Floating Island
1 quart milk
4 eggs
4 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup currant jelly
2 teaspoons vanilla or almond extract
Scald milk; beat egg yolks; stir in sugar and salt; add hot milk gradually, mixing well. Cook slowly in saucepan until mixture begins to thicken, stirring continually. Cool, flavor and put into dish. Make meringue of whites whipped until dry, and into which jelly has been beaten, a teaspoon at a time, and heap on top; or drop meringue by spoonfuls on top of custard and put small pieces of jelly in center of each. Chill and serve.
Huckleberry or Blueberry Float
1 cup berries
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons Royal Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon shortening
1/2 cup milk
Pick over and wash berries; put into small saucepan with half cup of water, and bring quickly to boil; add sugar and boil 5 minutes. Sift flour, baking powder and salt; mix in shortening very lightly; add milk slowly. Take a teaspoonful at a time in floured hands and roll into balls. Place on floured pie tin; brush with cold milk and bake about 12 minutes in hot oven. While warm break in half; butter each biscuit; put into dish and pour berries over. Serve hot with hard sauce.
Christmas Plum Pudding
2 cups ground suet
2 cups bread crumbs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons Royal Baking Powder
2 cups sugar
2 cups seeded raisins
2 cups currants
1 cup finely cut citron
1 cup finely cut figs
1 tablespoon finely cut orange peel
1 tablespoon finely cut lemon peel
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup water
1 cup grape or other fruit juice
Mix thoroughly all dry ingredients and add fruit; stir in water and fruit juice and mix thoroughly. Add more water if necessary to make stiff dough. Fill greased molds 2/3 full, and steam five or six hours. This pudding should be prepared and cooked a week or more before used. Before serving steam one hour and serve with hard, lemon or foamy sauce.
Cream Puffs
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 teaspoons Royal Baking Powder
Heat water and shortening in saucepan until it boils up well; add all at once flour sifted with salt and stir vigorously. Remove from fire as soon as mixed, cool, and mix in unbeaten eggs, one at a time; add baking powder; mix and drop by spoonfuls 1-1/2 inches apart on greased tin; shape into circular form with wet spoon. Bake about 25 minutes in hot oven. Cut with sharp knife near base to admit filling.
CREAM FILLING
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn starch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 cups scalded milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix dry ingredients; add slightly beaten egg and stir into this gradually the scalded milk. Cook about 15 minutes in double boiler, stirring constantly until thickened. Cool slightly and flavor.
Sweetened whipped cream may be used instead of this filling.
Steamed Fig Pudding
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons Royal Baking Powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or lemon extract
1-1/2 cups chopped figs
Cream shortening; add sugar slowly and beaten egg; add milk; mix well; add flour, baking powder and salt, which have been sifted together; add flavoring and figs. Pour into greased pudding mold and steam for two hours. Serve with foamy sauce.
Prune Puff
4 eggs
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup cooked prunes
Whip egg whites to stiff froth; add sugar slowly, beating continually; add prunes which have been stoned and chopped; whip until very light. Bake in pudding dish in moderate oven about 10 minutes. Serve cold with soft custard made from yolks of eggs (see recipe for Floating Island, [page 24]).
Other soft fruits may be used in the same way served hot with sauce or whipped cream.
Lemon Jelly
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon granulated gelatine
1/4 cup lemon juice
Boil sugar and water two or three minutes; add gelatine which has been soaked in two tablespoons cold water, stirring constantly; add lemon juice. Chill in mold which has been dipped in cold water and serve.
Fruit may be molded in the jelly by chilling part of mixture, adding fruit, then jelly; chilling and so on until mold is filled.
Jelly Roll
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons Royal Baking Powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 tablespoons hot water
currant or other jelly
Sift dry ingredients; stir in beaten eggs; add hot water slowly; beat until smooth; pour into large well greased pan. Batter should be spread very thin and not more than 1/4 inch thick when baked. Bake in moderate oven 8 to 10 minutes. Turn out on sheet of brown paper; beat jelly with fork and spread on cake. With sharp knife trim off all crusty edges and roll up while still warm by lifting one side of paper. To keep roll perfectly round, wrap in slightly damp cloth until cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Pudding Sauces
Hard Sauce
1/2 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon flavoring extract
Cream butter until very light; add sugar very slowly, beating until light and creamy. Add flavoring and beat again.