish, and place around it a wreath of shredded lettuce. This is a very delicious salad, and well repays the trouble of preparation.

BIRD’S-NEST SALAD

Rub a little green coloring paste into cream cheese, giving it a delicate color like birds’ eggs. Roll it into balls the size of birds’ eggs, using the back or smooth side of butter-pats.

Arrange on a flat dish some small well-crimped lettuce leaves; group them to look like nests, moisten them with French dressing, and place five of the cheese balls in each nest of leaves. The cheese balls may be varied by flecking them with black, white, or red pepper.

The nests may be made of shredded lettuce if preferred.

Chapter XVIII
COLD DESSERTS

UTENSILS

Illustration No. 1, Egg-beaters.—No. 1, Dover beater; Nos. 2 and 3, Wire Whips; No. 4, Daisy beater.

Illustration No. 2, Jelly Molds.—No. 1, Two Charlotte Russe molds to use for double molding; No. 2, cylindrical mold for Charlottes, Bavarians, cornstarch, etc.; Nos. 3 and 4, ring molds.

Illustration No. 3.—No. 1, jelly mold packed in ice ready to be filled; No. 2, smaller mold to fit inside for double molding.

Illustration No. 4.—Pastry bag and tubes.

Illustration No. 5.—Paper for filtering fruit juices.

Illustration No. 6.—No. 1, lace papers to use under cake, puddings, jellies, individual creams, bonbons, etc.; also for timbales; No. 2, paper boxes and china cups to use for individual soufflés, biscuits, glacé oranges and grapes, creamed strawberries, and cherries; also for creamed chicken, and fish, salpicon, etc.

The china cups are useful for the latter purposes.

The rectangular paper boxes are easily made. For boxes 3¼ x 1¾ inches, cut heavy unruled writing paper into pieces 5¾ x 7¼ inches; fold down an edge two inches wide all around; fold it back again on itself, giving a border one inch broad. Cut the corners at the black line, as shown in diagram, and fold the box together. The ends will fit under the folds, and hold the box in shape. A little more stability may be given the box by taking a stitch at each corner, and letting the thread run around the top of the box under the flap.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

4 gills=1 pint.
2 pints=1 quart.
4 quarts=1 gallon.
16 ounces=1 pound
½ kitchen cupful=1 gill.
1 kitchen cupful=½ pint or 2 gills.
4 kitchen cupfuls=1 quart.
}2 cupfuls of granulated sugar
2½ cupfuls of powdered sugar		=1 pound.
1 heaping tablespoonful of sugar=1 ounce.
}1 heaping tablespoonful of butter
Butter size of an egg		=2 oz. or ¼ cupful
1 cupful of butter=½ pound.
}4 cupfuls of flour
1 heaping quart		=1 pound.
8 round tablespoonfuls of dry material=1 cupful.
16 tablespoonfuls of liquid=1 cupful.

PROPORTIONS

MATERIALS

Gelatine. Cooper’s gelatine costs eight cents a box, holding two ounces. Unless perfectly transparent jelly, without clarifying, is required, it serves as well as the more expensive brands. Cox’s gelatine costs fifteen cents a box, containing one and one half ounces. It is clear, and needs only to be strained to make a transparent jelly.

Isinglass comes in thin sheets, is very clear, and makes a brilliant jelly. It costs ten cents an ounce, and there are eight and one half sheets of the white, thirteen sheets of the red, to an ounce.

For dissolving and proportions, see page [412].

Chocolate. Unsweetened chocolate costs about thirty-eight cents a pound. It is usually divided into squares weighing one ounce each. Sweetened chocolate costs about fifty cents per pound, and is usually divided into bars, each weighing a little less than one and a quarter ounces.

To melt chocolate. Break the chocolate into pieces, and put them into a dry pan on the fire, where the heat is moderate. The chocolate melts quickly, and must be carefully watched, or it will burn. Add a few spoonfuls of milk to melted chocolate to dissolve it before adding it to custards.

To whip eggs. Do not let a particle of the yolk get into the whites. Add a little salt, and they will whip more quickly. The “daisy beater,” with the handle bent, as shown in illustration, is an excellent one for whipping eggs. Hold it flat, and whip with an upward motion.

Sweetening. One tablespoonful of powdered sugar to the white of one egg is the right proportion for sweetening meringue. Add but one spoonful of sugar at a time, place it on the side of the dish, and beat it in gradually from below. This will destroy the air-cells less, and leave the egg lighter than sprinkling the sugar over the top.

To whip cream. To whip cream, see page [408].

Milk. Milk is scalded when the water in the outside double kettle boils.

Raisins. Raisins are more easily stoned if soaked a few minutes. Roll raisins and currants in flour before adding them to cake or puddings. If added the last thing they will then hold in place, and not sink to the bottom.

Thickening. Use arrowroot to thicken fruit juices. It cooks perfectly clear, and does not destroy the color or cloud the transparency of the fruit.

Flavoring. Where essences or wine flavorings are used they are put in the last thing, and after the mixture is cooked. For cold desserts the mixture should be partly or entirely cold before adding them.

Molding. In molding mixtures be careful that bubbles of air do not form on the sides of the molds, as they leave holes and destroy the smoothness and beauty of the form. This can be prevented by pouring the mixture very slowly into the center of the tin.

FLAVORS

Vanilla has long held first place in American cooking as flavoring, but is no longer highly esteemed, and by many it is considered injurious. The essences of fruits, flowers, and nuts are preferable. They cost twenty cents per bottle of two ounces.

Liqueurs. Cordials or liqueurs give by far the most delicate and pleasant flavor to jellies, creams, and many other desserts. They are rich syrups of different flavors, and contain only enough spirits to preserve them. Maraschino has the flavor of bitter cherry, curaçao of orange-peel, noyau of peach-kernels or nuts. They cost about $1.50 per bottle, holding nearly a quart, and last so long a time that the expense of using them is really not greater, if as much, as for vanilla, which costs twenty-five cents for two ounces.

Wines. Kirsch, rum, and sherry are also much used in high-class cooking, and, like the liqueurs, need not be excluded from use on the score of temperance. The slight flavor they impart to cooked dishes does not suggest the drink or create a taste for liquors. Wine augments the flavor of salt, and so the latter should be used sparingly until after the flavoring is added.

Eau de Vie de Dantzic. Eau de Vie de Dantzic is made of brandy, is highly flavored, and contains gold-leaf. It is used for jellies, making them very ornamental. There is seldom enough gold-leaf in it, however, and more should be added. A book of gold-leaf costs less than fifty cents.

Vanilla bean. In French cooking the vanilla bean is generally used instead of the extract. The bean is split and infused in the liquid. Half of one bean is sufficient to flavor one quart, but its use is not always economical, as one bean costs twenty cents. It is said the Tonquin bean, which is much less expensive, very closely resembles the vanilla bean in flavor and can be substituted for it.

Vanilla powder. Vanilla powder is used for ice-creams.

Vanilla sugar. Vanilla sugar is better than the extract of vanilla for meringues, whips, etc., where a liquid is not desirable.

Flavoring sugars. Flavoring sugars can be made as follows:

Vanilla sugar. Cut one ounce of dried vanilla beans into pieces and pound them in a mortar with one half pound of granulated sugar to a fine powder. Pass it through a fine sieve. Pound again the coarse pieces that do not go through at first. Keep it in a well-corked bottle or preserve jar.

Orange sugar. Cut from six oranges the thin yellow rind, or zest, taking none of the white peel. Let it thoroughly dry, then pound it in a mortar with a cupful of granulated sugar and pass it through a fine sieve. Keep it in an air-tight jar. One tablespoonful of this sugar will flavor a quart of custard. The Mandarin orange makes a good flavor.

Lemon sugar. Another way is to rub cut loaf-sugar against the peel of an orange or lemon. As the sugar breaks the oil sacs and absorbs the zest, scrape it off, dry, and pass it through a fine sieve.

Rose sugar. Make the same as orange sugar, using two cupfuls of dried rose leaves to one of sugar.

Orange and lemon syrups. Orange and lemon syrups are made by pounding the thin yellow rinds with a little tepid water to a pulp, then adding it to cold syrup at 32° (see page [513]), and letting it infuse for an hour or more. Strain and keep in air-tight jars.

Pistachio flavor. Pistachio flavor can be obtained, when it is not convenient to use the nuts, by first flavoring with orange-flower water, then adding a very little essence of bitter almond.

A peach leaf, infused with milk when it is scalded for custard, will give the flavor of noyau.

Caramel. Caramel (see page [78]). This gives a very delicate and agreeable flavor to custards, cream and ices.

Preserved orange and lemon peel. Candied orange and lemon peel cut into shreds is good in custards and cakes. To prepare it, boil the peel in water until tender, then in sugar and water until clear; let it stand in the syrup several hours, then drain and dry. It will keep indefinitely in a closed jar.

COLORING

Vegetable coloring pastes, which are entirely harmless, can be obtained for twenty-five cents a bottle. The green and the red, or carmine, are the colors generally used for icings, creams and jellies. The orange is used for orange-cake icing and candies. Very little should be used, as the colors should be delicate. To guard against using too much it is well to dilute it with a little water and add only a few drops at a time to the mixture.

The various shades of red to pink are obtained by using more or less carmine.

Fruit juices. Fruit juices impart both color and flavor. They should be filtered (see page [415]) before using, or they give a muddy color.

GARNISHING

To decorate cold sweet dishes, use fancy cakes, icings, fruits either fresh, candied, compote or glacé; jellies or blanc-mange molded, or made into a layer and then cut into fancy shapes. Spun sugar (see page [515]) makes a fine decoration, and can be formed into nests, wreaths, balls, or simply spread irregularly over a dish.

Candied California fruits. The candied California fruits are very useful and beautiful for both cold and hot desserts. They cost sixty to eighty cents a pound, and are not expensive, as but little is used at a time, and they keep indefinitely in closed jars. Cherries are used whole, the other fruits are cut into pieces.

Angelica. Angelica is also very effective for decoration. A piece costing twenty cents will go a long way. It is cut into thin strips and then into diamond-shaped or triangular pieces, and used to simulate leaves. The combination of cherries and angelica is especially pretty.

Currants. A mold sprinkled with currants makes a good garnish for hot or cold puddings.

Raisins and almonds. Raisins and almonds also make an effective garnish for either hot or cold desserts.

Nuts. Almonds, pistachio nuts, filberts, English walnuts and chestnuts are employed in many ways, as see receipts.

Fresh flowers. Fresh flowers and green leaves may be used with good effect on many cold dishes. Pink roses lend themselves particularly to this purpose. Violets, pansies, geraniums, sweet-peas and others are often appropriate. Nasturtiums with salad are good for both decoration and flavor. (See opposite pages [328], [410], [492].)

Colored sugars. Colored sugars and small candies called “hundreds and thousands” are used to sprinkle over icings, méringues, creams and whips. To color sugar sift coarse granulated sugar, spread the coarse grains on stiff paper, and drop on it a few drops of coloring fluid. Roll it under the hand until evenly tinted, then leave to dry on the paper. Keep in corked bottles.

Sauces. Sauces for cold sweet dishes are custards, whipped cream, canned or preserved fruit, fresh fruit juices, or purées. The purées are crushed fruit sweetened to taste (with syrup at 30° if convenient). They are improved with a little flavoring of Maraschino, kirsch, curaçao, or with orange or lemon juice. Peach is improved in appearance if slightly colored with carmine.

Canned fruits. Canned fruits are now very inexpensive, and many of them are fresh in taste as well as appearance. They are useful in a variety of desserts, and often suit the purpose as well as fresh fruits.

THE STORE-CLOSET

Garnishing and flavoring. The various articles needed for garnishing, flavoring, etc., should be kept in glass preserve jars, and labeled. The store-closet, once furnished with the requisites for fancy dishes, will tempt the ordinary cook to a higher class of work, and contribute to the desirable end of presenting dishes that please both sight and taste, and so raise the standard of every-day cooking. It is very easy to garnish a dish or decorate a mold, and the habit once formed will lead to more ambitious attempts.

CUSTARDS

BOILED CUSTARD NO. 1

Boiled custard is the basis of many puddings, ice-creams and sauces. It requires care to get it just right, for the cooking must be arrested at the right point; a moment too soon leaves it too thin, a moment too long curdles and spoils it. It should have the consistency of thick cream, and be perfectly smooth. It is safer to make it in a double boiler. Bring the milk to the scalding-point without boiling; then take from the fire, and pour it slowly into the eggs and sugar, which have been beaten together to a cream; stir all the time; replace on the fire, and stir until the custard coats the spoon, or a smooth creamy consistency is attained; then immediately strain it into a cold dish, and add the flavoring. If vanilla bean, peach leaves, or lemon zest are used for flavoring, they can be boiled with the milk. If by accident the custard begins to grain, arrest the cooking at once by putting the saucepan in cold water; add a little cold milk, and beat it vigorously with a Dover beater. Five egg yolks to a quart of milk will make a good boiled custard, but six or eight make it richer. It is smoother when the yolks only are used, yet the whole egg makes a good custard, and in the emergency of not having enough eggs at hand a little corn-starch may be used.

Boiled custard may be flavored with vanilla, almond, rose, maraschino, noyau, caramel, coffee, chopped almonds, grated cocoanut, or pounded macaroons. The cocoanut makes a delicious custard, but must be rich with eggs and stiff enough to keep the cocoanut from settling to the bottom.

BOILED CUSTARD NO. 2.

Make a boiled custard (see preceding [receipt]), using a pint of milk, three egg yolks, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, dash of salt, and any flavoring preferred. Let it get entirely cold; just before serving mix in lightly the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth. This will give a sponge-like texture, and make a very delicate custard. As the whites are not cooked it will not keep long after they are added. Ornament the top with bits of jelly on small pieces of the whipped egg.

FLOATING ISLAND

Whip the whites of two or three eggs very stiff; add a tablespoonful of powdered sugar (see page [389]) to each egg; flavor with essence of almond, and add a few chopped almonds. Turn it into an oiled pudding-mold which has a fancy top; cover and place it in a saucepan of boiling water to poach for twenty minutes. Leave enough room in the mold for the meringue to swell. Let it stand in the mold until cold; it will contract and leave the sides. When ready to serve, unmold the meringue and place it on boiled custard served in a glass dish.

CHOCOLATE CUSTARD

Make a boiled custard No. 1, using the whites as well as the yolks of the eggs; add one bar of melted chocolate (see page [388]). Mix thoroughly and strain into cups.

BAKED CUSTARD

Use the same proportions as for boiled custard. Beat the eggs, sugar, and salt together to a cream; stir in the scalded milk; turn into a pudding-dish or into cups; grate a little nutmeg over the top; stand it in a pan of hot water, and bake in a moderate oven until firm in the center. Test by running a knife into the custard. If it comes out clean, it is done; if milky, it needs longer cooking; but it must be carefully watched, for it will separate if cooked too long.

A custard, to be smooth and solid, must be baked very slowly. The holes often seen in baked custard are caused by escaping bubbles of steam, which rise through the mixture when the heat reaches the boiling-point.

CARAMEL CUSTARD

Put a cupful of granulated sugar into a small saucepan with a tablespoonful of water; stir until melted; then let it cook until a light brown color (see caramel, page [78]). Turn one half the caramel into a well-buttered mold which has straight sides and flat top, and let it get cold. Into the rest of the caramel turn a half cupful of hot water, and let it stand on the side of the range until the caramel is dissolved. This is for the sauce.

Stir four yolks and two whole eggs, with three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one half saltspoonful of salt, to a cream, but do not let it froth; add a pint of scalded milk and a half teaspoonful of vanilla. Strain this into the mold onto the cold hardened caramel. Place the mold in a pan of hot water, and bake in a very moderate oven until firm in the center; test by running in a knife (see [baked custard]), and watch it carefully. The water in the pan must not boil, and the oven should be so slow that it will take at least an hour to cook the custard. It will then be very firm and smooth. Unmold the custard when ready to serve. It will have a glaze of caramel over the top, and some will run down the sides. Serve the caramel sauce in another dish. This dish is recommended.

CHOCOLATE CREAM CUSTARD

Use the same proportions as for caramel custard. Add one and one half ounces of melted chocolate (see page [388]). Strain it into a buttered mold, and bake slowly the same as caramel custard. Unmold when cold, and serve with or without whipped cream.

Both the caramel and the chocolate cream custards may be baked in individual timbale-molds, if preferred.

RENNET CUSTARD

Sweeten and flavor the milk; heat it until lukewarm; then turn it into the glass dish in which it is to be served. Add to each quart of milk a tablespoonful of liquid rennet (which comes prepared for custards), and mix it thoroughly. Let it stand where it will remain lukewarm until a firm curd is formed; then remove carefully to a cold place. If jarred the whey is likely to separate. Brandy or rum make the best flavoring for this custard, but any flavoring may be used. It may be served without sauce, but a whipped cream, colored pink, improves it, and also takes away the suggestion of soured milk which curds give.

CORN-STARCH PUDDINGS

(NO. 1.) A PLAIN CORN-STARCH PUDDING

Beat the eggs to a stiff froth. Dissolve the corn-starch in a little of the cold milk. Stir the sugar into the rest of the milk, and place it on the fire. When it begins to boil, add the dissolved corn-starch. Stir constantly for a few moments. When it becomes well thickened, stir in the beaten whites of the eggs, and let it remain a little longer to cook the eggs. Remove from the fire; flavor with vanilla, and turn it into a mold.[397-*]

This pudding is quickly and easily made. It gives about a quart of pudding, or enough to serve six to eight persons. It may or may not be served with a custard made of the yolks of the eggs, but it requires a good sauce and flavoring, or it is rather tasteless. Several variations of this receipt are given below.

(NO. 2.) CORN-STARCH WITH CANNED FRUIT

When the corn-starch is sufficiently set to hold the fruit in place, stir into it lightly one half can of well-drained fruit (cherries, raspberries, strawberries, or any other fruit), and turn it into a mold to harden. Serve the juice of the fruit with it as a sauce.

(NO. 3.) COCOANUT PUDDING

When the corn-starch is removed from the fire, and partly cooled, add half a cocoanut grated. Mix it well together and turn into a mold; serve with a custard or, better, with whipped cream. Sprinkle sugar over the half of the grated cocoanut not used, and spread it on a sieve to dry. It will keep for some time when dried.

(NO. 4.) CHOCOLATE PUDDING

When the corn-starch is taken from the fire and flavored, turn one third of it into a saucepan, and mix with it one and a half ounces or squares of chocolate melted, a tablespoonful of sugar if unsweetened chocolate is used, and a half cupful of stoned raisins. Let it cook one minute to set the chocolate. Turn into a plain cylindrical mold one half of the white corn-starch. Make it a smooth, even layer, keeping the edges clean; then add the chocolate; smooth it in the same way; then add the rest of the white corn-starch, making three even layers, alternating in color; after each layer is in wipe the sides of the mold so no speck of one color will deface the other. (See [illustration].)

