—Mix a quarter of a pound of sifted flour in a small basin, with half a pint of lukewarm water, to which three-quarters of an ounce of fresh butter has been added. Place in a saucepan, which should be tilted on the range so that when the water boils the butter can be skimmed off the top. Add, if necessary, a little more water to make a soft paste, beating well with a spatula, to keep it free from lumps, and of a proper consistence; it must be gray and compact-looking. Add just a little warm water to render the paste soft and diluted, although sufficiently thick to cover the objects for which it is intended; that means, it must drop easily from the spoon. Add to this half a pinch of salt and two egg-whites; beat well together for one minute, and use at once.
1191. Apple Fritters.
—Take three medium-sized, fine, sound apples; peel and core them neatly. Cut each into six equal round slices. Place them in a vessel; pour over a gill of good brandy, add a light saltspoonful of ground cinnamon, and let all steep for two hours. Strain them through a fine sieve, being careful to keep them whole, and saving the liquid for further use. Prepare a fritter batter, as for [No. 1190], dip each slice separately into it, and with a spoon, drop them singly into very hot but not boiling lard, being careful to remove them with a skimmer as soon as they are of a good golden color. Two minutes will be sufficient to have them properly done. Then lay them on a clean cloth, to dry off the grease. Arrange a folded napkin on a hot dessert-dish; arrange the fritters on it, and leave it at the oven door for two minutes. Dredge about an ounce of powdered sugar over, and serve.
1192. Fritters Soufflés à la Vanille.
—Infuse in a saucepan half of a vanilla-bean in half a pint of boiling milk, and reduce it to half. Remove the vanilla-bean, and put in one ounce of good butter. Let it come to a boil, then add two ounces of sifted flour, and with the spatula stir briskly, to form a paste so stiff that it will no longer adhere to the saucepan. Remove it to another vessel. Add one ounce of powdered sugar, two egg yolks, and half a saltspoonful of salt. Beat the white of one egg to a stiff froth, and mix it in with half a spoonful of whipped cream ([No. 1254]); this will form a consistent paste. Roll it on a floured board, besprinkle lightly with flour, and cut out pieces the size of a walnut. With a skimmer drop them into very hot but not boiling fat. Cook quickly for three minutes, until they are a fine golden color. Arrange upon a folded napkin, and serve with powdered sugar sifted over.
1193. Pound Cake.
—Put in a vessel half a pound of butter, with half a pound of powdered sugar. Grate in the rind of half a lemon, and with the hand knead well for twenty minutes. Break into a plate five whole raw eggs; add gradually and carefully, kneading sharply with the hand for ten minutes longer. Now add half a pound of well-sifted flour, mixing the whole slowly and thoroughly for five minutes more. Butter a two-quart, round cake-mold, and line it with brown paper at the bottom and sides. Fill it with the preparation, and put it in a slow oven to bake for fully one hour. Remove, and let cool off for about two hours. Unmold, detach the paper, and lay it on a pastry wire-grate. Glaze the top and sides with a preparation as for vanilla éclairs ([No. 1245]). Lay the cake on a dessert-dish with a fancy white paper. Prepare three ounces of candied cherries, two ounces of angelica, two ounces of red and the same of white pears, both candied; cut the cherries in two, the angelica lozenge-shaped, and the pears each in six parts (except one white one, which is kept whole), keeping the fruits all separate. Place the whole pear on top of the cake in the centre, stem upward. Then decorate thus: at the base of the pear lay two slices of red pear, carefully, one against the other on one side. Repeat on the other side, and arrange in the same way two slices of the white pear in the middle of the space on one side, and two more slices opposite. Now cover the four empty spaces nearest the pear with half a cherry each, and arrange four angelica lozenges in the empty place at the end of the layers of pear. Then on each of the four angelica points lay half a cherry. Begin decorating the edge of the cake all around in a crown-shape with one angelica lozenge, putting near the point one half cherry, then another lozenge, and continue the same all around until joined. Arrange the remaining slices of pear in the empty space near the border, and it will be ready to send to the table.
1194. Wedding Cake.
—Place in a large bowl one pound of powdered sugar and one pound of well-washed butter. Grate in the rind of two lemons; and with the hand knead well for ten minutes. Break in ten whole eggs, two at a time, and knead for ten minutes longer. Mix in a plate a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon, a teaspoonful of ground cloves, two of ground allspice, one of mace, and one of grated nutmeg, and add these, with half a gill of confectioners’ molasses. Mix well for one minute with the hand. Add one pound of well-sifted flour, stirring for two minutes more. Add two pounds of currants, as for [No. 1080], two pounds of Sultana ([No. 1080]), two pounds of Malaga raisins ([No. 1081]), one pound of candied citron, finely sliced, one gill of Jamaica rum, and one gill of brandy. Mix the whole well together for fifteen minutes—using both hands, if necessary. Butter the interior of a plain, five-quart, round cake-mold. Line the bottom and sides with paper, leaving it an inch and a half higher than the edge of the mold. Pour in all the preparation, and place it in a very slow oven to bake for five hours. When done, lay it on a table, to cool off for four hours. Unmold, detach the paper, and turn the cake bottom up on a wire pastry-grate. After ten minutes, glaze it with one egg-white which has been beaten in a bowl with four ounces of extra fine sugar, using the spatula; use a knife to apply the glazing. Now lay the cake in a warm place to dry for two hours. Then beat up the white of an egg with four ounces of extra fine sugar for ten minutes, and glaze the cake as before, evenly all around, and lay aside for two hours more. After it is thoroughly dried, lay it on a round wooden board, with a fancy paper over, two inches wider than the board. Procure a fancy wedding-bell, with a miniature bride and groom standing under, lay it in the centre of the cake, fastening it on with glace royale ([No. 1206]), pressing it through a paper cornet with a fancy tube. Decorate the surface of the cake with ornaments made of the glace; also a fancy border around the edge and base. Let it dry slightly for two hours, and it is ready for use.