1498. Cakes Frangipani au Chocolat à la Regina Margherita.
—Peel and pound half a pound of sweet almonds in a mortar, with four ounces of powdered sugar, for ten minutes; then add three fresh-cracked eggs, one by one, at two minutes’ interval from one another, constantly pounding for ten minutes more; now transfer the paste into a vessel, add to it four ounces of powdered sugar and half a pound of well-washed butter; sharply mix with the spatula for five minutes; then pour in half a gill of Jamaica rum, add a saltspoonful of cinnamon and two ounces of melted cocoa. Mix the whole well together for three minutes. Slide down a tube (No. 3) into the pastry bag ([No. 1079]), put the paste into it. Have two baking-pans ready, with a sheet of brown paper laid over each; then press down the paste in small forms, giving oval shapes one inch long, keeping half an inch apart from one another. When all in the pans, place them in a moderate oven to bake for twenty minutes. Take them from out the oven, let cool off for thirty minutes. Moisten part of a table, the size of the two pans containing the cakes; lift the paper up from each pan, lay them over the wet space of the table, and let rest for two minutes. Detach the cakes from the papers, place them in a jar, and serve when desired.
1499. Cakes au Chocolat à la Czarina.
—Take one pound of puff paste as in [No. 1076], lay it over a lightly floured table, roll it out with a rolling-pin to the thickness of a quarter of an inch; then with a paste-cutter two inches in diameter cut out twenty-four pieces. Lay them in a pastry baking pan, and with a hair brush gently moisten their surfaces with beaten egg. Stamp each piece right in the centre on the surface with a small paste-cutter one inch in diameter; then place them in a brisk oven to bake for fifteen minutes; remove from out the oven, lay the pan on a table, and let cool off for thirty minutes. Now gently press down a small pointed knife in the incision of each cake, turning it all around and lifting up the covers, keeping them (the covers) for further action, and then fill each cake with the following cream:
Place in a saucepan five egg-yolks, six ounces of powdered sugar, half an ounce of flour, a teaspoonful of vanilla essence, and two ounces of finely chopped cocoa; range the pan on the fire, briskly stir with the spatula for two minutes, then pour in half a pint of boiling milk; continue to stir until it comes to a boil, then remove it from the fire, pour it into a bowl, and let cool for thirty minutes. Then with a teaspoon fill the hollow cakes with the prepared cream. Arrange the cover on each, and glaze them with the following glaze:
Pour into a saucepan a gill of cold water, and with the spatula mix in twelve ounces of extra fine sugar for three minutes. Place the saucepan on the hot range, continually stirring until lukewarm; then add two ounces of melted cocoa, mix well together for three minutes; remove it from off the fire, lay the pan on a table, then take one cake up with the left hand, and, with a table knife in the right hand, take up some of the preparation from the pan, and gently spread it all over the cover, as well as all around the cake, and lay it on a pastry wire grate; proceed the same with the rest. When all laid on the grate, have in a small bowl the white of half an egg and five ounces of extra fine sugar, then thoroughly beat with the spatula for fifteen minutes.
Make a paper cornet, cut off the point of it, put the glaze into the cornet, close the top with the hand, then gently and carefully press down the preparation over each cake, giving them all a star shape. Let them dry for two hours. Nicely dress them on a fruit stand and send to the table.
1500. Madeleine au Chocolat à la Mme. Renault.
—Place in a saucepan half a pound of powdered sugar. Crack in six whole, fresh eggs, two yolks, and a tablespoonful of very good Renault brandy; then with the pastry-whip mix the whole well together for three minutes; place the pan on the fire, briskly stir for five minutes, but do not allow to boil. Take the pan from off the fire, and continually stir for two minutes longer; remove the whip, and then with a skimmer gently mix in half a pound of well-sifted flour, six ounces of melted butter, and two ounces of melted cocoa; the time to mix in the ingredients ought not to take longer than five minutes.
Have twenty-four channeled tartlet-molds three inches in diameter on the upper part, one inch high, and one and a half inches at the bottom. Butter well the interior of each, then lay them on a pastry baking-pan, and with the aid of a spoon equally divide the preparation into the twenty-four molds. Then place them in a moderate oven to bake for twenty-five minutes. Remove from out the oven, place the pan on a table, and let cool off for one hour. Take the cakes out of the molds and serve, or put them away in a box or jar, as they will keep in perfect condition for several days.