—Take a pound of short paste or feuilletage ([No. 1076]), and divide it into five equal parts. Roll out each piece twelve inches long by four wide, then lay them in a baking-pan, sprinkle a little powdered sugar over, and place them in the oven for ten minutes. Remove, and form the cake by laying these one on top of the other, with layers of preserves between, each layer being of different colored preserves. Put the fifth piece on top of the last layer for a cover. Then cut the cake into six equal pieces; decorate either with different colored preserves, or with whipped cream ([No. 1254]), and serve on a dessert-dish with a folded napkin.
1224. Almond Cake.
—Make a plain paste in a vessel with four ounces of butter, three egg yolks, half a pound of well-sifted flour, four ounces of powdered sugar, a quarter of a pound of finely pounded almonds ([No. 1207]), a saltspoonful of salt, and about six drops of orange-flower water. Mix and stir well for five minutes. It will then be of a proper consistency, spread it round about eight inches in diameter on a buttered paper in a pan, and with a light hair-brush moisten the surface slightly with beaten egg. Bake twenty minutes. Remove, detach from the paper, set away to cool, and serve.
1225. Cake de Pithiviers.
—Put in a vessel four ounces of pounded almonds ([No. 1207]), half a pound of powdered sugar, two ounces of chopped, candied lemon-peel, and a quarter of a pound of good, fresh butter. Mix in gradually four eggs, well beaten, and finish as for the almond cake ([No. 1224]), serving it the same.
1226. Madeleine.
—Rub the rind of two small lemons on a lump of sugar; crush it very fine with a roller, mixing three ounces of powdered sugar with it. Put two ounces of this into a saucepan with two ounces of sifted flour, one egg yolk, and two whole eggs, two teaspoonfuls of good brandy, and half a saltspoonful of salt. Stir all together with a wooden spatula, and after two minutes, when the paste is well mixed, stir it again for one minute only. Put two ounces of good butter into a separate saucepan; as soon as the scum rises, stir it carefully for one minute, and let it cool slightly. Then spread it well over the sides of a three-pint madeleine-mold. Put the saucepan containing the preparation on a very slow fire; stir slightly to prevent it adhering to the bottom of the saucepan, and as soon as it becomes liquid take it off, and fill the mold. Lay it in a moderately heated oven for forty-five minutes; remove, and let cool. Unmold it on a dessert-dish over a folded napkin, and serve.
1227. Madeleine Printanière.
—Prepare the cake as for the above ([No. 1226]) until the mold is ready to be filled. Butter the interiors of twelve small madeleine-molds, fill them with the preparation, lay them on a pastry baking-pan, and place them in a moderate oven for twenty minutes. Remove, let them cool, unmold, and turn them up-side down; cut a piece from the thinnest part of the top of each madeleine to serve as a cover. With a dessert-spoon scoop out of each madeleine a cavity one inch deep, fill this with a plombière à la vanille ([No. 1294]). Replace the covers, lay them on a wire grate, and, with a brush, glaze gently with glace à l’eau ([No. 1197]), flavored with two tablespoonfuls of strawberry juice, and sprinkle over with three ounces of well-chopped pistache. Place in the oven for one minute more; then dress on a dessert-dish with a folded napkin, and serve.