A Nice Crust for Preserved Fruits, Cheesecakes, &c.
Beat ½ lb. good fresh butter, in a bason, with a spoon, till it becomes cream, add 2 oz. finely sifted sugar, and mix in 1 lb. fine flour, then wet it with the whites of 3 eggs well beaten, and roll out the paste. If not stiff enough, use more flour and sugar.—Or: rub together equal quantities of flour and butter, with a little sifted sugar; work it into a paste with warm milk, roll it out thin and line your patty pans. Another.—Melt 4 oz. of butter in a saucepan, with a tea-spoonful of water, 2 oz. sifted sugar, and a bit of lemon peel; when the butter is melted, take out the lemon peel, and first dredge a little flour into the liquid, shake the saucepan, then put in as much more flour, with a spoon, as the butter will take, keep the saucepan over the fire, and stir briskly with a wooden spoon. Turn it out into another saucepan and let it cool; then put it over the fire, and break in, first 1 egg, stir it well, then 3 more eggs, and stir well again, till the paste is ropy.
Raised Crust for Meat Pies.
Put ¾ of a pint of water and ½ lb. lard into a saucepan, set it on the fire; have ready on the paste-board, 2½ lbs. of flour, make a hole in the middle, and when the water in the saucepan boils, pour it into it, gently mixing it by degrees with the flour, with a spoon; when well mixed, knead it into a stiff paste. Dredge flour on the board, to prevent the paste from sticking, continue to roll, and knead it, but do not use a rolling-pin. Let it stand to cool before you form the crust for the pie, as follows: cut out pieces for the bottom and top, roll them of the proper thickness, and roll out a piece for the sides; fix the sides round the bottom pieces, cement them together with white of egg, and pinch the bottom crust up round to keep it closed firmly; then put in the meat and lay on the top crust, pinching the edges together closely.—It must be thick in proportion to the size of the pie.
Rice Paste.
Mix ½ lb. rice flour into a stiff paste with the yolk of an egg and milk, beat it out with a rolling-pin, and spread bits of butter over, roll it up, and spread more butter till you have used ½ lb. This will boil as well as bake.
Maccaroni Paste.
Work 1 lb. flour into a paste with 4 eggs; it will be very stiff; must be well kneaded, and then beaten for a long time with a rolling-pin, to make it smooth; then roll out very thin, and cut it in strips. This is rather toilsome than troublesome, because it is difficult to roll thin enough, on account of its stiffness; yet is well worth the trouble, to those who like maccaroni. It cooks in much less time than that which is bought, and is much more delicate.
Meat Pies.
Some cooks say that meat should be a little stewed with seasoning, a piece of butter, and only a very little water, before it is put into a pie.—Common meat pies should have a thin under crust; but the covering must be thick, or it will be scorched up, before the meat is cooked. Meat pies require a hot, but not a fierce oven.