XXV.
COLD SWEETS.—CREAMS.
Coffee Cream.—Make half a pint of custard with two eggs and half a pint of milk; dissolve an ounce of gelatine and three ounces of sugar in half a gill of strong coffee; add the custard, and strain; whip half a pint of cream quite firm; stir lightly into the custard; when it is cool, pour into a mould, and set on ice. The excellence of this cream depends on the coffee, which must be filtered, not boiled, freshly made, and very strong—three tablespoonfuls of coffee to the half-pint.
Curaçoa Cream.—Make a custard with the yolks of four eggs and half a pint of milk; dissolve half an ounce of gelatine in as little liquid as possible; mix it with two ounces of powdered sugar; add to the custard; then stir in a generous glass of curaçoa, and let the mixture cool, after which add half a pint of cream whipped solid. Stir very lightly together until well blended; then mould and set on ice.
Strawberry Cream.—Hull a pint of quite ripe strawberries; put them on a fine sieve, and sprinkle an ounce of sugar over them; put half an ounce of gelatine into a stewpan with two tablespoonfuls of cold water, two ounces and a half of powdered sugar, and the juice of a lemon, and let it dissolve by gentle heat. Pass the strawberries through the sieve; strain the gelatine, etc., to the strawberry juice, and put to get cold; then add half a pint of cream whipped solid. Stir very lightly to the strawberry juice, etc., when the latter is beginning to set.
Vanilla Cream.—Make a custard with three yolks and one white of egg, and half a pint of milk and three ounces of sugar; melt an ounce of gelatine in two tablespoonfuls of water, strain it to the custard, and mix well; whip half a pint of cream to a stiff froth, and stir it gently to the custard and gelatine; flavor with vanilla. After the vanilla is added, make a couple of spoonfuls of the custard pink with cochineal or strawberry juice; let this cool in a thin sheet; stamp from it small clover leaves or lozenges, not over an inch long and three quarters broad; decorate the bottom of a mould with them, using a little gelatine and water to fasten them; set the mould in chopped ice, and about half-way up put four or five of the pink pieces; take great care there is no inequality as to height or distance (slovenly decoration is worse than none). When the lozenges are quite secure in their places, pour in the cream. It is needless to repeat this form of decoration of creams, they can be varied so infinitely by individual taste, but as a rule they should be decorated only with small forms cut out of bright-colored jelly, or of cream colored pink, orange, pistache green, or brown. Candied fruits are not effective, although sometimes used, unless the cream itself has fruit in it.
Pistache Cream.—Half an ounce of gelatine, two ounces of powdered sugar; melt the gelatine in a gill of water, then add the sugar, a glass of sherry, and a glass of kirsch. Whip half a pint of thick cream solid, and when the gelatine is cold and beginning to thicken stir the cream to it very lightly, and at the same time two ounces of pistachio-nuts, blanched and chopped fine, with enough vegetable green coloring to make the cream a shade or two lighter in color than the nuts. This cream must be stirred lightly on ice after the nuts are added, till thick enough for them not to sink.
Almond Cream.—Half an ounce of gelatine melted in a gill of water with two ounces of sugar and a glass of sherry; grate four ounces of almond paste into it, and stir in a double boiler or bowl set in boiling water until dissolved, or at least until there are no lumps. Let this get cool. Whip a pint and a gill of cream solid, and stir to the mixture. Decorate a mould with any red jelly, pour the mixture in, and set on ice. In consequence of the variation in the strength of gelatine, in making any of these creams try a little on ice in a saucer before pouring into a mould, then add more cream or gelatine as required.
Cold Puddings and Frozen Puddings.—Some of these “puddings” might just as appropriately be called creams; however, fashion ordains that they shall be puddings. One of the newest is the
Jubilee Pudding.—Make a pint of claret jelly; pour it into a small border mould; whip half a pint of cream in which is a quarter of an ounce of dissolved gelatine. When it is whipped solid, stir in one ounce of preserved or candied cherries, one ounce of candied angelica, one ounce of preserved ginger, and one ounce of preserved apricot—the ginger and angelica cut small. Set on ice; then turn out. Pile the whipped cream and fruit in the centre, and decorate according to fancy.
Cold Soufflé Pudding à la Princesse.—Melt half an ounce of gelatine in a gill of cream; set in boiling water till dissolved; beat the yolks of three eggs well, and add to the milk; when well mixed, put the custard into a double boiler till it thickens—it must not boil. Pour it into a bowl, and add a gill of apricot preserve, made into a purée by rubbing through a sieve with half a gill of orange juice, two ounces of sugar, a little lemon juice, and cochineal to color it a very delicate pink. Beat the whites of four eggs till they will not slip; stir them in very lightly with an upward motion of the spoon, the object being to keep the white of egg from falling, yet the whole must be thoroughly mixed. Stir till nearly cold before putting the soufflé in a mould to set.