CORN-STARCH CHOCOLATES

(VERY SIMPLE, AND QUICKLY MADE)

Scald a pint of milk and four tablespoonfuls of sugar; add an ounce of chocolate shaved thin, so it will dissolve quickly; then add two heaping tablespoonfuls of corn-starch which has been diluted with a little of the cold milk. Stir over the fire until the mixture is thickened, add a half teaspoonful of vanilla, and turn it into small cups to cool and harden. Unmold the forms when ready to serve, and use sweetened milk for a sauce. By using a little less corn-starch, this mixture will be a smooth, thick custard, and may be served in the cups.

BLANC-MANGE, OR WHITE JELLY

Scald three cupfuls of milk with the sugar; then add and dissolve in it the gelatine, which has soaked for one half hour in a half cupful of milk. Remove from the fire, add the flavoring, and strain into a mold. Blanc-mange may be flavored with any of the liqueurs, and it may have incorporated with it, when stiffened enough to hold them suspended, chopped nuts or fruits, or raisins, currants, and citron.

PLUM PUDDING JELLY

Dissolve the sugar in the milk, and put it in a double boiler to scald. Melt the chocolate on a dry pan; then add a few spoonfuls of the milk to make it smooth, and add it to the scalded milk. Remove from the fire, and add the soaked gelatine. Stir until the gelatine is dissolved; then strain it into a bowl. When it begins to set, or is firm enough to hold the fruit in place, stir in the fruit, which must have stood in warm water a little while to soften. Flavor with one half teaspoonful of vanilla, or a few drops of lemon. Turn it into a mold to harden. Serve with it whipped cream, or a sauce made of the whipped white of one egg, one tablespoonful of powdered sugar, a cupful of milk, and a few drops of vanilla.

BAVARIAN CREAMS

General remarks about. Bavarian creams are very wholesome, light, and delicious desserts. They are easily made, and are inexpensive, as one pint of cream is sufficient to make a quart and a half of bavarian. They are subject to so many variations that they may be often presented without seeming to be the same dish. Bavarian creams may be used for Charlotte Russe.

General Rules.—Have the cream cold; then whipped, and drained (see [whipping cream]), and do not add the whipped cream to the gelatine mixture until the latter is beginning to set.

How to make. Have the gelatine soaked in cold water one hour. It will then quickly dissolve in the hot custard.

Do not boil the gelatine.

PLAIN BAVARIAN CREAM

Whip one pint of cream, and stand it aside to drain. Scald one pint of cream or milk with the vanilla bean split in two; remove it from the fire, and turn it slowly, stirring all the time, on the yolks, which have been beaten with the sugar and salt to a cream. Return it to the fire a moment to set the egg, but take it off the moment it begins to thicken. Add the soaked gelatine and flavoring (if the bean has not been used). Stir until the gelatine has dissolved, then pass it through a sieve. When it is cold, and beginning to set, whip it a few minutes with a Dover beater and then mix in lightly the whipped cream, and turn it into a mold to harden. Avoid using any of the cream which has returned to liquid. This cream should have a spongy texture.

CHOCOLATE BAVARIAN

Use the receipt given above for plain Bavarian. Melt two ounces of chocolate, and dissolve it in a little milk; add this to the custard mixture before the gelatine.

ITALIAN CREAM, OR BAVARIAN WITHOUT CREAM

Make a custard of one pint of milk, the yolks of three eggs, and three tablespoonfuls of sugar; add a dash of salt. When it is cooked enough to coat the spoon, add an ounce of gelatine, which has soaked for half an hour in some of the cold milk. As soon as the gelatine is dissolved, remove from the fire, and when it begins to stiffen fold in carefully the whites of three eggs whipped to a stiff froth, and turn it into a mold to set.

FRUIT BAVARIAN

Mash and press through a colander any fresh or canned fruit. If berries are used, press them through a sieve to extract the seeds. Sweeten to taste, and flavor with a little orange and lemon-juice, curaçao, or maraschino. To a pint of fruit juice or pulp add a half box or one ounce of gelatine, which has soaked an hour in one half cupful of cold water, and then been dissolved in one half cupful of hot water. Stir the fruit and gelatine on ice until it begins to set, otherwise the fruit will settle to the bottom. Then stir in lightly a pint of cream whipped and well-drained, and turn it into a mold to harden. Strawberries, raspberries, pineapple, peaches, and apricots are the fruits generally used. With fruits it is better to use a porcelain mold if possible, as tin discolors. If a tin one is used, coat it with jelly as directed on page [323], using a little of the dissolved gelatine (sweetened and flavored) prepared for the fruit.

RICE BAVARIAN, OR RIZ À L’IMPÉRATRICE

Put into a double boiler one and one half pints of milk and a few thin cuts of lemon-zest; when it boils stir in one half cupful of well-washed rice and a saltspoonful of salt. Cook until the rice is perfectly tender. The milk should be nearly boiled away, leaving the rice very moist. Then add or mix in carefully a half cupful of sugar and a quarter of a box, or one half ounce, of gelatine, which has soaked in half a cupful of cold water for one hour, and then melted by placing the cup containing it in hot water for a few minutes. When the mixture is partly cold add three tablespoonfuls each of maraschino and of sherry, or of sherry alone, or of any other flavoring. When it is beginning to set, stir in lightly one half pint or more of well-whipped cream, and turn it into a mold. This is a very white dish, and is a delicious dessert. It may be served alone, or with orange jelly cut into croûtons, or with orange compote (see page [536]), or with plain or whipped cream.

BAVARIAN PANACHÉE

Make a plain Bavarian; flavor with vanilla; divide it into three parts before the cream is added. Into one third stir one ounce of melted chocolate. Into another third mix two tablespoonfuls of pistachio nuts chopped fine, and color it green (see page [392]). Arrange the three parts in layers in a mold, beginning with the white, and stir into each one, after it has begun to set, and just before putting it into the mold, a third of the whipped cream. By keeping it in a warm place the Bavarian will not set before it is wanted, and it can then be made to set quickly by placing it on ice.

BAVARIAN EN SURPRISE

Line a mold with chocolate Bavarian one inch thick. Fill the center with vanilla Bavarian mixed with chopped nuts, or line the mold with vanilla Bavarian, and fill with fruit Bavarian (see double molding, page [325]).

DIPLOMATIC PUDDING

This is molded in a double mold, and made of very clear lemon, orange, or wine jelly for the outside, and a Bavarian cream for the inside. With candied fruits make a design on the bottom of the larger mold (see molding, page [325]); fix it with a very little jelly, then add enough more to make a half or three quarter inch layer of jelly. When it is set put in the center mold. Make a layer of fruit and a layer of jelly alternately until the outside space is filled, using fruits of different colors for the different layers or stripes. When it is set, remove the small mold, and fill the space with Bavarian, using a flavor that goes well with the one used in the jelly—maraschino with orange; sherry, noyau, or almond with lemon.

DIPLOMATIC BAVARIAN

Take six lady-fingers; open, and spread them with apricot, or with peach jam. Place them together again like a sandwich. Moisten them with maraschino, and cut them in one inch lengths. Boil until softened a half cupful of stoned raisins and a half cupful of currants; drain them, and moisten them with maraschino. Make a plain Bavarian flavored with kirsch. When it is beginning to set and ready to go into the mold, mix it lightly with the cake and fruit, and turn into a mold to harden.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE

Forms. Charlotte Russe is simply a cream mixture, molded, with cake on the outside. It is easily made and always liked. Charlotte pans are oval, but any plain, round mold, or a kitchen basin with sides not too slanting, or individual molds may be used.

General directions. First place on the bottom of the pan an oiled paper which is cut to fit it neatly; then arrange lady-fingers evenly around the sides, or instead of lady-fingers use strips of layer sponge cake, No. 1 (page [466]), or of Genoese (page [467]). Cut the strips one or one and a half inches wide, and fit them closely together. Fill the center with any of the mixtures given below, and let it stand an hour or more to harden.

A sheet of cake cut to fit the top may, or may not, be used. If cake is used it is better to place it on the Charlotte after it is unmolded and the paper removed. The layer cake should be one quarter or three eighths of an inch thick only. Ornamentation. Charlottes can be ornamented in many ways, and made very elaborate if desired.
Cake in two colors. A simple decoration is obtained by having the strips of cake in two colors, alternating the upper, or browned, with the under, or white, side of the cake. For the top, cut a piece of cake to the right shape. Then cut it transversely, making even, triangular pieces, with the width at the base the same as the side strips. Turn over each alternate piece to give the two colors (see [illustration]); or, ice the strips and the top piece of cake with royal icing (see [illustration]) in two colors. Icing in two colors. Let the icing harden before placing it in the mold. Have the sides, as well as the bottom, of the mold lined with paper. Arrange the strips in the mold with the colors alternating. Instead of using cake for the top, some of the filling mixture can be put into a pastry-bag, and pressed through a tube over the top in fancy forms. Decorating the top. Meringue or whipped cream may also be used for decorating the top.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE FILLING No. 1

Whip a pint of cream to a stiff froth. Soak a half ounce of gelatine in three tablespoonfuls of cold water for half an hour; then dissolve it with two tablespoonfuls of boiling water. Add to the whipped cream a tablespoonful of powdered sugar (or a little more if liqueurs are not used for flavoring), and two dessertspoonfuls of noyau or other liqueur, or a teaspoonful of vanilla. Then turn in slowly the dissolved gelatine, beating all the time. When it begins to stiffen turn it into a mold which is lined with cake.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE FILLING No. 2

Beat well together two yolks of eggs and a half tablespoonful of sugar. Scald a half cupful of milk, and stir it into the beaten yolks; add a dash of salt, and return it to the double boiler. Stir it over the fire until it coats the spoon, thus making a plain boiled custard. Add to the hot custard a level tablespoonful of Cooper’s gelatine, which has soaked for half an hour in four tablespoonfuls of cold water; stir until the gelatine is dissolved, then strain it into a bowl, add two tablespoonfuls of sherry (or use any flavoring desired) and the whipped whites of two eggs; beat until it just begins to thicken, then mix in lightly a pint of cream whipped to a stiff froth, and turn into the mold.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE FILLING No. 3 (Fruit)

Soak an ounce of gelatine in a half cupful of cold water for half an hour. Make a syrup of one cupful of sugar, a half cupful of lemon-juice, and two cupfuls of orange-juice. When it has become a light syrup, turn it slowly onto the beaten yolks of four eggs, beating all the time. Return it to the double boiler, and cook until it is a little thickened, then add the gelatine. When the gelatine is dissolved, strain and beat until it is cold; add the whites of four eggs, and beat until it stiffens, then turn it into the mold. A pint of whipped cream may be used instead of the whipped whites of the eggs if convenient. In place of orange and lemon-juice, any fruit may be used. Stew the fruit until tender, add enough sugar to sweeten, and cook it to a light syrup; then press the fruit through a sieve, and to two and a half cupfuls of fruit syrup or of fruit pulp add the four eggs, and proceed as directed for the orange filling.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE FILLING, No. 4

Use any of the plain or fruit Bavarian creams.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE FILLING No. 5

Use whipped jelly plain, or whipped jelly with fruits, called macédoine of fruits (see page [417]).

TIMBALE OF BRIOCHE

Bake a brioche (see page [359]) in a cylindrical mold. Cut a straight slice off the top about one inch thick; replace the cake in the tin, and carefully pick out the center of the loaf, leaving a thickness of one inch of the brioche. Spread the inside with a layer of jam. Put in a saucepan the liquor from a can of apricots or peaches. Stir into it two tablespoonfuls of arrowroot, moistened with a little water, and stir over the fire until the juice is thickened and clear. Fill the center of the brioche with the drained fruit, mixed with blanched almonds and raisins; pour over it the thickened syrup, replace the cover. When set turn it onto a dish; spread the outside with a little jam, and sprinkle with chopped blanched almonds. This makes a very simple and wholesome sweet.

CHARLOTTE PRINCESSE de GALLES

Take eight Carlsbad wafers of oblong shape. Stand them on end around the outside of a cylindrical mold, and carefully stick the edges together with sugar cooked to the crack, or with royal icing (see page [483]). Make the octagon as regular as possible. When the edges are well set place it on a foundation either of puff-paste or of layer cake cut to the shape of the form. Ornament it with dots of royal icing pressed through a pastry-bag and tube onto the edges. Just before serving fill the center with whipped cream, or with czarina cream, or with whipped jelly and fruits, or whipped jelly and meringue, or with any of the mousses. The wafers quickly loose their crispness, so the form must not be filled until the moment of serving.

A filling may also be made for this Charlotte of any of the Charlotte Russe mixtures, molding them in a form smaller than the form of wafers, and when unmolded the ornamental form placed over it, and whipped cream piled on top. In this way the wafers will not be softened.

STRAWBERRY CHARLOTTE

Cut large firm strawberries in two lengthwise; dip them in liquid gelatine, and line a plain mold, placing the flat side against the mold. If the mold is on ice the jelly will harden at once, and hold the berries in place. Fill the center with Charlotte filling No. 1, or with Bavarian cream, or with pain de fraises.

GÂTEAU ST. HONORÉ

This is a combination of puff-paste, cream cakes, glacé fruits, and whipped cream. It is said to be the triumph of the chef’s art, yet one need not fear to undertake it when one has learned to make good pastry and to boil sugar. It is an ornamental, delicious dessert, and one that can be presented on the most formal occasions. First: Roll thin a very short or a puff-paste, so when baked it will be one quarter of an inch thick only. Cut it the size of a layer-cake tin; place it on a dampened baking-tin, and prick it with a fork in several places. Second: make a cream-cake batter (see page [474]); put the batter in a pastry-bag with half inch tube, and press out onto and around the edge of the paste a ring of the batter. With the rest of the batter make a number of small cakes (two dozen), forming them with the tube into balls one half inch in diameter. Brush the ring and balls with egg, and bake in a quick oven; then fill them with St. Honoré cream (see [below]). Third: boil a cupful of sugar to the crack, and glacé some orange sections and some white grapes (see glacé fruits, page [516]). Fourth: with some of the sugar used for the fruits stick the small cream cakes onto the ring, making an even border; on top of each cake stick a grape, and between them a section of orange. Place a candied cherry on each piece of orange, and one below it, if there is room. Other candied fruits and angelica may be used also, if desired, and arranged in any way to suit the fancy. Fifth: make a St. Honoré cream as follows: scald one cupful of milk in a double boiler; turn it slowly onto the yolks of six eggs, which have been well beaten with one and one half tablespoonfuls of corn-starch and a cupful of powdered sugar. Return to the fire until it begins to thicken or coats the spoon, then remove, and flavor with one teaspoonful each of vanilla and noyau, and stir in lightly the whites of eight eggs beaten very stiff. Cook it one minute to set the whites, beating all the time. When cold, turn it into the gâteau. Whipped cream may or may not be piled on top of the St. Honoré cream.

CROQUENBOUCHE OF MACAROONS

Oil the outside of a dome-shaped mold. Beginning at the bottom, cover it with macaroons, sticking the edges of the macaroons together with sugar boiled to the crack, or with royal icing (see page [483]). Just before serving turn it off the mold, and place it over a form of plain or fruit Bavarian cream, which has been hardened in a smaller mold of the same shape. There should be an inch or more of space between the two, the outer one covering the other like a cage.

A croquenbouche can also be made of little cakes cut from a layer cake with a small biscuit-cutter, and iced in two colors with royal icing, or with glacé oranges, or with chestnuts. The latter are difficult to make, but are very good with ice-creams.

WHIPPED CREAM

General directions. One half pint of double or very rich cream costs ten cents, and may be diluted one half, giving a pint of cream as called for in the receipts. Cream should be placed on the ice for several hours before it is whipped. Temperature. It is essential to have it very cold, otherwise it will not whip well; and also, if rich cream, it will form particles of butter. If not lower than 60° it will all go to butter. Place the bowl containing the cream in a larger bowl containing cracked ice, and with a cream churn, Dover beater, or wire whip, whichever is convenient, whip it to a stiff froth; continue to whip until it all becomes inflated. If the cream is cold it will take but a few minutes. Texture. This gives a firm, fine-grained cream, which is used for Bavarians, mousses, ice-creams, etc. When a lighter and more frothy cream, called syllabub, is wanted for whips and sauces, dilute the cream more, and remove the froth from the top of the cream as it rises while being whipped, and place it on a fine sieve over a bowl to drain. That which drips through the sieve replace in the whipping-bowl to be again beaten. Time for adding. The flavoring and sweetening are added after it is whipped for the first method; but it is better to add it before for the latter, as mixing breaks down the froth. Whipped cream, like beaten whites of eggs, added to gelatine or custard mixtures, gives them a sponge-like texture. Draining. It should be drained, and added only when the mixtures are cold and ready to be molded or frozen. It is then cut in lightly, not stirred. Some judgment must be used about diluting the cream, and it must stand several hours on ice to insure success.

Cream whipped by the first method is the one recommended for all purposes. When it is added to other things, any liquid cream that may have dripped to the bottom of the bowl should not be put in.

DESSERTS OF WHIPPED CREAM

Preserves and jams served with whipped cream make an excellent dessert.

WHIPS

Flavor a pint of cream with a dessertspoonful of maraschino, kirsch, or rum, or with a teaspoonful of essence of vanilla, rose, or almonds, or flavor it with black coffee. Color it pink, or green, or leave it white. Sweeten with three scant tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Whip it to a stiff froth and drain. Let it stand on ice until ready to use; then with a spoon pile it high on a glass dish. If the cream is white sprinkle it with colored pink and green sugar mixed (see page [393]). Or, skim off the foam which first rises, placing several spoonfuls of it on a sieve to drain. Color the rest a delicate pink, and whip it until it all becomes firm and of fine grain. Turn this into a glass dish, and with a spoon place the white froth upon it.

CZARINA CREAM

Put a bowl containing the cream on ice; whip it to a stiff froth; add slowly the sugar, then the gelatine (which has first been soaked an hour in one quarter cupful of cold water, and then dissolved by placing the cup in hot water), beating all the time. Add the vanilla and rosewater, and enough green coloring (see page [392]) to give it a delicate color. When it begins to stiffen add the sherry, and lastly the almonds chopped fine. When the cream is quite firm put it in round paper boxes, and sprinkle over the top a little colored sugar, or chopped pistachio nuts and granulated sugar mixed. Let it stand an hour or more on ice before serving.

CHESTNUT PURÉE WITH CREAM

Boil a pound of shelled English chestnuts a few minutes; then drain, and remove the skins. Boil them again until tender; drain, and mash them through a purée sieve; sweeten, flavor with vanilla, and moisten them with a little cream. Put the purée in a saucepan, and stir over a slow heat until dry; then press it through a colander or potato-press onto the dish in which it is to be served. Form it into a circle, using care not to destroy the light and vermicelli-like form the colander has given it. Serve whipped cream in the center of the ring.

CHESTNUTS WITH CREAM

After removing the shells and skins from some English chestnuts, boil them until tender in water, then in sugar and water, until clear. Let them lie in the syrup until cold; then drain, and pile them on a dish. Boil the syrup down to a thick consistency, and pour it over the nuts. Serve cold with whipped cream.

USES FOR STALE CAKE

PINE CONES

With a biscuit-cutter, cut slices of stale cake or bread into circles. Moisten them with sherry, maraschino, or merely with a little hot water. Chop some fresh or canned pineapple into small pieces, and pile it on the cakes. With a knife press each one into the form of a cone or small pyramid. Place them in a shallow tin close together, but not touching. Put the pineapple liquor into a saucepan, and thicken it with arrowroot (which has first been wet with water), using a teaspoonful to a cupful of liquor. Cook until the arrowroot becomes clear and begins to stiffen; then pour it slowly over the cones. It will cover them with a jelly. When cold, trim them carefully so the base of each one will be round, and lift them carefully from the tin.

