—One pound of flour, half a pound of butter, half a pound of powdered sugar, and four whole eggs. Sift the flour on the table. Make a hollow in the centre, and fill it with the sugar and butter, and the grated rind of a lemon. Knead well the butter and sugar for three minutes; add the eggs, one at a time, and incorporate the flour slowly, so as not to burn the paste. Let it rest for about half an hour in a cool place. Then roll out about a quarter of an inch thick. Cut out six pieces with a round cake-cutter; glaze the surfaces with beaten egg and milk, and bake in a moderate oven for twenty minutes. When cold, dress on a dessert-dish with a folded napkin, and serve. Keep the rest of the paste for further use, as it will remain sweet and fresh for two or three days.
1229. Rum Cake.
—Half a pound of flour, two ounces of sugar, three whole eggs, one ounce of butter, and two drachms of compressed yeast. Sift the flour on a board. Take one third of it; make a hollow in its centre, and put into it the yeast and half a gill of warm milk. When the yeast is dissolved, mix well for one minute. Then put it into a bowl, cover with a cloth, and let it rise in a warm place until twice the size. Take the rest of the flour, make a hollow in the centre, and put into it the sugar, eggs, and six drops of orange-flower water. Knead well together, slowly incorporating the flour; then gradually add the butter and the prepared yeast-dough. Mix all together for five minutes; return to the bowl, and again lay it aside to rise to twice its size. Butter well six round rum-cake molds, fill them about three quarters high with the dough, and let it rise until they are full; then lay them on a baking-pan in a moderate oven for twenty minutes. When well browned, remove, unmold, place them on a pastry-wire, and pour over them a sauce made thus: put a quarter of a pound of sugar in a saucepan with half a pint of water, adding half a sliced lemon. When boiling, take from the fire, and pour in half a gill of rum, then throw it over the cakes. Dress on a dish, and serve.
1230. Rice Cake à la Mazzini.
—Put a pint of cold milk into a saucepan on a hot stove, and when it boils add half a pound of well-cleaned rice and let it cook slowly for twenty minutes, stirring frequently to the bottom with a spatula. Then set the saucepan in a cool place for thirty minutes. Add six ounces of powdered sugar; mix well for one minute, and break in three whole eggs; flavor with eight drops of orange-flower water, mixing well together for three minutes longer. Take a quarter of a pound of pie-paste ([No. 1077]), roll it out very thin, and with it line a three-pint, round, channeled mold; fill it with the preparation, and place it in a moderate oven to bake for forty minutes. Remove, and let it become thoroughly cold, which will take an hour. Then unmold, and lay the cake over a round pastry-grate. Have a quarter of a pound of vanilla éclair glazing ([No. 1245]), put it in a saucepan, adding a teaspoonful of cold water. Place it on the hot range, and with a spatula mix it gently and thoroughly until it becomes lukewarm; then pour it over the cake. Arrange the cake on a dessert-dish, and serve.
1231. Biscuits à la Cuillère, or Lady-fingers.
—Put four ounces of powdered sugar and the yolks of five eggs into a small bowl. Beat thoroughly with a spatula for five minutes. Put the whites of the eggs into a copper basin, and with a wire whip beat them to a stiff froth. Add to the sugar and yolks four ounces of flour; mix together gently for half a minute, and immediately add the whites. Beat gently for one minute more, and the preparation will be ready. Take a well-cleaned pastry-bag ([No. 1079]), slide into it a No. 2 tube, and with a wooden spoon or small skimmer pour the preparation into the bag. When it is all in, close the upper part of the bag very firmly, and lay it aside for one moment. Take two separate sheets of solid brown paper, each measuring seventeen inches long by five inches wide; lay them on the table, one beside the other. Take hold of the lower part of the bag near the tube with the left hand, and the upper part with the right, press with the latter, and drop the batter on the paper in straight strips four inches long by one inch wide. Make ten of equal size on each paper, being careful to leave an empty space of three quarters of an inch between each. Then with a sugar-dredger sprinkle them lightly with powdered sugar three times, at one minute’s interval between each sprinkling. When finished, lift up one paper at a time, keeping it perfectly straight, and shake off the loose sugar, being particular that the biscuits do not detach from the paper. Now lay them in a pastry baking-pan, and let rest for, two minutes; put them into a slow oven, and bake for twenty minutes, until of a light golden color. Remove, lift them from the pan, and lay on a table to cool off. Have ready a dessert-dish with a folded napkin, then detaching the biscuits gently from the paper with the hands, dress them neatly on the dish, and send to the table.
1232. Biscuit à la Richelieu.
—Put half a pound of sugar, half a pound of peeled and pounded almonds as for [No. 1207], and four egg yolks into a bowl, and with a spatula mix well together for two minutes. Place the whites of eight eggs in a copper basin, with half a saltspoonful of salt, and with a wire whip beat them to a stiff froth: add this to the above preparation, with three ounces of melted butter, three ounces of flour, and a teaspoonful of vanilla flavoring. Mix slowly together for three minutes. Butter a plain mold holding three quarts; line the interior thoroughly, and pour in the preparation; place it in a moderate oven for an hour and a half, then remove, and let it cool, and unmold. Dress on a dessert-dish with a folded napkin, and serve.