CHAPTER XXIX.
BOILED CUSTARD—FROZEN BANANAS—USES OF FRENCH ICING—SCALLOPED POTATOES—HOLLANDAISE SAUCE—ROAST OYSTERS—UNEXPECTED VISITORS.
For next day’s dinner Molly bought a piece of cod about three inches thick, and a leg of mutton (the cod weighed three pounds, the mutton six and a half, which she directed the butcher to cut in half), and half a dozen bananas.
As soon as she reached home she made a boiled custard with two eggs and a pint of milk, in the following way: The eggs were whipped while the milk came near to the boiling-point. When that was reached, two heaped table-spoonfuls of sugar were added to the milk, and when dissolved it was poured to the eggs, stirring all the time. Both were then returned to the saucepan—which was set over the fire in a vessel or saucepan containing boiling water—and stirred. When the water in the under saucepan boiled round it, the custard was removed a few seconds, the stirring continuing all the time, and then it was returned. This was repeated till it was like thick cream. The object of removing it was this: The eggs must not boil or they will curdle; they must be cooked or they will not thicken; if left in the boiling water they would boil; by removing every minute for a few seconds, you keep the custard at the boiling-point till it thickens, without running risk of its curdling. Frequently, in the fear of custard’s curdling, it is taken off the fire just at the boiling-point, and it remains thin, unless corn-starch has been first boiled with the milk; in the proportion of two eggs to the pint, corn-starch is not needed for moderately thick custards. When it was done it was set to get cold, and two bananas were cut into small pieces. While the cooking was going on, Molly got out the Madeleine cake, cut side slices from it the third of an inch thick, cut the dark crust off as thin as possible, and spread three of the slices with the lemon paste she had made yesterday. The other three she laid on these, sandwich-fashion.
“Now, Marta, I’ll show you what I am going to do with my fondant icing.” As she spoke she put a table-spoonful of it in a cup which she set in boiling water over the fire. “You see I stir this, because, if I simply left it to melt, it would go back to clear syrup; by stirring, it keeps opaque like cream. I do not let this get too hot, only just warm enough to run easily.” When it had reached the point of being like double cream or molasses, she put the saucepan and cup on the table and added to it a few drops of vanilla and stirred it; then with a tea-spoon she iced each slice, pouring the fondant on and spreading it, allowing it to run over the sides.
“You see this icing cools as you do it, and it may happen in cold weather that it will cool before you finish (and if the candy has been boiled rather high, the same thing may happen any time); then you must dip a knife in boiling water, shake off the drops quickly and smooth with that; then you use the knife. Now if I had cochineal in the house I should have melted only half the quantity in this cup and half in another, and flavored one with rose, and added a very little coloring,—three or four drops,—and used it for half of these cakes; but as it is, I leave them all white.”
Molly worked as she spoke; the three slices were iced, then she held a sharp knife on the range till it was quite warm, wiped it, and cut the cake into neat tablets an inch wide and the width of the cake,—about two inches. Each slice made four, so she had a dozen small fancy cakes.
“You can see, Marta, how easy it is, if your icing is always ready and you have preserves, to have a plate of very pretty cakes in a few minutes. You may make a dozen and a half, or more; then half a dozen may be white with lemon between; half a dozen with red currant jelly, and icing colored with a small piece of unsweetened chocolate melted in a saucer on the stove and then stirred to the icing; and the others with peach, and pink icing flavored very slightly with bitter almond; and for very ornamental purposes, a dozen almonds, blanched and chopped to size of rice and sprinkled over the pink and white while the icing is still warm, make a very pretty change; in fact, very many varieties can be made once you have got the idea, and remember never to mix flavors badly. Vanilla and chocolate always agree; so you can use the same icing for the white and chocolate by doing the white cakes first, then putting the melted chocolate—and just a drop or two of water from the end of your finger or a spoon—to it. Chocolate stiffens so much that you are more likely than not to require a knife dipped in boiling water to spread it. When all are done you may mix your pink and chocolate candy together, if the flavors agree (vanilla and chocolate and rose go exceedingly well, but almond or lemon not), work it together with hand or spoon, and the result will be a lovely ashes-of-roses color. You may put it away so flavored and colored for future use, or you may use it at once for other cake, which is better, as color fades if kept too long; but remember one thing: this icing, having been made hot, will be stiffer than when you began, and to be melted over again will need perhaps a dozen drops of water mixed with it; if it has become sugary and rough, you can’t use it; but if on taking a pinch between your finger and thumb it will spread smoothly like putty or dough, it is as good as ever, which it is almost certain to be if you have worked quickly.
“The only art in this French icing is to have everything ready before you begin coloring and flavoring, to have almonds, if you use them, blanched and chopped,—in short, have to leave off for nothing; then you can work quickly, and the icing is not allowed to cool, and will not need reheating once or twice before you have finished. At first such quickness may not be easy, and if the icing chills, you will find it unmanageable; all you have to do is to return it in the water to the fire, and melt as at first; it will usually stand melting two or three times before getting grainy. Stir, while melting, only enough to mix the melted and unmelted together. Of course it is always easier to melt a quantity of icing in a bowl, and do a number of cakes, than a table-spoonful as I have done, because it holds the heat better, and you have abundance to work from; but I don’t want to destroy the delicacy of what I put away by melting all up. You see I have a little ball left.”
She had gathered the icing from the cups and spoon and worked it between her hands into a little shining ball, simply to show Marta what could be done if more had been left. “This is not worth putting away, but several little marbles like these if dipped into melted chocolate would make chocolate creams. You see how one thing leads to another in cooking.”