CAKE WITH CUSTARD

Spread slices of stale cake or cottage pudding with jam; place them in a glass dish, and cover with boiled custard; or first moisten the cake with sherry, then cover with custard.

TRIFLE (Esther)

Slice in two six square sponge cakes (layer cake cut in squares will do), spread with jam or jelly (a tart jelly is best), and put them together like sandwiches. Moisten them in a mixture of one third brandy and two thirds sherry. Put them in a glass dish, and pour over them a custard made of one pint of milk, three eggs, and three tablespoonfuls of sugar; put together as directed for boiled custard No. 2 (page [395]). Blanch and cut in fine strips one half cupful of almonds, and stick them into the top cakes standing upright. Cover all with a half pint of whipped cream, and sprinkle the top with hundreds and thousands (see page [393]), or with colored sugar (see page [393]).

BANANA TRIFLE (Martha)

Slice the bananas, and lay them in a glass dish in alternate layers with four lady-fingers split in two. Put the milk and water in a saucepan; add the sugar, salt, and the corn-starch diluted in a little cold water. When it has thickened pour it over the bananas, and let it stand until cold and ready to serve; then cover the top with whipped cream, or if that is not convenient use the whipped white of one egg sweetened with one tablespoonful of sugar. Split and break in two the remaining lady-fingers, and place them upright around the edge.

SWEET JELLIES

With different flavors, colors, and combinations, a great variety of attractive desserts can be made with gelatine. They are inexpensive, require no skill, and the work is accomplished in a very few minutes.

Points to observe in making jellies. Points to Observe in Making Jellies.—Have jellies perfectly transparent and brilliant. Use the right proportions, so the jelly will hold its form, but not be too solid. Mold the jelly carefully.

Dissolving. Dissolving.—Gelatine should be soaked in cold water in a cold place (one cupful of water to a box of gelatine) for one or more hours; then dissolved in a little hot water, or added to the hot mixture. Treated in this way it will dissolve quickly, and be free from taste or smell. If soaked in warm water in a warm place it will have a disagreeable taste and odor, requiring much flavoring to overcome.

It does not need cooking. If the jelly is not sufficiently firm, add more gelatine; boiling down will not effect the purpose.

Proportions. Proportions.—Observe the quantity of gelatine stated on the box, as some brands do not contain two ounces. Two ounces will take one and three quarter quarts of liquid, including that used for soaking and flavoring. The directions given on the boxes usually give the proportion of one ounce to a quart of liquid, but this will not insure a jelly which will stand firm, and it is safer to use less liquid.

For this amount two cupfuls of sugar will give about the right sweetening, but must be modified to suit the flavoring used. In summer, or if the jelly will have to stand any length of time after it is unmolded, it is better to use but one and one half quarts of liquid to two ounces of gelatine.

To clear jelly. Clarifying.—Most of the brands of gelatine are already clarified, and need only to be passed through a sieve to remove the lemon-zest and any particles of gelatine that may not have dissolved. Any fruit juices used should be passed through a filter-paper (see [below]) before being added to the jelly: straining the jelly once or twice through a felt or flannel will usually give perfectly limpid and beautiful jelly. When, however, they need to be clarified, or a particularly brilliant jelly is required, stir into the mixture when it is cool the whites of two eggs, well broken but not too much frothed; add also the shells; stir it over the fire until it boils; let it simmer a few minutes and strain it, twice if necessary, through a bag, without pressure. A piece of flannel laid over a sieve or strainer may be substituted for a bag if more convenient.

Molding for fancy jellies. Molding for Fancy Jellies.—Place the mold in a bowl containing cracked ice; the jelly will then quickly harden, and the process of fancy molding not be tedious. Have the mold perfectly even, so the jelly will stand firm and straight when unmolded; also, do not move the mold while filling, as jarring or shaking is likely to separate the layers and cause them to fall apart. Have the jelly mixture cold, but not ready to set, or it will take in bubbles of air and cloud the jelly. Pour in one layer at a time and let it harden before adding the next. Do not, however, let it become too firm or gather moisture, or it will not unite, and also will be clouded. (See picture facing page [386].)

To mold with fruit or flowers. To suspend a bunch of grapes in the center of a form, first pour into the mold a layer of jelly one half inch deep; let it harden; then place on it, and arrange in good shape the bunch of grapes, leaving one half inch or more space around the sides; pour in another half inch of jelly, but not enough to float the grapes; when that has set, cut with scissors the grape stem in many places, so it will fall apart when served; then fill the mold with jelly. Any fruits, or flowers, can be put in in the same way, care being used to add at first only just enough jelly to fix the ornament; otherwise it will float out of place. Plain jellies are more transparent when molded in forms having a cylindrical tube in the center, like cake-tins. The space left can be filled with whipped cream or with fruits, which gives a pretty effect. (See [picture].)

Double molding. Double Molding (see page [325]) can be used with good effect in sweet jellies in combination with whipped jelly, Bavarian creams, fruit jellies, etc.

Unmolding. Unmolding.—See page [324].

Serving. Serving.—Jellies are improved by serving with them whipped cream, custard, or purée of fruits. It may be poured around, not over, the jelly on the same dish. When a sauce is not used, have a lace paper under the jelly. Jelly is more attractive when served on a flat glass dish.

Fruit jellies. For fruit jellies it is well to use a china mold, or else coat the tin one with clear jelly (see page [323]), as tin is likely to discolor it.

To clarify fruit juices. To Clarify Fruit Juices.—Pass the fruit juice through filter-paper laid in a funnel. If filter-paper is not at hand, soak unsized paper to a pulp. Wash it in several waters; press it dry; and spread it on a small sieve or in a funnel, and drain the juice through it. If orange, lemon, or other fruit juices are first clarified, it will often obviate the necessity of straining the jelly. (See illustration facing page [388].)

WINE JELLY

Soak the gelatine in one half cupful of cold water for one hour or more. Put the boiling water, the sugar, and a few thin slices of lemon-peel in a saucepan on the fire. When the sugar is dissolved, add the soaked gelatine, and stir until that also is dissolved; then remove, and when it is partly cooled add the lemon-juice and the wine. Strain it through a felt or flannel, and turn it into the mold. If the jelly has to be clarified do it before adding the wine. Any wine or liqueur can be used for flavoring. This will make one quart of jelly.

LEMON JELLY

Put together as directed for wine jelly.

ORANGE JELLY

Combine the same as directed for wine jelly.

A stronger flavor and color of orange can be obtained by soaking with the gelatine the grated yellow rind of one or two bright-skinned oranges. In this case the juice need not be filtered, for the mixture will have to be passed through flannel. Putting it through several times gives a clearer and more brilliant jelly.

COFFEE JELLY

Use the receipt given for wine jelly, using three quarters of a cupful of strong filtered coffee instead of wine, and omitting the lemon; mold in a ring, and fill the center with whipped cream; or, if this is not convenient, use any mold, and serve with it sweetened milk.

CHAMPAGNE JELLY

Combine the same as wine jelly, and do not add the champagne until the jelly is cold. This will give one and a half pints of jelly. It is very clear and transparent, and well suited to fancy molding.

CHAMPAGNE JELLY WITH FLOWERS

Place on ice a broad round mold (a basin will serve the purpose); arrange, on a very thin layer of jelly, some pink rose petals in rosette form, or to simulate an open rose; add carefully a very little jelly with a spoon to set the decoration; when it has hardened, add a very little more, and so continue to do until the petals are half enveloped; then place in right position some angelica cut in diamond shaped pieces to simulate leaves; add a little jelly at a time until the mold is full. The petals will be bent out of shape if the jelly is not added very slowly. When unmolded place around it some green rose-leaves and a few loose pink rose-petals. A little rose-water or essence should be used with the champagne to flavor the jelly. Violets and angelica can be used in the same way, or a spray of roses with leaves can be put in a deeper mold, and when secured in position the stems cut the same as directed for molding grapes.

When flowers are used they must be very fresh.

WHIPPED JELLY OR SNOW PUDDING

Make a wine or lemon jelly (page [415]). Place it in a bowl on ice; when it is cold, but before it begins to harden, beat it with a Dover beater until it becomes white and a mass of froth. Turn it into a mold to harden. Serve with it a sauce made of boiled custard, or any preserve that will go well with the flavoring, or a compote of orange or any fruit.

JELLIES WITH FRUITS (Macédoine)

Berries or any fresh fruits, peeled and quartered, may be placed in layers, or irregularly through the entire mold, or a mixture of fruits may be used in the same way, when it is called a macédoine. The jelly may be clear or whipped. Strawberries, raspberries, currants (red and white), cherries, peaches, plums, pears, apricots, and pineapples are suitable for this use. Preserved or canned fruits well drained may also be used. Candied fruits are especially good, but should be cut into pieces, and softened in maraschino. Jellies to be used with fruits are best flavored with kirsch or maraschino.

RUSSIAN JELLIES

For these double molds are used (see page [386]).

No. 1. Make the outside layer of any transparent jelly. When hard remove the inner mold and fill the space with the same jelly whipped until foamy. No. 2. The outside a transparent jelly, the inside one of different flavor and color, such as champagne and maraschino colored pink, orange and strawberry, lemon and coffee. No. 3. The outside champagne jelly, the inside whipped jelly mixed with macédoine of fruits. No. 4. The outside wine or maraschino jelly, the filling pain de fraises (see page [419]). No. 5. The outside fruits in clear jelly, the inside Bavarian cream. No. 6. Maraschino jelly, center Bavarian cream mixed with crushed peaches or with apricot jam.

RIBBON JELLY

Make a plain jelly; divide it into three parts; flavor one with maraschino; the second with strawberry-juice, and deepen the color with a little carmine (see page [392]); the third with orange, noyau, or any other flavor, and whip it until foamy. Put it into mold in layers, beginning with the lightest.

ITALIAN JELLY

Make a plain blanc-mange (see page [399]). Let it set in a layer one half inch thick; cut it into small circles, diamonds, or fancy shapes with cutters. Arrange these pieces in some design around or inside a mold of transparent jelly (see molding jellies, page [324]). The blanc-mange may be colored pink, green, or yellow, and gives a very pretty effect.

DANTZIC JELLY

This is a very clear, ornamental jelly, the gold-leaf giving it the appearance of Venetian glass, and is good in individual molds to serve with ices. Use the receipt for wine jelly, omitting the wine and making the amount of liquid right by using more water; clarify or strain it several times to make it very brilliant; when it is cold add two tablespoonfuls each of eau de vie de Dantzic (see page [390]) and brandy.

WHAT TO DO WITH JELLY LEFT OVER

Add a little lemon-juice, and beat the jelly until it becomes entirely white, which will take some time; turn it again into a mold to set. If there is not enough jelly for this, cut the jelly into fine dice with a knife as directed for cutting aspic on page [323], and beat into it lightly an equal quantity of meringue. This should be prepared in a cold place.

PAINS AUX FRUITS, OR JELLIED FRUITS

PAIN DE FRAISES (STRAWBERRIES)

Crush the berries to a pulp; sweeten to taste, and add a little flavoring, either orange and lemon juice, maraschino or Curaçao. To a pint of the pulp add a half box, or one ounce, of Cooper’s gelatine, which has soaked an hour in one half cupful of cold water, and then been dissolved in one half cupful of hot water. Stir until it begins to set; then turn it into a china mold to harden. The mold may be ornamented with blanched almonds split in two, and arranged in star shapes. When a tin mold is used for fruits, it is well to coat it first with plain jelly (see page [323]), as tin sometimes discolors fruit juices. A little carmine may be used to heighten the color of red fruits. Raspberries, cherries, peaches, apricots, plums, pineapples, or oranges can be used in the same way. This gives a very good dessert with little trouble. Serve with cream.

SUPRÊME OF STRAWBERRIES

Make a pain de fraises; place it on the outside of a double mold (see page [325]), and fill the center space with whole berries, or with any other fruit or mixture of fruits, such as white grapes and oranges, etc. Serve it very cold with whipped cream.

PAIN DE RIZ AUX FRUITS

(RICE WITH FRUITS)

Make a rice Bavarian (see page [402]); mix with it a few chopped blanched almonds. Put it in a cylindrical mold in layers with pain de fraises (strawberries) or raspberries, keeping the red layer thinner than the white one; or mold it in a double mold, using the jellied fruit for the center or for the outside.

PAIN DE RIZ À LA PRINCESSE

Decorate a mold with candied cherries and angelica; line it with rice Bavarian, and fill the center with fresh or canned pineapple chopped and jellied. The jelly may be clear or whipped or mixed with whipped cream.

PAIN D’ORANGES

(ORANGES)

Take off the peel and divide into sections eight to ten oranges; run a knife between the skin and pulp and remove it carefully. Place the bare but unbroken pulp on a sieve to drain; roll each piece in powdered sugar, and lay them overlapping in a ring around a cylindrical mold; fix and cover them with clear jelly flavored with kirsch or maraschino. Arrange them in the same way around the outside of a double mold. Fill the center with orange Bavarian, using the juice drained from the pieces to flavor the Bavarian. Serve it with orange quarter cakes (see page [478]) around the dish.

PAIN DE PÊCHES

(PEACHES)

No. 1. Make a jelly of peaches the same as rule given above for strawberries; color it with a little carmine, giving it a delicate pink shade; garnish the mold with blanched almonds and angelica, and fill it with the jellied peach-pulp. No. 2. Cut peaches in quarters or halves, and arrange them in a double mold with blanched almonds to look like the pits; fill the center with peach Bavarian.

PAIN DE MARRONS

(CHESTNUTS)

Make a purée of boiled chestnuts; sweeten and flavor with vanilla; add to one pint of purée one ounce of dissolved gelatine; when beginning to set add a few spoonfuls of whipped cream; cover a mold with thin coating of jelly (see page [323]), and fill outside of double mold with very brown chocolate Bavarian (see page [401]); fill the center with the jellied chestnuts.

[397-*] Corn-starch has a raw taste unless it is thoroughly cooked. After the mixture has thickened it can be left to cook in a double boiler for half an hour without changing its consistency, and this length of time for cooking is essential to its flavor. A mold of corn starch should not be very firm, but have a trembling jelly-like consistency. The eggs may be omitted from above receipt if desired, but the pudding will not be as delicate.—M. R.

Chapter XIX
HOT DESSERTS

SOUFFLÉS

General remarks. The preparation of soufflés is exceedingly simple, the only difficulty being in serving them soon enough, as they fall very quickly when removed from the heat. They must go directly from the oven to the table, and if the dining-room is far removed from the kitchen the soufflé should be covered with a hot pan until it reaches the door. The plain omelet soufflé is the most difficult. Those made with a cooked foundation do not fall as quickly, but they also must be served at once. In order to insure the condition upon which the whole success of the dish depends, it is better to keep the table waiting, rather than suffer the result of the omelet being cooked too soon. Have everything ready before beginning to make a soufflé, and see that the oven is right. In adding the beaten whites “fold” them in, that is, lift the mixture from the bottom, and use care not to break it down by too much mixing.

OMELET SOUFFLÉ

Whip the whites of the eggs, with a pinch of salt added to them, to a very dry stiff froth. Beat to a cream the yolks and the sugar, then add the lemon. Fold in the beaten whites lightly (do not stir) and turn the mixture into a slightly oiled pudding-dish. If preferred, turn a part of it onto a flat dish, and with a knife shape it into a mound with a depression in the center. Put the rest into a pastry-bag, and press it out through a large tube, into lines and dots over the mound; sprinkle it with sugar and bake it in a very hot oven eight to ten minutes. Serve at once in the same dish in which it is baked (see [soufflés] above). The flavor may be vanilla, or orange if preferred.

VANILLA SOUFFLÉ

Put the milk into a double boiler with the salt; when it is scalded add the butter and flour, which have been rubbed together. Stir for ten minutes to cook the flour and form a smooth paste; then turn it onto the yolks of the eggs, which, with the sugar added, have been beaten to a cream. Mix thoroughly, flavor, and set away to cool; rub a little butter over the top, so that no crust will form. Just before time to serve, fold into it lightly the whites of the eggs, which have been beaten to a stiff froth. Turn it into a buttered pudding-dish and bake in a moderate oven for thirty to forty minutes; or, put the mixture into buttered paper cases, filling them one half full, and bake ten to fifteen minutes. Serve with the soufflé foamy sauce (page [445]). This soufflé may be varied by using different flavors; also by putting a layer of crushed fruit in the bottom of the dish, or by mixing a half cupful of fruit-pulp with the paste before the whites are added. In this case the whites of two more eggs will be needed to give sufficient lightness. Serve at once after it is taken from the oven.

CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉ

Melt the butter in a small saucepan; stir into it the flour and let it cook a minute, but not brown, then add slowly the milk and stir until smooth and a little thickened; remove it from the fire and turn it slowly onto the yolks and sugar, which have been beaten to a cream; mix thoroughly and add the melted chocolate (see page [388]); stir for a few minutes, then set it away to cool; rub a little butter over the top so a crust will not form. When ready to serve, stir the mixture well to make it smooth and fold into it lightly the whites of the eggs, which have been whipped until very dry and firm. Turn the mixture into a buttered tin, filling it two thirds full. Have the tin lined with a strip of greased paper which rises above the sides to confine the soufflé as it rises. Place the tin in a deep saucepan containing enough hot water to cover one half the tin. Cover the saucepan and place it where the water will simmer for thirty minutes, keeping it covered all the time. Place the tin on a very hot dish and serve at once. Cover the top with a hot tin until it reaches the dining-room if it has to be carried far.

PRUNE SOUFFLÉ

Beat the yolks of the eggs and the sugar to a cream, add the vanilla, and mix them with the prunes, the prunes having been stewed, drained, the stones removed, and each prune cut into four pieces. When ready to serve fold in lightly the whites of the eggs, which have been whipped to a stiff froth, a dash of salt having been added to the whites before whipping them. Turn it into a pudding-dish and bake in a moderate oven for twenty minutes. Serve it as soon as it is taken from the oven. A few chopped almonds, or meats from the prune-pits, may be added to the mixture before the whites are put in if desired.

APPLE SOUFFLÉ

Boil some peeled and cored apples until tender; press them through a colander; season to taste with butter, sugar, and vanilla. Place the purée in a granite-ware saucepan and let it cook until quite dry and firm. To one and one quarter cupfuls of the hot reduced apple purée add the whites of four eggs, whipped very stiff and sweetened with three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Mix the purée and meringue lightly and quickly together and turn it into a pudding-dish; smooth the top into a mound shape; sprinkle with sugar and bake in a slow oven twenty to twenty-five minutes. This soufflé does not fall. Serve with a hard, a plain pudding, or an apricot sauce.

FARINA PUDDING

This is a very wholesome, delicate pudding, and is especially recommended. The receipt gives an amount sufficient for six people.

