—Take a deep, oval dish as for a pot-pie, and large enough to hold three pints. Pare off the crust of half a loaf of stale American bread, and cut it into slices the third of an inch thick; butter them well with melted butter, and with them line the dish. Put in a vessel six ounces of currants, prepared as for [No. 1080], two whole eggs, a pint of cold milk, four ounces of powdered sugar, and grate in the rind of a medium-sized lemon, adding its juice. Mix well together with a spatula for two minutes, then pour it into the lined dish, and place it in a moderate oven to cook for thirty minutes. Take it from the oven, lay it on another dish, and serve very hot.
1133. Cream Sauce.
—Put a pint of milk to boil in a saucepan on the stove. Break into a vessel two whole raw eggs, add one ounce of flour, half an ounce of corn-starch, and three ounces of powdered sugar, beating the whole well together with a spatula for three minutes. If the milk be boiling, add it gradually to the preparation, stirring continually for two minutes, return the whole to the saucepan, place it on the stove, and stir briskly till it comes to a boil, then remove, and add immediately a teaspoonful of vanilla flavoring. Strain the sauce through a sieve into a sauce-bowl, and serve.
1134. Cold Maraschino Pudding.
—Put in a copper basin a quarter of a pound of powdered sugar, two whole raw eggs, and grate in the rind of a quarter of a medium-sized lemon, and with a pastry whip beat the whole sharply for two minutes; put the basin on a very moderate fire, then beat it vigorously for five minutes more. Remove it from the fire, lay the basin on a table, continue beating slowly for two minutes longer, then give the whip a sharp shake, so that all that adheres to it falls into the basin. Now add a quarter of a pound of flour, and with a wooden spoon mix slowly and carefully the whole for two minutes. Cover a pastry baking-pan with a sheet of brown paper, pour the paste over it, spread out to the thickness of half an inch; put it into a moderate oven, and let bake for fifteen minutes, then take it out, let cool for another fifteen minutes, and remove from the pan. Place it on a table upside down, remove the paper, and with a knife cut it into small, square, dice-shaped pieces, mixing with them one ounce of dried currants, as for [No. 1080], and one ounce of finely chopped candied citron.
Butter and sugar well six small pudding-molds, each capable of containing one and a half gills. Fill them equally with the above preparation, then put in a vessel four ounces of powdered sugar with two raw eggs; beat well with a pastry-whip for two minutes, then add a pint of cold milk, mixing again for one minute, strain through a sieve into another vessel, add half a teaspoonful of lemon essence, and stir lightly for one minute more. Pour this slowly over the puddings, a little each time, so as to give the necessary opportunity for it to absorb; lay them on a tin pan, filled to half the height of the molds with warm but not boiling water, then place in a moderate oven to steam for thirty minutes; remove them from the pan, and lay them in a cool place for one hour, afterwards leaving them in the ice-box until ready to serve. Take a pint of whipped cream, as for [No. 1254], put it in a vessel, mixing in for two minutes half a gill of good maraschino, and leave it in the ice-box until ready; then prepare a cold dessert-dish. Run a thin knife down each pudding separately, from top to bottom, pass it carefully around the mold, so as to detach them easily. Pour the maraschino sauce over, and send to the table immediately.
1135. Cold Pudding à Porfirio Diaz.
—Prepare six small puddings exactly the same as for [No. 1134], only substituting sauce à la Diaz ([No. 1136]) for the maraschino sauce.
1136. Sauce à la Diaz.
—Put into a saucepan half a pint of Jamaica rum, three ounces of granulated sugar, half a split vanilla-bean, grate in the rind of a medium-sized orange, and add a gill of Marcella wine. Place the pan on the stove, and as soon as the liquid catches fire put on the cover, and let boil for one minute only. Set the pan on one side to allow it to infuse for five minutes, then strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, transfer it to a jar, cover tightly, and let cool off thoroughly. When ready to serve, pour the sauce over the puddings, distributing it evenly, and then send to the table.