[537]. Beignets of Apples. Pare, cut in round quarters, and remove the core and pips of ten apples. Put half a pound of flour in a bowl, in which break three eggs; mix them well with the flour, and add a little water, so as to make rather a liquid paste, but sufficiently solid to adhere to the apples, which dip into the paste, covering them entirely. Put some lard in a frying-pan, in which, when very hot, fry your apples. When a bright yellow, drain them, sprinkle them with sugar, and serve hot. Beignets of peaches are prepared in the same manner.
[538]. Beignets de Crême à la Vanille. Put in a saucepan four eggs, two ounces of corn starch, four ounces of sugar, and stir all well together; add a pint of milk, a teaspoonful of vanilla, place on the fire, stirring with a wooden spoon until boiling, and pour into a pan which you have buttered. Let it become cold, then cut it into pieces an inch wide and three inches long. Make a paste as for the foregoing article, in which dip your mixture (which you have cut in pieces), and fry in very hot lard. When colored a bright yellow, drain them, sprinkle them with sugar, and serve.
[539]. Beignets Soufflés. Make a paste as for éclairs (Art. 547), adding a teaspoonful of extract of vanilla. Put some lard in a frying-pan, which, when melted, should be about two and a half inches high in your pan, and, when very hot, take with a spoon some pieces of your paste about the size of a nut, drop them in your lard, and fry them a bright yellow; drain them, roll them in powdered sugar, and serve.
[540]. Almond Puddings. Blanch and chop fine a quarter of a pound of almonds, which mix thoroughly together with two ounces of flour, four ounces of powdered sugar, and two ounces of corn starch. Separate the whites and yolks of eight eggs. Beat the yolks well, flavor them with vanilla, and mix together with the above ingredients. Then beat the whites very stiff, and stir them in thoroughly with the rest. Butter some little tin timbale-molds, which nearly fill with the mixture, cover with buttered paper, and place them in a pan in which you have put enough water to reach about three quarters of the height of the timbale-molds, and send to a moderate oven for about three quarters of an hour, or until done, of which you may judge by inserting a straw in the cake, and, if it comes out clean, it is sufficiently done. Remove the cake from the molds. Serve with the following sauce: With a small coffee-cup full of currant jelly, to which add about the same quantity of claret, add a little sugar, a very little stick cinnamon, and a little nutmeg. Strain, and serve hot. Obs.—This pudding, instead of the almonds, may be made with macaroons (about twelve), which should be well browned in the oven, and then crushed fine with a rolling-pin, and mixed with the flour, etc., in the same order as described for the almonds.
[541]. Baked Custard. Break eight eggs in a bowl, to which add half a pound of sugar, a quart of milk, two tablespoonfuls of vanilla, and a sherry-glass of brandy. Mix all well together, strain, put in a deep dish, and send to a gentle oven for about forty minutes, or until well colored on top. Serve very cold.
[542]. Boiled Custard. Put in a saucepan twelve eggs, to which mix gradually a pint and a half of milk; add half a pound of sugar, a tablespoonful of vanilla, and a sherry-glass of rum. Put on the fire, stirring with an egg-beater until beginning to thicken, then remove the custard from the fire, not having allowed it to boil. Strain, and stir until nearly cold. Serve very cold.
[543]. Trifles. Soak some sponge cake in sherry, put it on a dish, place a layer of raspberry jam on top, which cover entirely with whipped cream, to which add some powdered sugar, and flavor with vanilla.
[544]. Brioche. Take a quarter of a pound of flour, make a hollow in the center, in which put half of a cake of yeast, and moisten with a little tepid water (about two ounces) until the paste is soft, then put it in a saucepan, and leave it in rather a warm place. Then put three quarters of a pound of flour on a table, make a hollow in the center of the flour, in which put a pinch of sugar, seven eggs, one by one, mixing each thoroughly with the flour before adding another, and three quarters of a pound of butter, little by little, mixing it thoroughly with the flour and eggs. Then see if your yeast has risen twice its height; and if so, add it to your paste, which put in a warm place eight hours; after which sprinkle a little flour on a table, form your paste into balls of about two ounces each, brush them over with beaten egg, send them to a hot oven, and, when well colored, remove from the oven.
[545]. Pâté à Brioche Panachée. Take half the quantity of the foregoing paste, roll it out half an inch thick, on top of which place a layer of peach marmalade, and send to the oven for about ten minutes; then sprinkle on top of the marmalade an ounce of currants, previously washed and dried, about twenty blanched almonds cut in small pieces, and a little citron, also cut in small pieces. Then divide your brioche in pieces three inches long and an inch wide. Serve cold.