Put the milk and lemon-zest into a double boiler; when it reaches the boiling-point stir in the farina and cook for five minutes; then remove from the fire and turn it onto the yolks and sugar, which have been beaten together until light; stir all the time. Let it become cool but not stiff; when ready to bake it, fold in lightly the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth, a dash of salt added to them before beating. Turn it into a pudding-dish and place the dish in a pan containing enough hot water to half cover it. Bake it in a moderately hot oven for twenty-five minutes. Serve at once, or, like other soufflés, it will fall. Serve with it a sabayon No. 2, or a meringue sauce (pages [446] and [448]).

SWEET OMELETS

These desserts are quickly made, are always liked, and serve well in emergencies.

ORANGE OMELET

Beat the yolks of the eggs with the sugar to a cream; add the grated zest of the rind and the orange juice; then fold in lightly the beaten whites of the eggs. Have a clean, smooth omelet or frying-pan; put in a teaspoonful of butter, rubbing it around the sides as well as bottom of the pan. When the butter bubbles, turn in the omelet mixture and spread it evenly. Do not shake the pan. Let it cook until it is a delicate brown and seems cooked through, but not hard. Fold the edges over a little and turn it onto a flat hot dish; sprinkle it plentifully with powdered sugar; heat the poker red hot and lay it on the omelet four times, leaving crossed burnt lines in the form of a star. This ornaments the top and also gives a caramel flavor to the sugar.

JAM OMELET

Make a French omelet as directed on page [264], using four to six eggs; omit the pepper and add a little powdered sugar. When the omelet is ready to turn, place in the center two tablespoonfuls of any jam (apricot is particularly good) and fold. Turn the omelet onto a hot dish and sprinkle it with sugar.

RUM OMELET

Make either a French omelet, or a beaten omelet, using a little sugar and omitting the pepper. Place the dish holding the omelet on a second and larger dish to prevent accident from fire. When ready to place on the table pour over the omelet a few spoonfuls of rum or brandy and light it. It is better not to touch the match to it until it is on the table.

SWEET PANCAKES

Beat the yolks and whites of the eggs separately; mix them together and add the salt, sugar, and one half the milk; stir in the flour, making a smooth paste; then add the rest of the milk, and lastly the oil; beat well and let it stand an hour or more before using. Bake on a hot griddle in large or small cakes as desired; spread each cake with butter and a little jam or jelly, then roll them, sprinkle with sugar, and serve at once. Any pancake batter can be used. Those made of rice or hominy are good. The batter can be made of a consistency for thick or thin cakes by using more or less milk. Currant or tart jelly is better to use than a sweet preserve.

FRITTERS

With fritter batter a number of good desserts are made, which, if properly fried, will be entirely free from grease, and perfectly wholesome.

FRITTER BATTER

For clam or oyster fritters use one tablespoonful of lemon juice or vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and the liquor of the clams or oysters instead of water.

Stir the salt into the egg-yolks; add slowly the oil, then the brandy and the sugar; the brandy may be omitted if desired, and if so, use two tablespoonfuls of oil instead of one. When well mixed stir in slowly the flour, and then the water, a little at a time. Beat it well and set it aside for two hours (it is better to let it stand longer); when ready to use, stir in the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth. The batter should be very thick and of the consistency to coat completely the article it is intended to cover. If not soft enough add the white of another egg.

APPLE FRITTERS

Cut firm apples crosswise into slices one quarter of an inch thick. With a biscuit-cutter stamp them into circles of uniform size; sprinkle them with orange sugar (see page [391]), and moisten them with brandy. Let them stand to soak for ten minutes, then dry one or two at a time on a napkin; dip them in batter, using care to have them completely coated, and drop them into hot fat (see frying, page [72]). Fry to an amber color; lift them out on a skimmer and dry on paper in an open oven until all are fried; then roll them in sugar and serve on a folded napkin, the slices overlapping. Fry only two at a time, so they can be kept well apart. Serve with a sauce flavored with brandy or sherry.

PEACH OR APRICOT FRITTERS

Cut the fruit in half; sprinkle with sugar moistened with maraschino, and roll them in powdered macaroons before dipping them in the batter. Fry as directed above. Well-drained canned fruit may also be used for fritters.

ORANGE FRITTERS

Cut the oranges in quarters; take out the seeds and run a knife between the pulp and peel, freeing the orange and leaving it raw. Roll them in powdered sugar and dip in batter before the sugar has time to dissolve; fry as directed for apple fritters.

FRITTERS MADE OF BISCUIT DOUGH

Make a biscuit dough as given on page [352]; turn it on a floured board and let it rise until light, then roll it one eighth of an inch thick and cut it into circles with a fluted patty-cutter. Put a teaspoonful of jam in the center of a circle. Wet the edges and cover with a second circle; press the edges lightly together and fry in hot fat.

BALLOONS

Put a cupful of water in a saucepan; when it boils add one tablespoonful of butter; when the butter is melted add one cupful of flour and beat it with a fork or wire whip until it is smooth and leaves the sides of the pan. Remove from the fire and add three eggs, one at a time, beating vigorously each one before adding the next. Let it stand until cold. When ready to serve, drop a spoonful at a time into moderately hot fat and fry for about 15 minutes. Take out on a skimmer and dry on brown paper. The batter will puff into hollow balls. If the fat is very hot it will crisp the outside too soon and prevent the balls from puffing. Fry only a few at a time, as they must be kept separated. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and pile on a folded napkin. Serve with lemon sauce made as follows.

Lemon sauce: Strain the juice of one and a half lemons; add one cupful of powdered sugar, then a half cupful of boiling water.

BATTER PUDDING

Put the milk in a double boiler; when hot add the butter. Let the milk boil; then add the flour, and beat it hard until it leaves the sides of the pan; then remove from the fire and stir in gradually the eggs, which have been well beaten, the yolks and whites together, and a dash of salt. Continue to beat the batter until it is no longer stringy. Turn it into a warm greased pudding-dish, and bake in a moderate oven thirty to thirty-five minutes. It should puff up like a cream cake, and have a thick crust. Serve as soon as it is taken from the oven, or it will fall. The batter may stand some time before baking if convenient. It may be baked in gem-pans fifteen to twenty minutes if preferred. Serve with plain pudding or hard sauce.

DESSERTS MADE OF APPLES

SNOW APPLE PUDDING

Fill a pudding-dish half full of apple purée or sauce, well seasoned with butter, sugar, and nutmeg. Pour over it a batter made of one and a half cupfuls of flour mixed with two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking-powder, one half teaspoonful of salt, and a tablespoonful of chopped suet or of lard. Moisten it with about three quarters of a cupful of milk, or enough to make a thick batter. It should not be as stiff as for biscuits. Cook in a steamer about three quarters of an hour, and serve at once with a hard, foamy, sabayon, or any other sauce. The top will be very light and white. This quantity is enough to serve six people.

BROWN BETTY

In a quart pudding-dish arrange alternate layers of sliced apples and bread-crumbs; season each layer with bits of butter, a little sugar, and a pinch each of ground cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. When the dish is full pour over it a half cupful each of molasses and water mixed; cover the top with crumbs. Place the dish in a pan containing hot water, and bake for three quarters of an hour, or until the apples are soft. Serve with cream or with any sauce. Raisins or chopped almonds improve the pudding.

BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS

Make a short pie-crust; roll it thin and cut it into squares large enough to cover an apple. Select apples of the same size; pare them; remove the core with a corer, and fill the space with sugar, butter, a little ground cinnamon, and nutmeg. Place an apple in the center of each square of pie-crust; wet the edges with white of egg and fold together, the points meeting on the top; give the edges a pinch and turn, making them fluted. Bake in a moderate oven about forty minutes, or until the apples are tender, but not until they have lost their form. If preferred, the crust may be folded under the apple, leaving it round. It must be well joined, so the juices will not escape. Brush the top with egg, and ten minutes before removing from the oven dust them with a little sugar to give them a glaze.

Serve with hard sauce.

APPLE CHARLOTTE

Cut bread into slices one quarter inch thick; then into strips one and a half inches wide, and as long as the height of the mold to be used; cut one piece to fit the top of mold, then divide it into five or six pieces. Butter the mold; dip the slices of bread into melted butter, and arrange them on the bottom and around the sides of the mold, fitting closely together or overlapping. Fill the center entirely full with apple sauce made of tart apples stewed until tender, then broken into coarse pieces, drained, and seasoned with butter and sugar. A little apricot jam can be put in the center if desired; chopped almonds also may be added. Cover the top with bread, and bake in a hot oven about thirty minutes. The bread should be an amber color like toast. Turn it carefully onto a flat dish. Serve with a hard sauce or any other sauce preferred.

APPLES WITH RICE, No. 1

Boil half a cupful of rice with a saltspoonful of salt in milk until tender; sweeten it to taste; drain it if the milk is not all absorbed; press it into a basin; smooth it over the top; when it has cooled enough to hold the form, turn it onto a flat dish. This will be a socle, and should be about one and a half to two inches high. Pare and core as many apples as will stand on the top of the socle; boil them slowly until tender in sugar and water; remove them before they lose shape. Boil the sugar and water down to a thick syrup. Arrange the apples on the top of the rice, and pour over them a little of the thickened syrup; then fill the center of each apple with jam; place a candied cherry on each one, and a pointed piece of angelica between each apple. The syrup should give enough sauce, but Richelieu sauce is recommended instead. Serve hot or cold.

APPLES WITH RICE, No. 2

Boil the rice as above; sweeten it and flavor it with a few drops of orange-flower water, almond, or other essence, and mix into it a few chopped blanched almonds. Turn it onto a flat dish, and press it into a mound or cone. Cut some apples of uniform size in halves, cutting from the stem to the blossom; remove the core with a vegetable scoop (see [illustration]), and pare off the skin carefully; stew the apples slowly until tender, but still firm enough to hold their shape; before removing them add a few drops of carmine to the water, and let them stand until they have become a delicate pink; then drain and place them evenly and upright against the form of rice. Put some meringue in a pastry-bag, and press it in lines or dots around the apples and over the top of the rice, making it as ornamental as desired. Dust it with sugar, and place for one minute in the oven to slightly color the meringue, but not long enough to dry the surface of the apples. Serve with whipped cream, with fruit sauce, Richelieu sauce, or wine sauce.

Whipped cream may be substituted for the meringue, in which case place the apples overlapping one another around the rice in wreath shape; flatten the top of the rice, and pile the whipped cream on it. Another form may be made by putting the rice in a border-mold to shape it, filling the center of the rice with a well-seasoned apple purée, and finishing as directed above.

APPLES WITH CORN-STARCH (Felice)

Pare and core as many apples as will be used, having them of uniform size. To a quart of water add one half cupful of sugar and the juice of half a lemon; boil the apples in this until tender, but remove them before they lose shape; drain and place them in regular order on the dish in which they are to be served. Boil the water down one half; then stir into it one tablespoonful of corn-starch or arrowroot moistened in a little water; let it cook until the starch is clear; remove from the fire; flavor with lemon, almond, kirsch, or anything preferred; let it stiffen a little; then pour it over the apples; sprinkle with sugar and place in the oven a moment to brown, or, omitting the browning, sprinkle them with green and pink sugar (see page [393]), or stick them full of split almonds.

FLAMING APPLES

Pare and core the apples; stew them in sugar and water until tender, but still firm enough to hold their shape. Remove them carefully to the serving-dish; fill the centers with apricot or raspberry jam; boil down the liquor to a thick syrup and pour it over the apples; just before serving pour over them a few spoonfuls of rum or brandy, and light it with a taper after it is on the table. Serve with fancy cakes.

BAKED APPLES

(FOR BREAKFAST)

Select apples of equal size; wash and polish them; remove the core. Place them in a baking-tin a little distance apart, and put a little water in the bottom of the pan. Bake in a moderate oven about thirty minutes; baste frequently, so they will not burn or blacken. Serve with sugar and cream.

BAKED APPLES

(FOR LUNCHEON)

Pare and core the apples; fill the centers with butter and sugar. Let them bake in a pan with a little water until tender, but still in good shape; baste frequently, letting them become only slightly colored. After removing from the oven sprinkle them with granulated sugar and a little powdered cinnamon or nutmeg.

TAPIOCA PUDDING

Arrange evenly in a buttered dish six apples which have been pared and cored. Any other fruit may be used—canned peaches are good. Soak a cupful of tapioca in hot water for an hour or more; sweeten and flavor it to taste and pour it over the fruit. Bake in a moderate oven for an hour.

RICE PUDDINGS

PLAIN RICE PUDDING No. 1

In a pudding-dish holding a quart, put two heaping tablespoonfuls of well-washed rice; fill the dish with milk, and add a half teaspoonful of salt. Let it cook in the oven for half an hour, stirring it two or three times. Take it out and add two tablespoonfuls of sugar and a scant teaspoonful of vanilla; also a half cupful of stoned raisins if desired. Grate nutmeg over the top; return the dish to the oven and cook slowly for two hours or more; as the milk boils down, lift the skin at the side and add more hot milk. The pudding should be creamy, and this is attained by slow cooking, and by using plenty of milk.

RICE PUDDING No. 2

Scald a pint and a half of milk; add a tablespoonful of cornstarch which has been moistened with a little of the cold milk; cook it for a few minutes; then remove it from the fire and stir in three cupfuls of boiled rice, a cupful or more of sugar to taste, and the beaten yolks of two eggs. Return it to the fire and cook it until thickened, stirring constantly but carefully. Turn it into a dish, cover the top with meringue, and place it in the oven for a few minutes to brown.

RICE AND RAISINS

Mix with two cupfuls of boiled rice a half or three quarters cupful of raisins. The rice should be boiled as directed on page [222], and the raisins should be soaked in hot water until plump, and the seeds removed. Press the mixture into a bowl to give it shape, and turn it onto a flat dish. Grate nutmeg over the top. Serve with sweetened milk a little flavored with vanilla or almond, or only nutmeg.

For Lemon Rice Pudding, see page [242].

For Rice and Orange Marmalade Pudding, see page [242].

BREAD PUDDINGS

BREAD PUDDING No. 1

Soak the bread in the milk until softened; then beat it until smooth and add the rest of the ingredients excepting the white of egg. Turn it into a pudding-dish, place this in a pan of hot water, and bake in a slow oven fifteen to twenty minutes, or only long enough to set the custard without its separating. Cover the top with a layer of jam or with tart jelly, and place in the center a ball of meringue made with the white of one egg; dust with sugar, place in the oven a moment to brown the meringue, and then put a piece of jelly on the top of the meringue. Serve hot or cold. The jelly and meringue answers as a sauce.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

Cut stale bread into thin slices; remove the crusts, dip them in melted butter, and arrange them in a small bread or square cake-tin in even layers, alternating with layers of stoned raisins. When the mold is full, pour over it a mixture made of one pint of milk, the yolks of two eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Use only as much as the bread will absorb. Bake in a moderate oven twenty to thirty minutes. Turn it onto a flat dish and serve with it a plain pudding sauce. The bread should be dry and crisp and hold the form of the mold.

BREAD TARTS

Cut bread into slices a quarter of an inch thick, then with a biscuit-cutter about three inches in diameter stamp it into circles. Moisten the circles of bread with milk, but do not use enough to cause them to fall apart; then spread them with any jam or preserve and place two together like a sandwich. Place them in a frying-pan with a little butter, and sauté them on both sides to a delicate color. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve very hot. A sabayon or other sauce can be served with them if convenient, but it is not essential.

For other bread puddings see Blueberry Pudding and Cherry Bread, page [241].

CAKE PUDDINGS

COTTAGE PUDDING

Mix the baking-powder with the flour and sift them. Rub the butter and sugar together to a cream and beat into it the egg; then add the milk, in which the salt has been dissolved. Add the flour; beat well together and turn into a cake-tin having a tube in the center. Bake about twenty-five minutes in a moderate oven. Turn it onto a flat dish, leaving it bottom side up. The chocolate sauce given below is recommended, but any other sauce may be served with it.

Chocolate sauce: Melt three ounces or squares of Baker’s chocolate on a dry pan (see page [388]); add one half cupful of sugar and one half cupful of boiling water. Stir until well dissolved and smooth, then add one quarter teaspoonful of vanilla.

CANARY PUDDING

Take the mixture for Genoese cake, which is three eggs, and their weight respectively of sugar, butter, and flour; cream the butter and sugar; then beat in, one at a time, the three eggs; add lightly the sifted flour. Butter a covered pudding-mold; decorate it with raisins, or sprinkle it all over with currants; fill it half full of the mixture; cover and steam for one hour, or put it in individual timbale-molds and bake for twenty minutes. Serve with wine or fruit or Richelieu sauce.

SUET PUDDING

Mix the salt, flour, and suet together. Mix the molasses and milk; add the soda and then as much of the flour mixture as will make a stiff batter (not dough), then add the raisins floured, and fill a covered pudding-mold half full; steam for three hours. Serve with foamy, wine, or brandy sauce.

FARINA PUDDING (Boiled)

Stir into three cupfuls of boiling milk one cupful of farina, and cook for ten minutes. Rub together one tablespoonful of butter and two tablespoonfuls of sugar; add the yolks of three eggs, the grated rind of one lemon and twenty-five chopped blanched almonds. Stir this mixture into the farina after it is a little cooled; lastly add the whites of three eggs beaten to stiff froth. Boil this pudding in a covered mold for one and a half hours. Serve with any pudding sauce.

CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING

Mix the dry materials together thoroughly, and then add six eggs, one at a time, and one half cupful of brandy; add another egg if too stiff, and more crumbs if too soft. Wet a strong cloth in cold water, wring it dry, butter it, and dredge it well with flour; turn the mixture into the center and draw the cloth together over the top, leaving room for the pudding to swell a little, and tie it firmly; give it a good round shape. Put it into a pot of boiling water, having it completely covered with water; cover the pot and boil four to five hours. Do not let the water fall below the pudding, and in adding more let it be hot, so as to not arrest the boiling. After it is removed from the water let it rest in the bag for ten minutes to harden a little, then cut the string and turn it carefully onto a dish. Cut a small hole in the top of the pudding and insert a paper bonbon case (see page [386]); trim it so it does not show. Pour rum or brandy onto the dish and also into the paper box on top; place it on the table and touch it with a lighted taper. Serve with a brandy sauce. The amount given will serve twelve to fourteen persons. The mixture may be divided and boiled in small puddings if it is too much to use at one time. It will keep for a long time, and the puddings can be warmed when used. Slices of cold plum pudding may be steamed and served with a sauce; or they may be rolled in egg and crumbs and fried in hot fat, and be served as fruit croquettes.

FIG PUDDING

Flour the figs and suet. Soak the bread-crumbs in the milk, add the sugar, then the egg-yolks, and beat it well; then add slowly, stirring all the time, the figs, suet, almonds, flour mixed with the baking-powder, flavoring, and lastly the whites of the eggs beaten very stiff. Turn it into a covered pudding-mold, filling it three quarters full; steam for three hours. This mixture will fill twelve individual molds. If the small molds are used, place a star of angelica in the bottom of each one and cover it with a thin layer of boiled rice; then fill three quarters full with the pudding mixture; place them in a pan of hot water, cover with a greased paper, and poach on top of the range for one and one half hours. This pudding can have brandy poured over and lighted the same as the plum pudding. Serve with a syrup sauce flavored the same as the pudding.

CABINET PUDDING No. 1

Ornament the bottom of a well-buttered mold with citron and raisins. Cover them with slices of cake; then fill the mold nearly full with alternate layers of fruit and cake, arranging the fruit on the edges of the fruit layers so it will be even and symmetrical. Make a custard mixture of a pint of milk, three egg-yolks, and three tablespoonfuls of sugar. Pour it slowly into the mold, so the cake will be thoroughly soaked, and set it in a pan of water. Bake it in a slow oven for an hour, or until the custard is set. Unmold the pudding, and serve with it a wine sauce.

CABINET PUDDING No. 2

Cut a half pound of candied fruits into dice, using cherries, apricots, plums, limes, etc.; also some candied orange-peel shredded. Butter well a plain cylindrical mold; sprinkle over the bottom a thin layer of the fruit, then a layer of cake (genoese, or sponge layer cake, see page [466]). Fill the mold to within an inch of the top with alternate layers of fruit and cake, using also some macaroons. Leave always some fruit on the sides of the mold. Then turn in slowly a custard mixture made of one pint of milk, the yolks of five eggs, and two and one half tablespoonfuls of sugar. Let it stand a few minutes for the cake to absorb the liquid; then place the mold in a pan of hot water, and poach in a slow oven for one hour. This pudding is usually served hot, but may be served cold. Serve with Sabayon, Richelieu, or Bischoff sauces. (See [pudding sauces].)

CABINET PUDDING No. 3 (Royale)

Take a loaf of brioche (see page [359] and [361]) baked the day before in a cylindrical mold. Cut it into slices one half inch thick. Cut with a small patty-cutter a round piece from the center of all but two of the slices. Cut the crust from the outside, taking as little as possible. Spread each slice with apricot jam, and sprinkle with chopped almonds. Butter the mold well, and replace the slices, using on the bottom one which has not had a hole cut in the center. When all but the last slice are in, fill the well in the center with mixed canned fruits well drained, using pineapple, apricots, a few candied cherries, and chopped almonds; then pour in a custard mixture made of one pint of milk, four yolks of eggs, two and a half tablespoonfuls of sugar. Let the brioche absorb the liquid; then cover with the second whole slice, and pour over that, too, some of the custard mixture. Place the mold in a pan of hot water, and poach in a slow oven for one hour. Let it stand a little while in the mold after it is cooked. When ready to serve, unmold, spread the whole outside with apricot jam, and sprinkle with chopped almonds. Serve with apricot sauce or any other sauce.

CABINET PUDDING No. 4

Cut slices of bread one half inch thick to fit a mold. Fill the mold with alternate layers of bread and chopped drained pineapple (fresh or canned). Pour in a custard mixture made of one pint of milk, yolks of three eggs, and three tablespoonfuls of sugar. Bake in a slow oven for one hour (as directed above), or until the custard is set. Serve with a sauce made of the juice of the fruit diluted and thickened with a little arrowroot, then sweetened and flavored (with kirsch if liked), and a few shredded almonds.

SAVARINS

Butter some individual timbale-molds, sprinkle them with chopped almonds, fill them half full of brioche paste (see page [359]), let the paste rise to the top of the molds, and then bake in a hot oven for about twenty minutes. When baked, cut off the top even with the mold, and turn them out. Pour over them a hot syrup made of one cupful of sugar and three quarters of a cupful of water boiled for ten minutes (or to 30°), and flavored with four teaspoonfuls of kirsch. Other flavors may be used if preferred. Let the savarins absorb enough of the hot syrup to be well moistened, but not so much as to lose their firmness. Drain and serve them hot. Or incorporate into the paste before molding a little shredded candied orange-peel. Soak them, when baked, in syrup flavored with orange or curaçao, and cover them with an orange fondant icing (see page [485]), and serve cold.

BABA

Into three cupfuls of brioche paste mix one cupful of currants, raisins, and chopped citron, which have soaked for an hour in maraschino. Half fill buttered baba-molds (which are cups holding about one half pint); let it rise to top of mold, which will take about three quarters of an hour. It must not rise in too warm a place, or the butter will separate. Bake them in a moderate oven one half hour. Let them absorb hot syrup at 30°, flavored with kirsch or sherry.

CUSTARDS

CRÊME PARISIENNE

This is the same as caramel custard (page [396]), except that it is served hot. Butter well a flat mold or basin, ornament the bottom with a few candied cherries and angelica, pour over them caramel which is not browned deeper than an amber color, and do not use enough to float the fruits. Let it cool before adding the custard mixture. When it is baked, let the mold stand in the hot water until the moment of serving.

FRIED CREAM

Put the milk into a double boiler with the salt and a piece of cinnamon or lemon-zest. When it is at the boiling-point add the sugar; then the cornstarch and flour, which have been moistened in cold milk. Stir until thickened; remove, and turn it over the beaten yolks of the eggs. Place it on the fire again for a few minutes to set the eggs. Add the butter and flavoring, and strain it onto a flat dish, or biscuit-tin, making a layer three quarters of an inch thick. Let it stand until perfectly cold and firm (it may be made the day before it is used); then cut it into pieces three inches long and two inches wide. Handle the pieces carefully, using a broad knife-blade. Cover each one with sifted cracker-crumbs, then with egg, and again with crumbs; be sure they are completely covered. Fry the pieces in hot fat to an amber color; lay them on a brown paper in the open oven to dry, sprinkle them with sugar, and serve on a folded napkin. The crust should be crisp, and the center creamy, the same as a croquette. If the pudding stands long enough before being fried, it will not be difficult to handle. Have the fat smoking hot, and do not fry too long. This dish is recommended, as it is particularly good, and very easy to make.

SHORT CAKES

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

Sift the baking-powder and salt with the flour, rub in the shortening; then with a fork stir in lightly and quickly sufficient milk to make a soft dough—too soft to roll. Turn it into a greased tin, and bake in a hot oven for thirty minutes. Watch to see that it rises evenly. Unmold, and leaving it inverted, cut a circle around the top, within one inch of the edge; lift off the circle of crust, and with a fork pick out the crumb from the center, leaving about three quarters of an inch of biscuit around the sides. Spread the inside of the cake with butter, and then fill it with crushed strawberries, which have been standing half an hour or more mixed with sugar enough to sweeten them. Turn off the juice from the berries before filling the cake. Replace the circle of crust, and cover the whole cake, top and sides, with meringue, heaping it irregularly on the top. Use a pastry-bag if convenient to give the meringue ornamental form. Place it in the oven a moment to slightly color the meringue. Arrange a few handsome berries on the top. Serve the strawberry-juice as a sauce. Whipped cream may be used instead of meringue, if convenient. Shortcake, to be good, should be freshly made, and served as soon as put together.

CURRANT SHORTCAKE

Make a biscuit dough as directed for strawberry shortcake above, using half the quantity. Turn it into a pie-tin to bake. While it is still hot cut the edges and pull it apart with forks (do not cut it). Turn the crumb sides up; butter them and cover each one with a thick layer of crushed currants, which have been standing at least two hours with enough sugar to sweeten them. Place one layer on the other, cover the top with meringue, and ornament it with a few currants in lines or arranged in any way to suit the fancy. This is a delicious shortcake, the acid of the currants giving it more character than strawberry shortcake.

STRAWBERRY CAKE

Make two layers of Genoese (page [467]) or of sponge cake No. 1 (page [466]); cover them with whipped cream, and arrange whole strawberries close together over the entire top; place one layer on the other, and serve at once. The cream moistens the cake if it stands long.

Shortcakes are good made of peaches or pineapple, using the biscuit mixture.

ROLY-POLY PUDDING

Make a biscuit dough, and roll it out a quarter of an inch thick; spread it with any kind of berries (whortleberries or blackberries are best). Then roll it, and tie it in a cloth, leaving room for the pudding to expand, and boil or steam it for an hour. Serve with any sauce.

FRUIT PUDDING

Beat two eggs; add a cupful of milk, three teaspoonfuls of baking-powder and enough flour to make a stiff batter; then stir in as much fruit as it will hold (cherries, whortleberries, strawberries, or raspberries are the best fruits to use). Turn the mixture into a pudding-mold large enough to give room for the pudding to expand, and boil it for an hour. Serve with it plain pudding sauce, Sabayon, or a fruit sauce.

BAKED INDIAN PUDDING

Put two cupfuls of milk, a quarter cupful of water, and the salt, on the fire; when it boils stir in the meal, and let it cook five minutes, stirring all the time; then remove from the fire, and add the rest of the milk mixed with the molasses, the butter, the beaten egg, and the nutmeg (or ginger, if preferred), and turn it into a baking-dish. Bake it in a slow oven for three hours. This quantity makes a pint and a half of pudding.

Note.—Some small bits of candied orange-peel sprinkled on the bottom of the dish before the batter is put in give a delicious flavor to the pudding.

PUDDING SAUCES

Pudding sauces are quickly made. They call for but few materials, and, like other sauces, often give the whole character to the dish. Serving the same pudding with a different sauce, makes it a different dish; therefore it is well to vary as much as possible the combinations. Farina pudding can be served with almost any of the sauces given below. Cake, cornstarch, rice, apple, or bread puddings can also be served with almost any sauce, if the flavorings are the same, or such as go well together. Hot puddings can be served with cold sauces. Jellies, creams, and blanc-manges can be served with whipped cream, the fruit sauces, or the whipped egg sauces.

Stewed prunes or compote of orange are good to serve with plain boiled rice, or with sweetened hominy, farina, or cerealine molded in cups.

PLAIN PUDDING SAUCE No. 1 (Hot)

Dilute the corn-starch with a little cold water, and stir it into the boiling water; add the sugar and stir until the starch becomes clear; then add the butter and flavoring. If the sauce becomes too thick, dilute it with a little boiling water; the whipped white of one egg may be added, but is not essential.

PLAIN PUDDING SAUCE No. 2 (Cold)

Stir a heaping teaspoonful of corn-starch, which has been moistened with a little cold milk, into a pint of boiling milk, and stir for five minutes, or until it is well cooked; add three quarters of a cupful of sugar, and remove from the fire. When the mixture is cold flavor it, and just before serving beat in the whipped whites of two eggs and serve at once.

RICH PUDDING SAUCE

(FOR FRUIT PUDDINGS OR CROQUETTES)

Cream the butter; add the sugar, and cream again thoroughly; then add the yolks and beat until light; add the hot water and the nutmeg. Place it in a saucepan of hot water, and beat, adding slowly the lemon-juice and the wine. The sauce should be foamy.

FOAMY SAUCE

(STEAMED AND BAKED PUDDINGS)

Cream the butter and sugar; add the vanilla and wine, and beat them well. Just before serving stir in the boiling water; add the whipped white of one egg, and beat until foamy.

BRANDY, RUM, OR KIRSCH SAUCE

(FRUIT OR PLUM PUDDINGS)

Put in a saucepan two cupfuls of water with one cupful of sugar. When the sugar is dissolved and the water boils, add slowly a heaping tablespoonful of corn-starch or arrowroot diluted with a little cold water; stir until the corn-starch is clear; then remove from the fire, and add two tablespoonfuls of the liquor. Serve it hot.

SABAYON No. 1

Beat in a small saucepan the eggs and sugar to a light cream; add the wine. When ready to serve, place the saucepan in another one containing hot water, and beat until the sugar is melted and the egg beginning to thicken.

SABAYON No. 2

Put one cup of sugar, one half cup of sherry, and one egg all together in a saucepan and whip over the fire until it is a little thickened.

SYRUP SAUCE

Put two cupfuls of sugar and three tablespoonfuls of water into a saucepan on the fire, and stir until the sugar is dissolved; then let it boil without touching until it is a light syrup, and remove from the fire; add a teaspoonful of butter and flavoring, which may be fruit juice, liqueur, brandy, or flavoring extract.

FRUIT SAUCES

Canned fruits, preserves, or jams make good sauces for blanc-mange, corn-starch, rice, or boiled puddings.

The juice of canned fruit, boiled and thickened a little with arrowroot, and flavored or not with liqueur or essence, makes a good hot sauce.

APRICOT SAUCE

Dilute one half cupful of apricot jam with one half cupful of hot water; sweeten if necessary; strain and flavor with vanilla or one teaspoonful of Madeira or maraschino.

PURÉE OF FRUIT SAUCES

Strawberries, raspberries, peaches and apricots make excellent pudding sauces. Mash the fruit and press it through a colander or coarse sieve; sweeten to taste; serve hot or cold; if hot, let it come to the boiling-point and thicken with arrowroot, using one teaspoonful to a cupful of purée.

PINEAPPLE SAUCE

Chop the pineapple (fresh or canned) fine; sweeten and thicken with arrowroot. Serve with fritters, corn-starch, rice, or batter puddings.

BOILED CUSTARD SAUCE

Beat the yolks and sugar to a cream; pour over them the scalded milk; return to the fire to cook the eggs, but let it only slightly thicken; remove; add the flavoring and beat with a wire whip to make it light and foamy. When served with plum pudding add rum or brandy to flavor it. Almonds chopped fine improve it for hot puddings.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Put a half cupful each of sugar and water in a saucepan and let boil five minutes. Let the syrup cool, then stir it slowly into four ounces of unsweetened chocolate melted; add one half teaspoonful of vanilla. Let it stand in a pan of hot water until ready to serve; then add one half cupful of cream or of milk.[447-*]

BISCHOFF SAUCE

Put in a saucepan one cupful of white wine, one cupful of hot water, and sugar to taste; add the zest of one half of an orange and one half of a lemon; let it come to the boiling-point; remove from the fire; take out the orange and lemon peel and add one half cupful of seedless raisins, one tablespoonful of shredded almonds, and a tablespoonful of finely shredded candied orange and lemon peel; cover and let stand a half-hour. When ready to serve let it again come to the boiling-point. Serve with cabinet puddings.

RICHELIEU SAUCE

Put one cupful of sugar into a saucepan with one cupful of boiling water; let it boil five minutes; add one teaspoonful of arrowroot moistened with a little water, and cook until clear; then remove from fire. Flavor with one tablespoonful of kirsch and add two tablespoonfuls of shredded almonds and candied cherries cut into small pieces.

MERINGUE SAUCE

Whip the whites of two or three eggs to a very stiff froth. Take as many tablespoonfuls of sugar as you have egg-whites; add a little water and let it cook to the ball (see page [512]), or so that when dropped into water it will roll into a ball between the fingers. Turn this hot syrup slowly onto the whipped eggs, beating all the time; then beat it over the fire for a minute where the heat is moderate. This is called Italian meringue. Remove it from the fire and add a little lemon-juice or kirsch to take away the excessive sweetness; or a little currant jelly can be used, also grated orange-peel and shredded candied peel; serve it at once. This is a good sauce for soufflés or light puddings.

HARD SAUCE

Beat together one half cupful of butter and one cupful of sugar until they are very white and light; flavor with vanilla, wine, or brandy. The success of this sauce depends upon its being beaten a long time. It may be varied by beating with it the yolk of an egg, or adding the whipped white of an egg after the butter and sugar are beaten. Let it stand on ice to harden a little before serving.

STRAWBERRY SAUCE

Make a hard sauce as directed above; add the whipped white of one egg and a cupful of strawberries mashed to a pulp. Any fruit-pulp may be added in the same way and makes a good sauce for fruit puddings.

COCOANUT SAUCE

Make a hard sauce as directed above; add the yolks of two eggs; when it is very light and creamy add the whipped whites and a cupful of grated cocoanut.

COLD JELLY SAUCE

Stir a half glassful of grape, currant, or any jelly until smooth; then beat into it lightly the whipped whites of two eggs. Serve with any light pudding or with jelly.

[423-*] If unsweetened chocolate is used, add about three more tablespoonfuls of sugar or to taste, and a teaspoonful of vanilla.

[447-*] This sauce should be smooth and of the consistency of heavy cream. If it is to be used with ice-cream, omit the cream or milk and make it of the right consistency with water. See also page [435].—M. R.

Chapter XX
PIES AND PUFF-PASTE

Seasons. The American pie is perhaps the most ridiculed of all dishes. It has, however, great popularity and undoubted merits. Were the crust, especially the under one, always right, it would remove the most salient point of criticism. The tart pies, made with puff-paste, are a temptation to the most fastidious taste. The mince pie, probably the most indigestible of all, is the one universally accepted as a treat, and seldom refused by the scoffer. Pies have their seasons, like other good things, the apple pie being the only one served the year round. The berries and fruits, each one in their time, make most acceptable and delicious pies and tarts, while rhubarb introduces the spring, and pumpkin announces the autumn. In this day of canned and dried fruits the season need not be so strictly observed, but fresh fruits will always be preferable to preserved ones, and tradition goes far to hold the place for pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, and mince pie at the Christmas feasts.

PIES

PLAIN PASTRY FOR PIES

This quantity gives enough for three or four pies. Cottolene makes good pastry. The shortening may be mixed, but the flavor is better where butter alone is used. The richness of pastry depends upon the amount of shortening used.

Sift the salt and flour together, reserving a little flour for the board. With a knife, cut the butter into the flour. Add the water a little at a time, and mix it in lightly with the knife; turn it onto the board, and roll it twice—that is, after it is rolled out once, fold it together and roll it again. If the paste is wanted richer for the top crust, put bits of butter over the paste when rolled; fold and roll it again several times. Fold the paste, and put it in the ice-box for an hour before using, keeping it covered. In making pastry everything should be cold, the handling light, and the hands used as little as possible. Paste will keep several days in a cool place, but should be rolled in a napkin, so it will not dry and form a crust.

To Put a Pie Together.—Roll the paste one eighth inch thick, and a little larger than the tin. Dust the pan with flour; place the paste on it, letting it shrink all it will. Lift it from the sides to fit it into place, and press it as little as possible. Cut a narrow strip of paste, and lay around the edge; moisten it so it will stick. Brush the top of the bottom crust with white of egg, so the filling will not soak in and make it heavy. Put in the filling, and cover with another sheet of pastry. Moisten the top of the strip of pastry so the top crust will adhere to it; this gives three layers around the edge. Trim and press them lightly together. Cut several slits in the top crust to let the steam escape in cooking.

A thin piece of paste cut into fancy shape can be placed in the center for ornament if desired.

PASTRY FOR TARTS OR OPEN PIES

Sift the flour, salt, and sugar together. Cut in the butter as directed above. Mix in the beaten yolks, then enough water to make a paste which is not very stiff; roll it two or three times, then wrap it in a cloth, or cover it closely, and put it in the ice-box for an hour. This gives enough paste for four small tart pies like those shown in illustration.

TART PIES

(APRICOT, PLUM, APPLE, BERRY)

Roll the paste one eighth of an inch thick, lay it on a deep pie-dish; let it shrink all it will, and use as little pressure as possible in fitting it to the tin. Cut the paste an inch larger than the dish, and fold it under, giving a high twisted edge. Prick the paste on the bottom in several places with a fork. Lay over it a thin paper, and fill the tart with rice, dried peas, beans, cornmeal, or any dry material convenient. Brush the edge with egg, and bake it in a moderate oven. When done remove the rice, or other filling, and the paper. Brush the bottom with white of egg. This will insure a dry under crust. If apricots or peaches are to be used, peel and cut them in halves, lay them evenly over the tart with the center side up.

Place the half of a blanched almond in each one to represent the pit. Put the juice of the fruit into a saucepan on the fire; if there is no juice use a cupful of water. Sweeten to taste, and when it boils add to each cupful of juice one teaspoonful of arrowroot dissolved in a little cold water, and let it cook until clear; then pour it around the fruit, but not over it, as the fruit should lie on top and show its form. Place in the oven only long enough to cook the fruit tender. If canned fruit is used, cook the juice and arrowroot until a little thickened and clear; then pour it around the fruit, and let cool. It will not need to be put in the oven.

When plums or cherries are used, remove the pits carefully, and place the fruit close together, with the whole side up. For apple tarts, cut the apples in even quarters or eighths; stew them in sweetened water, with a little lemon-juice added, until tender. Lay them overlapping in even rows or circles in the tart. To a cupful of water in which the apples were stewed add a teaspoonful of arrowroot, and cook until clear; pour it over the apples, sprinkle with sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon. With berries, the fruit may be stewed or not before being placed in the tart; then strips of paste are laid across it, like lattice-work, and the paste brushed with egg. Bake long enough to cook the fruit and the strips of paste. When cold place a fresh berry on each piece of crust where it crosses; or place a drop of meringue on the crusts, and the berries in the openings.

The California canned fruits, costing thirty-five cents, make very good pies. One can of fruit will make two pies. Tart-rings are better to use than pie-tins, as the sides are straight. Place them on a baking-sheet, or tin, before lining them with pastry.

ORANGE PIE

Beat the yolks and the sugar together; add the flour, the milk, and the grated rind and juice of the orange. Place it on the fire in a double boiler, and stir until it is a little thickened; then pour it into an open or tart pie, and bake thirty minutes. The crust of the pie should be brushed with white of egg before adding the thickened mixture. The tart crust may be first baked, as directed above, if preferred. Cover the top with meringue made with the whites of the eggs and sweetened with three tablespoonfuls of sugar. Pile it on irregularly, or press it through a pastry-bag into fancy shapes. Place it in the oven a moment to brown. A little more flour may be used if the pie is wanted more solid.

A PLAIN APPLE PIE

Fill a pie with apples sliced thin, using enough to make the pie at least an inch thick when done. Add a little water to the apples, and cover with a top crust which is a little richer than the under one. This is done by rolling out a part of the same paste, covering it with bits of butter, folding it together, and rolling it again, repeating the operation two or three times. Cut a few slits in the paste to let out the steam while cooking. Brush the top with beaten yolk of egg.

When the pie is baked, and while it is still hot, lift off carefully the top crust; add sugar, nutmeg, and a little butter, and mix them well with the apples. Replace the top crust, and dust it with powdered sugar. Apple pies seasoned in this way are better than when seasoned before being baked.

PUMPKIN PIE

Cut a pumpkin into small pieces; remove the soft part and seeds. Cover and cook it slowly in its own steam until tender; then remove the cover and reduce it almost to dryness, using care that it does not burn. Press it through a colander. To two and one half cupfuls of pulp add two cupfuls of milk, one teaspoonful each of salt, butter, cinnamon, and ginger, one tablespoonful of molasses, two eggs, and sugar to taste. Add the beaten eggs last and after the mixture is cold. Pour it into an open crust and bake slowly forty to fifty minutes. Squash pies are made in the same way, but are not the same in flavor, although they are often given the name of pumpkin pies.

MINCE PIE MIXTURE

Mix the meat and suet together; then add all the dry ingredients and then the liquids. Pack in an earthen jar. It should stand several days before using, and will keep an indefinite time.

The pies should be made of good puff paste for the upper crust and tart paste for the under one, the edge having three layers as directed on page [451]. The filling of mince meat should be one and a half inches thick. Paint the top crust with egg and trace with a pointed knife some simple design on it, cutting the paste very slightly. Bake for one hour and a quarter. Glaze the top by sifting a very little powdered sugar over it a few minutes before removing it from the oven.

CREAM PIE

Sift the flour and baking-powder together; beat the yolks and sugar together; add the flour and lastly the whipped whites of the eggs. Bake this cake mixture in two layers, and place between them when cold, and just before serving, a thick layer of whipped cream. Have the top piece covered with a boiled icing, or use between the cakes a cream filling made as follows:

CREAM FOR FILLING.

Scald the milk; turn it onto the beaten egg; return it to the fire; add the flour moistened with a little milk, and the sugar, and stir until thickened. Let it cool before adding it to the cake. Serve with whipped cream if desired.

COCOANUT PIE

Line a tin basin which is two inches deep with pie paste, and bake it as directed for tart pies (page [452]). Make a custard of one pint of milk, three egg-yolks, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and two tablespoonfuls of corn-starch. Scald the milk and turn it onto the yolks and sugar beaten together; return it to the fire; add the corn-starch moistened with cold milk, and stir until well thickened; add one half teaspoonful of vanilla, and the whites of two eggs whipped to a froth; cook one minute to set the egg, then remove, and when nearly cold and stiffened stir in the half of a grated cocoanut. Brush the bottom of the baked pie-crust with white of egg; cover it with a thin layer of grated cocoanut and turn in the thickened custard. Cover the top with meringue made with the white of one egg. Return it to the oven one minute to color the meringue. Let the pie stand long enough to get firm and cold before serving. If the grated cocoanut is not added until the custard has stiffened, it will not sink to the bottom.

CRANBERRY PIE

Chop one cupful of cranberries and a half cupful of seeded raisins together into small pieces; add to them a cupful of sugar, a half cupful of water, a tablespoonful of flour, and a teaspoonful of vanilla. Bake with an upper and under crust. This resembles cherry pie.

WASHINGTON PIE

Make two round layer cakes, of sponge or of Genoese cake; spread between them a layer of pastry cream or of chocolate filling. Dust the top with powdered sugar in crossed lines to imitate strips of pastry.

Pastry Cream—Boil with a pint of milk or water five tablespoonfuls of sugar; add two tablespoonfuls of corn-starch, the yolks of five eggs, and a tablespoonful of butter; stir until thickened, add flavoring, and when partly cool spread it on the cake.

Chocolate Filling—Mix a half cupful of milk and a cupful of sugar, and stir until the sugar is dissolved; then add an ounce of shaved chocolate, and the beaten yolks of two eggs; stir until it is thickened; flavor with one half teaspoonful of vanilla, and let it partly cool before spreading it on the cake.

PUFF-PASTE

It is a mistake to consider the making of puff-paste too difficult for any but an experienced cook to undertake. No one need hesitate to attempt it, and if the few simple rules are strictly observed there will be success. The materials are few and inexpensive, and within the compass of the most moderate household. If light, good pastry can be substituted for the sodden crust of the ordinary pie, it will be found not only more palatable, but far more digestible and wholesome. Confections of puff-paste can be served on all occasions, and always make an acceptable dish, whereas ordinary pastry is excluded from any but the most informal service.

GENERAL RULES

The most important rule for making puff-paste, and the secret of success, is to have cold paste and a hot oven. It is well to have a marble slab to roll it on, but this is not positively essential. A warm, damp day should be avoided. The paste will keep on ice for a day or two before it is baked, and for several days in a dry place after it is baked, and if placed in the oven for a few moments just before serving, it will have the same crispness as when just baked. If there is no room colder than the kitchen to work in when mixing the paste, stand by an open window or in a current of air, for it is necessary to keep the paste cold during the whole time of preparing it. Use pastry flour if convenient (Plant’s St. Louis Flour). It can be obtained at all first-class grocers. It has a very fine grain, and can easily be distinguished from ordinary flour by rubbing a little between the thumb and forefinger.

RECEIPT FOR PUFF-PASTE

1st. Put the butter in a bowl of ice-water, and work it with the hand until it becomes smooth and flexible; then place it in a napkin and knead it a little to free it from moisture. Pat it into a flat square cake, and place it on the ice until ready to use.

2d. Sift the flour and salt together on a board or marble slab; reserve a little flour to be used for dusting the slab. Make a well in the center, and pour in a part of the water. Work in the flour, and use enough water to make a smooth paste. The exact amount of water cannot be given, as at certain times the flour absorbs more than at others. Gather in all the crumbs, and work the paste as you would bread dough until it becomes smooth. Roll it in a napkin, and place it on ice for fifteen minutes, that it may become thoroughly cold.

3d. Sprinkle the slab lightly with flour. Roll the cold paste into a square piece; place the cold butter in the center, and fold the paste over it, first from the sides and then the ends, keeping the shape square, and folding so the butter is completely incased, and cannot escape through the folds when rolled. This must be absolutely guarded against at all times, and can be prevented if the paste is rolled evenly and folded properly. Turn the folded side down, and with a rolling-pin roll it lightly away from you into a long, narrow strip, keeping it as even as possible. Fold it over, making three even layers of paste. This is called “giving it one turn”; then roll the folded strip again, and fold as before. This must be repeated until it has had six turns, which is as many as it should receive to give it its greatest lightness. After each turn, if it shows signs of softening, otherwise after each two turns, wrap the paste in a napkin, and place it in a pan, which should be placed between two other pans containing cracked ice, and let it remain there twenty to thirty minutes. Great care must be used in rolling the paste to keep the edges even, so that the layers will be even, and to roll lightly and always away from you, so as not to break the air-bubbles which give the lightness to the paste. The rolling is made easier by lightly pounding as well as rolling the paste. After each folding press the edges gently with the rolling-pin to shut in the air, and turn the paste so as to roll in a different direction. The paste should slip on the slab. If it does not, it sticks, and must be put on the ice at once. When it has had six turns cut it into the desired forms, and place again on the ice for twenty to thirty minutes before putting it in the oven. The trimmings, put together and rolled, make a good bottom crust for tart bands, or a top crust for mince pies.

The baking of puff-paste is as important a matter as the rolling. The oven must be very hot, with the greatest heat at the bottom, so the paste may rise before it begins to brown; therefore put it on the bottom of the oven and lay a paper on the shelf for a few minutes. Do not open the door for the first five minutes. It is essential to have the oven very hot. It must not, however, scorch the paste, and if it scorches open the draughts at once, and place a basin of ice-water in the oven to lower the temperature. The amount given in this receipt makes about six pâté shells or one vol-au-vent case.

PÂTÉ SHELLS

Roll puff-paste which has had six turns to a quarter-inch thickness; cut it into circles with a fluted or plain cutter two and a quarter inches in diameter. It should be icy-cold when cut, for if it sticks on one side it will not rise evenly. From one half the circles cut a hole in the center with a cutter one inch in diameter. Moisten the edges of the whole circles, and place on them the rings. Brush over the top with egg. (This is to glaze them, and the egg must not touch the edges.) Place them on the ice for half an hour, then bake in hot oven for twenty minutes. Bake the small circles cut from the center on a separate tin, as they do not require as much time; when baked pick out from the center any uncooked paste. Use the small pieces for covers after the cases are filled. If preferred, roll the paste one half inch thick, and with the small cutter cut half-way through the paste. When baked lift off the inner circle, and remove the uncooked paste from the interior.

TART BANDS

Make a good short paste, using the receipt for tart paste. Roll it one eighth inch thick, and cut it into a circle six inches in diameter, using a basin for guide. Wet the edges and lay around it a band of puff-paste cut in a strip one and one half inches wide and one quarter inch thick. Place the strip neatly and carefully around the edge, using care not to press it; cut the edges that are to join in a sharp diagonal line, and moisten them so they will adhere. Prick the bottom crust in many places with a fork to prevent its puffing up; brush the top of the band with egg, but do not let the egg touch the edges; let it rest on ice for half an hour, then bake in hot oven thirty to forty minutes.

When ready to serve fill it with jam, preserves, purée, or any other mixture used for tart pies.

These tarts are very good, and can be served where pies would not be admissible.

MILLEFEUILLES

Roll puff-paste turned six times to the thickness of one half inch; cut it with a pastry wheel into pieces three inches long and one inch wide. Brush the tops of the pieces with egg, and sprinkle them with sugar. Let them stand on ice one half hour, and then bake in a hot oven for twenty minutes, or until well browned; these are served in place of cakes. Or, cut the paste three and a half inches long and two inches wide, and when baked place two pieces together with a thin layer of apricot jam between them, and cover the top with meringue. These are served as a dessert dish for luncheon.

TARTLETS

Cut puff-paste into rings the same as for pâté shells. Use tart paste for the under crust. After they are baked fill the center with pineapple, with any preserves, or with apple purée covered with apricot jam.

PAGANINI TARTLETS

Roll puff-paste one eighth inch thick; cut it with a pastry wheel into squares of three and a half to four inches. Turn the points together in the middle, and press them down lightly. Bake; then put a spoonful of jam in the center of each, and cover the jam with meringue; place them in the oven a moment to brown.

TO GLAZE PASTRY

Take an egg and one tablespoonful of water, and beat the egg enough to break it, but not enough to make it froth. The yolk alone may be used with the water, but the white alone will not give it color. Brush it lightly over the pastry, using a brush or quill-feather, and dust it with a very little sugar. This will give a brown and polished surface to the pastry.

When two layers of pastry are to be stuck together, brush the top of one with water, and lay the other on it before baking them.

Chapter XXI
CAKE

Baking. The most difficult part of cake-making is the baking. Unless the oven is right, the cake will be a failure, no matter how carefully it may have been mixed.

RULES

Have everything ready before beginning to mix the cake.

Have the weights and measures exact.

Fire. Have the fire so it will last through the baking, and the heat of the oven just right (see [below]), for on this the success of the cake mostly depends.

Do not mix the cake until the oven is entirely ready for it to go in.

Sift the flour before measuring it.

If baking-powder or cream of tartar is used, sift it with the flour.

Mix in an earthen bowl with a wooden spoon.

Beat the yolks and whites of the eggs separately.

Grease the tins with lard, as butter blackens.

For some cakes it is better to line the pans with paper.

Fruit. When fruit is used, roll it in flour, and add it the last thing.

If the fruit is wanted in layers, add it while the mixture is being poured into the tins.

Salt. Add one quarter teaspoonful of salt to all cakes.

Sugary crust. If a sugary crust is wanted, sprinkle the top with sugar before the cake is baked.

Cause of cracking. If the cake cracks open as it rises, too much flour has been used.

Uneven rising. If it rises in a cone in the center, the oven is too hot.

Beating. Beating eggs and butter makes them light, beating flour makes it tough; hence the rule to add it last.

Adding white of egg. When the whipped whites are added do not stir, but turn or fold them in lightly, so as not to break the air-cells.

Pans, how filled. In filling the pans let the mixture be a little higher on the sides than in the middle.

Soda and baking powder. When molasses is used, baking-powder (also cream of tartar) must be omitted, and soda alone used for raising the cake.

Equivalents. One teaspoonful of baking-powder is the equivalent of one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and one half teaspoonful of soda.

HOW TO BEAT EGGS

Whites. Place the whites on a flat dish, being careful that not a particle of the yolk gets in. Add a pinch of salt, and with a daisy beater held flat whip the whites with an upward motion to a stiff, dry froth. It will take but a very few minutes if the eggs are fresh and cold. Yolks. Put the yolks in an earthen bowl, and with a wooden or silver spoon beat them until a lemon color. If sugar is used add it at this time, and stir until the whole becomes light and creamy.

HOW TO LINE TINS WITH PAPER

Turn the tin bottom side up, lay over it the paper, and crease the circle for the bottom. Cut the paper in several places down to the circular mark, fold it around the pan, and cut away the paper that doubles over. Grease the paper, and fit it neatly inside the pan, leaving an inch of paper rising above the edge.

HOW TO GREASE PANS

Flouring tins. Warm the pan, and with a brush spread evenly the lard or cottolene. For flat tins to be used for small cakes, brush them lightly with oil; then with a paper or cloth rub them dry, and sprinkle with flour. Jar them so the flour will completely cover them; then turn over the tins, and strike them against the table. All the superfluous flour will fall, leaving the tins lightly coated with flour. This will give a clean surface to the bottom of the cake.

HOW TO BAKE CAKE

Rising. The oven should be only moderately hot at first, so that the cake can get heated through, and can rise before forming a crust; the heat should then be increased, so that when the cake has been in the oven one half the time required for baking a light crust will be formed. It should rise evenly, and be smooth on top. When it rises in a cone in the center it is because the oven is too hot, and a crust has formed on the edges before it has had time to rise. Sometimes it rises on one side, showing the oven is hotter on one side than the other, in which case it should be turned or a screen interposed; but it must be done with the greatest care. Moving or jarring the cake before the air-cells are fixed is almost sure to cause it to fall. Do not open the oven door for the first five minutes, and then open and shut it very gently, so as not to jar the cake. Time. Cake takes from fifteen minutes to an hour to bake, according to its kind and thickness. A hotter oven is needed for a thin cake than for a thick one. It is done when it shrinks from the pan, and makes no singing noise; or when a broom straw run into it comes out clean and smooth. Be sure the cake is done before removing it from the oven. Let it stand a few minutes in the tin, and it will then come out easily. Always handle the cake carefully.

Tests for the oven. The following test for the oven is given by Miss Parloa. Put in a piece of white paper. If at the end of five minutes the paper is a rich yellow color, the oven is right for sponge-cake; if light yellow, it is too cool; if dark brown, too hot. For pound or butter-cakes, it should be light yellow at the end of five minutes. For gingerbreads and thin rolled cakes, it should be dark brown.

MIXING SPONGE-CAKES

Cream the yolks and sugar together. Add the flavoring and water; then fold in the beaten whites, and lastly the flour, sprinkling it in, and lightly folding, not stirring it in. If baking-powder is used, it is mixed with the flour.

MIXING CAKE MADE WITH BUTTER

Rub the butter until it is light and smooth. Add the sugar, and stir until creamy. If there is too much sugar to mix with the butter, beat one half with the yolks of the eggs. Add the beaten yolks to the creamed butter and sugar. (If only a little butter is used melt it, and add it to the yolks and sugar.) Next add the flavoring, and then the milk and flour alternately, until all are in. Beat the batter a few minutes to give it fine grain; then fold in the whipped whites of the eggs lightly. If fruit is used, flour and add it the last thing. Turn it into the pans, and put it at once into a moderate oven.[465-*]

SPONGE-CAKE No. 1

In this cake the beaten whites are added last. The baking-powder mixed with the flour is added to the yolks, sugar, and flavoring. This is a good cake to use for layer-cakes or rolls. It is sufficient for two loaves.

SPONGE-CAKE No. 2

Weigh any number of eggs; take the same weight of sugar and one half the weight of flour; the grated rind and juice of one lemon to five eggs. For mixing this cake, see the directions given [above]; the mixture should be very light and spongy, great care being used not to break down the whipped whites. The oven should be moderate at first, and the heat increased after a time. The cake must not be moved or jarred while baking. The time will be forty to fifty minutes, according to size of loaf. Use powdered sugar for sponge-cake. Rose-water makes a good flavoring when a change from lemon is wanted. Almonds chopped fine mixed in the cake, and also orange rind grated over the cake before it is frosted, are good.

SPONGE-CAKE No. 3

Beat the yolks and sugar together for at least half an hour. It will not be right unless thoroughly beaten; add the lemon, then the whites beaten very stiff, and the flour last; sprinkle the top with sugar. Put it at once into a moderate oven. This is a moist cake and has a thick crust.

WHITE SPONGE, OR ANGEL CAKE

Put the cream of tartar into the flour and sift it five or six times; sift the sugar twice. Put a pinch of salt with the whites of the eggs and whip them very stiff; add the sugar to the whipped whites, placing it on the end of the platter and gradually beating it in from below; add the flour in the same way, and lastly add the flavoring. Do not stop beating after the mixing is begun, and keep the mixture light. Bake it in a perfectly bright ungreased pan, or one lined with paper; a pan with a tube in the center is best. Bake in a moderate oven thirty to forty minutes. Do not move or jar it while it is baking. Try it with a broom-straw before removing it from the oven, and do not let it get too deeply colored. Let it stand in the pan a few minutes, then loosen it around the sides, and it will fall out. Turn the cake upside down and ice the bottom and sides if desired. The usual receipt is double the above quantities, eleven eggs being used, but this one gives a cake large enough to serve six people, and as it should be used while it is very fresh, it is better not to make more than enough to serve once. It can be made with five eggs and is very good, but not quite as spongy. Do not cut the cake, but break it apart with two forks.[467-*]

SUNSHINE CAKE

Make the same as angel cake, adding the beaten yolks of two eggs before putting in the flour.

GENOESE CAKE

Three eggs, and the same weight of butter, of sugar, and of flour. Beat the butter and sugar together until very light and creamy; add one saltspoonful of salt and flavoring (one half teaspoonful of vanilla or almond, or one tablespoonful of brandy); then add the eggs one at a time and beat each one well before adding the next. Beat the mixture for fifteen to twenty minutes; then stir in lightly the sifted flour and turn it into a pan, filling it three quarters full. This cake can be used for layers, rolls, canary pudding, or can be cut into small forms for fancy cakes. Bake slowly about forty minutes.

JELLY ROLLS

Make a layer of Genoese, or of sponge-cake No. 1. Put the mixture on the layer tins in spoonfuls, placing it around the edges; then with a broad knife smooth it over toward the middle, making it as even as possible. Another way is to press it through a pastry bag in lines onto the tins. The layers should be only one half inch thick when baked, and the crust should not be hard. As soon as it is removed from the oven, and before it has had time to cool, cut off the hard edges, spread it with currant, or any jelly or jam, and roll it up evenly; then roll it in a paper and tie, so it will cool in a round, even shape.

LAYER CAKES: CHOCOLATE, VANILLA, COFFEE

Bake Genoese or sponge-cake No. 1 (one half the receipt will give three layers) in round layer tins, using three for each cake; when baked spread two of them with filling and pile them one on the other. Trim the outside with a sharp knife so it will show a white even edge instead of crust. Cover the top with a soft royal icing made of confectioners’ sugar and flavored the same as the filling.

CREAM FILLING

Beat well together the yolks of five eggs, one half cupful of sugar, and one heaping tablespoonful of cornstarch; dilute it with two cupfuls of boiling milk, and stir it over the fire until thickened; then remove, add the flavoring, and let it cool. If coffee flavoring is wanted, use one half black coffee and one half milk. If chocolate, melt three or four ounces and add it to the custard.

CHOCOLATE FILLING

Melt four ounces of chocolate; dilute it with three tablespoonfuls of milk, and then add a cupful of sugar mixed with a well-beaten egg, and stir until thickened.

ORANGE CAKE

Cream the butter; add the sugar, and beat for ten minutes; add the milk, and then add alternately the whipped eggs and the flour, the baking-powder having been sifted with the flour; add the lemon-juice last, and mix all lightly. Bake in layer tins; spread the layers with orange filling and frost the top with royal icing flavored with orange-juice and a little lemon.

ORANGE FILLING

Beat the whites of two eggs to a stiff froth. Boil one and one quarter cupfuls of sugar with one half cupful of water to the small ball (see page [512]). Pour the boiling sugar in a very fine stream onto the whipped whites, beating hard all the time. Add the grated rind and juice of one orange and continue to beat until it is cold and the sugar is stiffened enough to place between the cakes without running.

PISTACHIO CAKE

Make three layers of cake after the receipt given for orange cake. Make a cream filling as directed for layer cakes. Flavor it with orange-flower water and a little bitter almond, to give the flavor of pistachio (see page [391]), and color it a delicate green. Frost the top with a soft royal icing (page [484]) made of confectioners’ sugar; color it a delicate light green and sprinkle the top with chopped pistachio nuts. This cake is rather soft and creamy, and should not be cut before going on the table.

PLAIN CUP CAKE

Beat the butter and sugar to a cream; add the beaten yolks; then add slowly the water and three quarters of the flour. Beat it a long time until very smooth and light; then add the lemon and the rest of the flour in which the baking-powder is mixed; beat well together, and lastly add the whipped whites of the eggs. Bake in gem-pans, putting a tablespoonful of the mixture into each pan. Raisins may be added to this cake, or two ounces of melted chocolate may be used instead of the lemon-juice, making it chocolate cake; or it may be made into spice cakes by using two tablespoonfuls of molasses with enough water to give one cupful of liquid; add also one half teaspoonful each of ground cloves, cinnamon, and allspice, and a few currants if desired; use one teaspoonful of soda instead of the baking-powder if molasses is used. Bake in a moderate oven about one half hour, and see that the cakes rise evenly and are of the same size. Turn them out of the pans bottom side up, and frost the bottom and sides with royal icing while they are still warm. For chocolate or spice cakes, use chocolate icing.

GOLD-AND-SILVER CAKE

Use the receipt given for plain cup cake. Divide the materials; use the whites of the eggs with one part, the yolks and one whole egg with the other. Bake in separate tins; cut before serving; arrange the slices with the two colors alternating on a lace paper.

MARBLE CAKE

Make a mixture as directed for plain cup cake; divide it into three parts; color one with carmine, another with melted chocolate (one ounce), and leave the third one white. Do this quickly, so the baking-powder will not lose its force before going into the oven. Pour the mixtures into a tin, alternating the colors twice; they will run together and make a mottled cake.

RICHER CUP; OR, 1, 2, 3, 4 CAKE

Use one cup of butter, two of sugar, three of flour, and four eggs, and one half teaspoonful of vanilla. Mix as directed for butter-cake mixtures (page [465]).

POUND-CAKE

Use one pound each of butter, sugar, and flour; ten eggs; one quarter teaspoonful of mace and one half cupful of brandy. Mix as directed for butter-cake mixtures. Divide it into two loaves and bake in tins lined with paper forty to fifty minutes in a moderate oven. This cake may be filled with sliced citron and raisins if desired, or may have nuts mixed with it, making a nut cake, or some nuts may be sprinkled over the top before it goes in the oven.

WHITE CAKE

Sift the soda with the flour three times; cream the butter and add the flour to it; whip the eggs to a stiff froth and add the sugar, then beat them gradually into the butter and flour, and add the lemon-juice. When it is thoroughly mixed and smooth put it into a biscuit or flat tin, so it will make a layer one and a half inches thick when done. Bake it in a moderate oven; while it is still warm spread it with royal icing (see page [483]). Before the icing fully hardens, mark two lines down the length of the cake, dividing it into three sections, then across in even lines, giving slices one inch broad and about two and a half inches long; to do this hold over it a straight edge and mark it with the back of a knife. Put into a pastry bag some of the frosting, made a little stiffer with sugar, and place two dots of icing on each slice. This cake may be made with baking-powder, using one teaspoonful and mixing it in the usual way. It will then be a lighter cake and should be baked in a loaf; the first gives a firm, fine-grained cake.

PLAIN FRUIT CAKE

1 ¾ cupful of butter. Cream these together well.
2 cupfuls of granulated sugar.
2 3 eggs.
3 1 teaspoonful of allspice.
½ teaspoonful of grated nutmeg.
⅓ teaspoonful of ground cloves.
¼ teaspoonful of ground mace.
4 1 cupful of milk with ¾ teaspoonful of soda dissolved in it.
5 3 cupfuls of sifted flour with 1 teaspoonful of cream of tartar mixed in it.
6 1 cupful of sliced citron.
2 cupfuls of raisins.

Mix the materials in the order given, beating well each one before the next is added; add part of the flour and the milk at the same time, then the rest of the flour. Flour the fruit and add it last. More fruit can be used if desired. This will make one large or a dozen small cakes. Bake in a moderate oven about one hour if in one cake.

BROD TORTE

Put into a bowl the bread-crumbs, dried and pounded fine, the citron and almonds both chopped fine, the spices and lemon-rind and the chocolate grated fine; mix them thoroughly and evenly together. In a second bowl put the yolks of the nine eggs and whites of five with one and one half cupfuls of sugar. Beat them until quite stiff. In a third bowl put the whites of four eggs; beat them to a stiff froth; then stir in the remaining cupful of sugar. Now gradually and lightly mix the dry ingredients of bowl No. 1 with No. 2; then add the whites from No. 3. Lastly, add the brandy or rum, and quickly put it into the oven to bake for three quarters of an hour. Cover with chocolate icing, and decorate with lines of white icing.

FRUIT CAKE

Mix the fruit together and flour it; mix the spices with the sugar. Cream the butter and sugar; add the beaten yolks, then the whipped whites and the brandy, then the flour, and lastly the fruit. Put the mixture in two large tins lined with double paper, and bake in a moderate oven for three hours. If preferred, add the sliced citron in layers as the mixture is poured into the pans. One pound of chopped almonds may be substituted for one of the pounds of currants. This cake will keep any length of time, therefore the quantity may not be too great to make at one time.

CREAM CAKES AND ÉCLAIRS

These are made of cooked paste, and are very easy to prepare. The cream cakes differ from the éclairs only in form and in not being iced.

CREAM CAKES

Put the water, sugar, salt, and butter in a saucepan on the fire. When the butter is melted remove; add to it the flour, and beat until it is a smooth paste; return it to the fire, and stir vigorously until the paste leaves the sides of the pan; then remove; let it partly cool, and then add the eggs, one at a time, beating each one for some time before adding the next. When all are in, beat until the batter is no longer stringy. It should be consistent enough to hold its shape without spreading when dropped from the spoon on a tin. Three eggs make it about right unless they are very small or the flour very dry. The batter is better if it stands for an hour or two before being used; but this is not essential. Put the mixture into a pastry-bag with a tube of one half inch opening; press the batter through into balls one and a half to two inches in diameter. A spoon can be used, but does not give the cakes as good shape. Brush the tops with egg. Put them in a slack oven and bake slowly for about forty minutes. They will feel light when done, and be puffed very high. Oil and flour the pans or baking-sheets as directed on page [464]. When the puffs are cool make an incision in the side and fill with cream filling as given for layer cakes, page [468]. The whipped whites of the eggs may be added to this filling if it is wanted thinner and lighter.

These cakes are good made very small, filled with jam and a little whipped cream, and the tops dipped in sugar boiled to the crack, then sprinkled with chopped burnt almonds.

CHOCOLATE, VANILLA, AND COFFEE ÉCLAIRS

Make a mixture as for cream cakes; put it into a pastry-bag with a tube of three eighth inch opening. Press the batter onto tins (floured as directed for cream cakes) in strips three and one half inches long, and a little distance apart, the same as lady-fingers. Egg the tops and bake in a slack oven about thirty minutes. Cut open one side and fill with cream filling made the same as for cream cakes. Make a chocolate icing No. 2 (page [485]); dip the éclairs into it, covering them one half. For vanilla or coffee éclairs use fondant icing, page [485]. Flavor the filling with vanilla or coffee, the same as the icing.

CAROLINES

Make small éclairs two inches long, using a tube with opening no larger than a pencil. When baked run a wooden skewer through them, leaving an opening at each end, so the filling will go all the way through. Put the filling in a bag, and press it through the carolines. Cover the top with fondant icing. Have the filling flavored with coffee.

FANCY SMALL CAKES

MERINGUES AND KISSES

Add a half saltspoonful of salt to the whites of three eggs; beat them, and add gradually, while whipping, three quarters of a cupful of powdered sugar. Continue to beat until the mixture is smooth and firm enough to hold its shape without spreading when dropped in a ball; add the flavoring of lemon-juice or any essence. Place the meringue in a pastry-bag and press it through a tube into balls of the size desired onto strips of paper laid on a board that will fit the oven. With a wet knife flatten down the point on top left by the tube, and sprinkle them with sugar. Put them into a very slack oven, and let them dry for at least an hour; then remove from the papers and either press in the bottoms or scoop out the soft center and turn them over to dry inside. If small kisses, it is better to give them plenty of time to dry, so none of the center has to be taken out. They can be removed to the warm shelf if the oven is giving them too much color. They should be only slightly colored on top and dried all the way through. For large meringues to be filled with cream, use one and a half tablespoonfuls of meringue for each piece. Make them an oblong shape. Place them in an oven hot enough for cake and watch them closely until they have formed a light-colored crust; then remove and take out the soft center or press in the bottom, and turn them over to dry inside. These meringues may be dried like the kisses, but take longer time, as they are larger. When a board is not at hand the papers holding the meringues may be laid in biscuit-tins, a second tin placed like a cover over the top, and set on the shelf over the range for several hours. This serves very well where the fire is too great for the ovens to be cool. There is no difficulty in making meringues if the eggs are sufficiently whipped. They soon become stiff when whipped after the sugar is in. They must be dried rather than baked. If the meringues stick to the paper turn them over, slightly moisten the paper, and it will soon come off. Make kisses small and stick two together with white of egg. When very small they are good with a little jam or jelly between them. Large meringues can be filled with ice-cream or with whipped cream just before serving them, and two placed together.

One quarter cupful of powdered sugar is needed for the white of each egg.

LADY-FINGERS

Beat the yolks and sugar to a light cream; add the flavoring. Stir in lightly the flour and then the whites of the eggs whipped very firm; the salt is added to the whites before being whipped. Have a sheet of paper on the baking-pan or sheet. Place the mixture in a pastry-bag, and press it through a tube having an opening one half to three quarter inch wide. Have the strips four and a half inches long. Cut off the paste from the tube with a knife so the ends will be clean; dust them with sugar and bake in a moderate oven ten to twelve minutes, or until a light crust has formed. The crust should not be colored. When done, stick two together, using white of egg.

For Biscuit Balls.—Drop the mixture in balls one half inch in diameter, and bake the same as fingers. Stick two together with a little jam between them.

MACAROONS

Pound the blanched almonds to a paste, adding a teaspoonful of rose-water to keep them from oiling; add also the sugar, a little at a time, while pounding the almonds; add a few drops of almond essence and the whipped whites of the eggs; beat thoroughly together. Drop the mixture in balls one half inch in diameter on strips of paper, using a pastry-bag. If not stiff enough to hold their shapes without spreading, add one tablespoonful of flour.

COCOANUT BALLS OR CONES

Grate a cocoanut; add to it half its weight of sugar; then stir in the whipped white of one egg. Boll the mixture into balls or cones, and bake in a moderate oven twenty to thirty minutes. If the mixture is too soft to hold its shape, add a very little flour.

MADELEINES No. 1

Make two thin layers of Genoese cake (page [467]), flavored with brandy; place them together with a thin layer of jelly or jam between them. Cut the cake into fancy shapes, such as diamonds, squares, circles, and crescents, having them not more than one and a quarter to one and a half inches in diameter, and the same in thickness. Ice them with fondant (see page [485]), flavored with ram, kirsch, or maraschino, or vary the flavor for the different shapes; or, make the cakes of one layer one and a quarter inches thick, and ice them on top and sides with royal icing or with fondant, making it of different colors, pink, green, chocolate, white, and flavor to correspond. Place in the center of each cake a currant, bit of candied cherry, piece of angelica, or almond.

MADELEINES No. 2

Take a sponge-cake No. 1, or a Genoese cake mixture, and make it a little stiffer with flour (enough batter can usually be saved from layer cake to make a few fancy cakes). With a spoon or pastry-bag drop it in balls one half inch in diameter; bake, and place two together with a little jam or jelly between them. Cover them with soft royal icing; have them all of the same color. If green, use pistachio flavor as directed, page [391], and sprinkle the tops with chopped pistachio nuts; if white, with almonds; if pink, leave them plain, and flavor with rose.

LITTLE POUND-CAKES

Use the Genoese mixture with a few currants added, or the plain pound-cake mixture. Bake in small tins one and a half inches in diameter; take care that they rise evenly so they are flat on top. Ice the top only with any kind of icing.

ORANGE QUARTERS

Use the Genoese or any butter-cake mixture, making it quite stiff with flour; flavor it with lemon- and orange-juice, and add a little of the grated rind of orange. Drop a small tablespoonful of the cake mixture at intervals into the tin made for this cake (see [illustration]), and bake in a moderate oven; cover the wedge-shaped sides of the cakes with soft royal icing flavored and colored with orange-juice.

ALMOND WAFERS

Take one tablespoonful each of flour and powdered sugar and one half saltspoonful of salt. Sift them well together. Beat the white of one egg just enough to break it, and add as much of it to the flour and sugar as it will take to make a creamy batter; flavor with a few drops of almond essence. Grease the pans lightly and flour them as directed on page [464]. Drop a half teaspoonful of the paste on the pan, and with a wet finger spread it into a thin round wafer. Bake it in a very moderate oven until the edges are slightly browned, then, before removing from the oven door, lift each wafer, and turn it around a stick. They stiffen very quickly, and the rolling must be done while they are hot.

VENETIAN CAKES

Cream the butter and sugar together until very light; add the yolks well beaten; then the almonds blanched and cut in strips; mix; add the vanilla and stir in lightly the flour. The dough should be rather soft. Take a small piece at a time, drop it in powdered sugar, and roll it between the hands into a ball one inch in diameter. Put a piece of pistachio nut on the top. Place the balls a little distance apart on floured pans (see page [464]), and bake in a moderate oven ten to fifteen minutes, or to a pale color. They will flatten in baking and have the shape of macaroons.

GAUFFRES

This receipt was obtained in Paris, and makes the little cakes one sees for sale at all the French fêtes, and also on the sea-beaches, where the vender calls so cheerily, “Voici les plaisirs.” They are baked in a kind of small waffle-iron. The plaisirs are rolled as soon as taken from the iron.

Add a dash of salt to the whites of six eggs, and whip them to a stiff froth. Put a half pound of flour in a bowl, and add enough water to make a thin batter; flavor it with vanilla, then add the whipped whites of the eggs. Bake one gauffre to see if the batter is of the right consistency. It should be very thin, and water can be added until it is right. Have the iron hot, and grease it well with butter or oil. Pour in the batter, and let it run evenly into all the grooves; close the iron, and bake on both sides over hot coals. The iron must be very clean, smooth, and well greased, or the gauffres will stick. Dredge them with powdered sugar as soon as baked.

JUMBLES, COOKIES, AND PLAIN CAKES

JUMBLES

Beat to a cream one cupful of butter with two cupfuls of sugar. Add three eggs, the yolks and whites beaten separately; then the flavoring. Stir in lightly enough flour to make a paste just firm enough to roll thin. Cut it into circles, and with a smaller cutter stamp out a small circle in the middle, leaving the jumbles in rings. Place them in a floured pan, brush the tops with white of egg, and sprinkle with pounded loaf sugar. The sugar should be in small lumps. Bake in a moderate oven to a light color.

SAND TARTS

Make the mixture given for jumbles. Cut it into squares or diamonds, place them in floured pans, brush the top with white of egg. Sprinkle with granulated sugar mixed with ground cinnamon. Place a piece of blanched almond in the center of each one.

ROLLED JUMBLES

Make a mixture as directed for jumbles, using only enough flour to make a thin batter. Drop a teaspoonful of batter for each cake on a floured pan. In the oven it runs out into a thin cake, so leave plenty of room for the batter to spread. As soon as the edges begin to brown lift the cakes, and at the oven door roll them around a stick. Leave them in the oven a few moments longer to dry.

PLAIN COOKIES

Mix in the order given. Use enough flour to roll the dough thin. Cut it into circles, and bake in a moderate oven. Brush the tops with white of egg, and sprinkle them with sugar. Caraway seeds may be mixed with the dough, or sprinkled over the tops if liked. For soft cookies do not roll the dough so thin. Stamp them out with a fluted cutter, and remove them from the oven as soon as baked, not leaving them to dry as for crisp cookies.

GINGER SNAPS

Put a half cupful of butter and a cupful of molasses on the fire; as soon as the butter is softened remove them, and add a half cupful of brown sugar, a teaspoonful of ginger, and a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little hot water; then mix in enough flour to make a stiff dough. Roll it very thin, and stamp it into circles.

CRULLERS

Beat three eggs together; add four tablespoonfuls of sugar and four tablespoonfuls of melted butter or lard; then enough flour to make a dough stiff enough to roll. Roll it a quarter of an inch thick. Cut it into pieces three and a half inches long and two inches broad. Cut two slits in each piece, and give each one a twist. Fry the crullers in hot fat, the same as doughnuts.

DOUGHNUTS

Roll the dough one inch thick. Cut it into small circles, or rings, or strips and twist them. Drop the cakes into smoking hot fat, and fry to light brown; drain, and roll them in powdered sugar while still warm.

BREAD CAKE

Take a piece of raised bread-dough large enough for one loaf. Mix into it one tablespoonful of butter, one cupful each of sugar, raisins, and currants; one half teaspoonful each of ground cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Let it rise, which will take some time, and bake the same as bread.

ONE-EGG CAKE

Cream together a half cupful of butter and a cupful of sugar. Add a cupful of milk, and one beaten egg; then two cupfuls of flour mixed with two teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. Bake in a moderate oven.

WARREN’S CAKE

Beat the yolks and whites of the eggs together well, add the sugar, then the flour, in which the baking-powder is mixed, and lastly the water. Put it into the oven at once.

MOLASSES WAFERS

Mix well together one cupful of butter, one cupful of sugar, two cupfuls of molasses, and two cupfuls of flour. Drop a few spoonfuls into a pan, in different places, and put it in the oven; it will melt and run together. Let it bake until it begins to harden on the edges; then remove, cut it into squares, and while it is still hot and soft roll each piece around a stick.

SOFT GINGERBREAD

Add the melted butter to the molasses, then the spices. Dissolve the soda in the boiling water, and stir it into the molasses. Add enough flour to make a very soft dough—too soft to roll. Bake in a biscuit-tin lined with paper, in a moderate oven, for thirty-five minutes. Mix it quickly and put it into the oven at once.

MOLASSES CAKE

Put together two cupfuls of New Orleans molasses and one cupful of butter, and heat them enough to soften the butter; remove from the fire, and add a teaspoonful each of powdered ginger and cinnamon, and one half teaspoonful of cloves, then three well-beaten eggs. When it is well mixed add alternately, in small quantities, three cupfuls of flour and one cupful of boiling water in which have been dissolved three teaspoonfuls of baking soda.

ICING AND DECORATING CAKES

ROYAL ICING

Place the white of an egg in a bowl or plate. Add a little lemon-juice or other flavoring, and a few drops of water. Stir in powdered sugar until it is of the right consistency to spread. While the cake is still warm pile the icing on the center of the cake, and with a wet knife smooth it over the top and sides of the cake. It will settle into a smooth and glossy surface. If the icing is prepared before the cake is ready, cover it with a wet cloth, as it quickly hardens. If it becomes too stiff add a few drops of water, and stir it again. Color and flavor as desired. One egg will take about a cupful of sugar, and will make enough icing to cover one cake. If a little more is needed add a little water to the egg, and it will then take more sugar. When icing is wanted for decorating a cake, beat the whites to a froth, then beat in the sugar instead of stirring it, and continue to beat until it is firm enough to hold its form. Stirring more sugar into the unwhipped whites will make it firm enough for decorating, but the whipped icing is better. Put it into a pastry-bag with small tube, or into a paper funnel, and press it through into any shapes desired. A good icing is made of milk and sugar alone.

ROYAL ICING WITH CONFECTIONER’S SUGAR

Make this icing the same as the other, using confectioner’s sugar, which is finer than the powdered sugar, and use a little water with the egg. This makes a soft, creamy icing; the more water used, the softer it will be. If beaten instead of stirred it will become firm enough to hold in place without so much sugar being used, but in this way it dries sooner and is not so creamy. This is a good icing for layer cakes, fancy cakes, and éclairs.

BOILED ICING No. 1

Put a cupful of sugar into a saucepan with one quarter cupful of boiling water and a half saltspoonful of cream of tartar; stir till dissolved, then let it boil without stirring until it threads when dropped from the spoon. Turn it in a fine stream onto the white of one egg whipped to a stiff froth. Beat the egg until the mixture becomes smooth and stiff enough to spread, but do not let it get too cold. Pour it over the cake.

BOILED ICING No. 2

Boil sugar as directed above to the soft ball; then remove from the fire, add the flavoring, and stir it until it looks clouded, and turn it at once over the cake.

CHOCOLATE ICING No. 1

Melt in a dry saucepan some chocolate; dilute it with a little water and add enough powdered or confectioner’s sugar to make it of the right consistency. Use it while warm, as chocolate quickly hardens. Flavor it with vanilla.

CHOCOLATE ICING No. 2

Melt in a dry pan four ounces of Baker’s chocolate, or of cocoa. Boil one and three quarter cupfuls of sugar with a cupful of water till it threads when dropped from the spoon, the same as for boiled icing. Turn it slowly onto the chocolate, stirring all the time. Use this icing for dipping éclairs and small cakes, and for layer cakes. Chocolate icing loses its gloss when at all stale.

CHOCOLATE ICING No. 3

Melt one ounce of chocolate; dilute it with two tablespoonfuls of milk; add two tablespoonfuls of sugar and a quarter teaspoonful of butter; stir till smooth and spread on the cake.

ICING FOR SMALL CAKES

Stir into confectioner’s sugar enough syrup of thirty degrees (see page [513]) to dissolve it; add fruit-juice or liqueur to flavor it. When ready to use, heat it, stirring all the time, and stand it in a pan of hot water while the cakes are dipped into it.

COFFEE ICING FOR ÉCLAIRS

Make the same as the one given above, using very strong coffee or coffee essence to color and flavor it. Use enough sugar to make a soft flowing icing, and dip the cakes into it while it is hot.

FONDANT ICING

This is the best of all icings. It is soft and glossy, and is used especially for small cakes and éclairs. If the fondant is already made, it gives very little trouble. To make fondant see page [514]. It will keep in tight preserve jars any length of time. Fondant does not work so well after it has been melted two or three times, therefore it is better to take only the amount to be used for one flavor or color at a time. Place it in a cup and stand it in a pan of boiling water. Stir the fondant constantly while it is melting, or it will become a clear liquid. It will soften at a low degree of heat; add the flavoring and coloring and dip the cakes into it. If it becomes too hard, add a few drops of syrup at thirty-four degrees (see page [513]). When liqueurs are used for flavoring, add a drop or two at a time only, or they will dilute it too much. Should this occur, add a little more fondant to the cup. Maraschino, curaçao, kirsch, orange-flower water, rose, almond, and coffee essences make good flavorings for fancy-cake icings.

GARNISHING CAKES

WITH POWDERED SUGAR

The simplest of all garnishings is to sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar; strips of paper can be laid over the cake before it is dusted, so as to give lines or squares of white over the top; In lines or squares. stencils for this purpose are easily cut, giving circles or diamonds.

WITH CHOPPED NUTS

Almonds, walnuts, or pistachio nuts. Brush the cake with white of egg and then sprinkle with nuts chopped or sliced fine; or the cake may be lightly coated with a red jelly or jam, and then sprinkled with chopped nuts.

WITH COLORED SUGARS

Cover the cake with royal icing, and before it hardens sprinkle it with red and green colored sugar (see page [393]). It may be put on in dots or sprinkled evenly over the whole.

WITH TWO COLORS

Loaf cake may be iced in sections of alternate colors. To do this, place a strip of stiff paper upright between the colors while spreading them, and remove it carefully as soon as the icing is on. This will give a clean, sharp line. Cakes iced with chocolate or with boiled icing may be ornamented with fine lines of royal icing.

TO DECORATE IN DESIGNS

Place royal icing in a pastry bag having a tube with small opening. Press the icing through slowly, following any design one may have in view. Points may be pricked in the flat icing at regular intervals as a guide. It requires some practice to acquire the facility for making very elaborate designs, but straight lines, dots, and circles around the cake are easy to make, and with these a great variety of combinations can be made. Tubes of various-shaped openings are made to give different forms to the icing pressed through them. To practise elaborate designs. If one cares to practise making fancy decorations, draw a design on a paper or slab and follow the lines with icing; scrape off the icing when it is done, and repeat the operation until familiar enough with the design to be able to make it without a guide.

[465-*] Cake made with butter needs to have the dough quite thick with flour, as the butter when melted acts as a wetting.

[467-*] If baked too fast this cake will be tough. It is well to set the cake-pan in a pan of water in the oven.

Chapter XXII
FROZEN DESSERTS

ICE-CREAMS, WATER-ICES, PARFAITS, MOUSSES, FROZEN FRUITS, PUNCHES, AND SHERBETS

Frozen desserts are the most acceptable of any that can be presented in the summer-time, and at any season they are served and expected at dinner entertainments.

Comparative trouble and expense. The trouble of making them is not greater than that of making any dessert of the same class, and the expense no more than any dessert using the same amount of eggs and cream; thus a plain ice-cream is the same as a custard, a mousse the same as whipped cream, etc.

Parfaits are especially delicious creams, and as they require no stirring while freezing are very quickly and easily made. The freezing of ice-creams which require stirring is accomplished in twenty to twenty-five minutes, and is much easier work than beating eggs for cake. In fact, the whole process of making ice-creams is easier than that of making cake, but the latter is so generally practised that nothing is thought of it. It will be the same with ice-cream if the habit is once formed. They have the advantage over hot desserts that they require no attention at dinner-time.

CLASSIFICATION OF ICE-CREAMS

Philadelphia ice-creams are cream sweetened, flavored, and stirred while freezing.

French ice-creams are custards of different degrees of richness stirred while freezing.

Parfaits, biscuits, and mousses are whipped cream, with or without eggs, frozen without stirring.

Water-ices are fruit-juices sweetened with sugar syrup, stirred while freezing.

Punches and sherbets are water-ices with liquors mixed with them either before or after they are frozen.

Fancy creams. These creams, in different degrees of richness and with different flavorings, give an infinite variety, and their combinations and forms of molding give all the fancy ices.

GENERAL RULES FOR MAKING ICE-CREAMS—TO PREPARE ICE-CREAM MIXTURES

The cream. Unless the cream is to be whipped it should be scalded, as it then gives a smoother and better ice; otherwise it has a raw taste. It is scalded as soon as the water in the outside kettle boils. If the cream is too much cooked it will not increase in bulk when stirred, therefore do not boil the cream. When whipped cream is used it should be very cold, whipped to a stiff, firm froth with a wire whip, and the liquid which drains from it should not be used. (See whipping cream, page [408].)

The sugar. Ices are much better when the sugar is added in the form of syrup. (See sugar syrup, page [503]; and boiling syrup, page [513].) Frozen fruits are smoother when sweetened with syrup, and water-ices should be made of a thick syrup diluted with fruit-juice to 20° on the syrup gauge.

Custards In custard creams the milk should be scalded, and when a little cool stirred into the beaten yolks (the whites of the eggs are not generally used). The whole is then placed on the fire, and stirred continually until it coats the spoon no longer. The flavoring is then added, and it is beaten until cold. This makes it light and smooth, and increases its bulk.

Biscuits and parfaits. For biscuits and parfaits the custard is made of sugar syrup and yolks of eggs cooked together until it coats the spoon, and is then beaten until cold.

Freezing. Freezing.—Put the ice in a strong cloth or bag, and pound it quite fine. The finer the ice the quicker will be the freezing. Snow may be used in place of ice. Use one part of rock salt (fine salt will not do) to three parts of ice. Rock salt can be had at feed-stores when not found at grocers'. Place the can in the freezing pail with the pivot of the can in the socket of the pail, have the cover on the can, and a cork in the opening on top. Hold the can straight, and fill around it three inches deep of ice; then an inch of salt. Alternate the layers of ice and salt, observing the right proportions, until the packing rises to within an inch of the top of the can; pack it down as solid as possible. See that the can will turn, and be careful not to lift it out of the socket. Take off the top of the can; put in the paddle, placing the pivot in the socket at the bottom; then pour in carefully the ice-cream mixture, which must be perfectly cold. Time. Adjust the tops and crank, and turn it for twenty to twenty-five minutes, by which time the cream should be frozen. The crank turns harder when the mixture has stiffened, and it is not necessary to look in order to know it is frozen. If the cream is frozen too quickly it will be coarse-grained. To have it fine-grained it must be turned constantly, and not frozen in less time than twenty minutes.

Packing.—When the cream is frozen take off the crank and the top of the pail. Wipe carefully the top of the can, and see that the ice and salt are well below the lid, so none will get into the cream; lift off the top, take out the paddle, and with a spoon or wooden spatula work down the cream. Adding fruit, nuts, cream, etc. If fruit, whipped cream, or anything is to be added to the cream, put it in at this time and work it well together. If the cream is to be molded, remove and place it in the molds; if not, smooth the top, and make the cream compact with a potato masher. Replace the top, put a cork in the opening of the lid, draw off the water in the pail by removing the cork from the hole in the side of the pail, add more ice and salt. Cover it with a heavy cloth, and let it stand until ready to use. Ripening. The cream ripens or becomes blended by standing, so should be made before the time for serving. Look at it occasionally to see that the water does not rise above the opening of the can. If properly watched, and if the packing is renewed as required, the cream can be kept for any length of time.

Molding. Molding Ice-Creams.—Put the frozen ice-cream into the mold, filling it entirely full; press it down to force out any air bubbles. Rub butter around the edge where the lid fits on. Lay a wet thin paper over the top, and put on the lid. Fill the edges around the lid with butter or lard. Precaution. This will harden, and make the joints tight. Too much care cannot be taken to prevent the salt water leaking into the mold. Imbed the mold in ice and salt for from one to six hours. Mousses require four to six hours, and parfaits two to three hours. Watch to see that the water does not rise above the lid of the mold, and draw it off when necessary.

Fancy Molding.—When two or more kinds of creams are to be combined in the same mold, first place the mold in ice and salt; line it an inch or more thick with one kind of cream, and fill the center with a cream of different flavor and color. Bombs. These are called bombs. Or, place two or more kinds in even layers.
Panachée. Where two colors are used they are panachée; if three, they are neapolitan.
Neapolitan. If the colors are to run in vertical strips, which is desirable in pyramidal molds, cut a piece of stiff paper or cardboard to the shape of the mold; fill each side with a different cream, and then withdraw the paper. Arrange layers of creams so that when unmolded the most solid one will be at the bottom, as it has the weight of the others to sustain; for instance, do not put water-ices or parfaits under French creams. Individual creams. Biscuits are put into paper boxes, and individual creams into lead molds. The latter must be thoroughly chilled, then filled according to fancy or color suitable to the form. Freezing box. They are then closed, and put into a freezing-box, or into a pail, the joints of the pail tightly sealed with butter, and packed in ice and salt. A freezing-box with shelves is desirable to have for these creams, but a lard-pail answers very well for a small number of molds, as the lid fits over the outside, and so can be made tight. Molds packed in this way require to stand longer than those which come in direct contact with the ice and salt.

Decorating. The individual creams have to be frozen very hard, and when unmolded should be brushed with a little color to simulate the fruit or flower they represent. Thus, a peach or a pear would be of French cream, which is yellow in color, and the sides brushed with a little diluted cochineal to give pink cheeks, and a piece of angelica stuck in to represent a stem. A flower would be molded in white cream, and the center made yellow. A mushroom stem would be dipped in powdered cocoa, etc.

Individual creams are perhaps too difficult for an amateur to undertake, and hardly repay the trouble when so many ornamental creams are more easily made.

Unmolding. To Unmold Creams.—Dip the mold into cold water; wipe it dry and invert it on the dish. If it does not come out at once let it stand a moment, or wring a cloth out of warm water, and wipe quickly around the mold. This must be done quickly, or the sharp edges of the molded cream will be destroyed. With parfaits and mousses it is better not to use a hot cloth, as they melt very easily. It destroys the attractiveness of ices to have the dish swimming in melted cream, or to have the mold soft and irregular in shape, which partial melting produces. Hence the unmolding of creams requires great care.

Ornamental Creams.—A plain ring-mold of ice-cream in any color can be made an ornamental cream, by filling the center with berries or with whipped cream for sauce. The whipped cream may be colored to give pleasing contrast. For instance, a white ice-cream-ring filled with pink whipped cream and a few pink roses laid on one side of the dish, or a ring of pistachio ice-cream filled with white whipped cream or with strawberries, and a bunch of green leaves laid on one side of the dish.

Melon cream. A melon mold may be lined with pistachio ice-cream, the center filled with pink ice-cream mixed with a few small chocolates to represent seeds, or with French ice-cream, which is yellow, and mixed with blanched almonds. The surface of the melon when unmolded is sprinkled with chopped browned almonds to simulate a rind. This dish may be garnished with leaves.

Spun sugar. Spun sugar can be employed to ornament any form of cream. It may be spread over or be laid around it, and makes a beautiful decoration.

Individual Creams, representing eggs or snow-balls, can be served in a nest of spun sugar. Glacé grapes or oranges can be arranged on the same dish with individual creams representing peaches and pears, the whole lightly covered with a little spun sugar.

Combinations. Individual ice-creams, representing roses, can be held by artificial stems, stuck into a rice socle, with natural roses and leaves interspersed, giving the effect of a bouquet.

Individual creams are also served in baskets of nougat or of pulled candy. The baskets can be ornamented by tying a bunch of roses with a ribbon on the handle.

Individual creams representing strawberries are served on flat baskets, or piled on a flat dish and trimmed with natural leaves.

Forms of ice-cream representing animals and vegetables are in questionable taste, and are not recommended.

Attention is called to the following creams given in the receipts, which are especially good:

The coffee and the chocolate pralinée.

The white ice-cream, plain or mixed with candied or preserved chestnuts, or with candied fruits cut into dice.

The maple parfait, which is quite new.

Fruit ice No. 2. Chocolate mousse.

Maraschino, curaçao, and noyau make delicious flavorings for cream.