Mix with three well-whisked eggs a quarter of a pint of milk, and strain them through a fine sieve; add them gradually to three large tablespoonsful of flour, and thin the batter with as much more milk as will bring it to the consistence of cream; beat it up thoroughly at the moment of using it, that the fritters may be light. Drop it in small portions from a spouted jug or basin into boiling lard; when lightly coloured on one side, turn the fritters, drain them well from the lard as they are lifted out, and serve them very quickly. They are eaten generally with fine sugar, and orange or lemon juice: the first of these may be sifted quickly over them after they are dished, and the oranges or lemons halved or quartered, and sent to table with them. The lard used for frying them should be fresh and pure-flavoured: it renders them more crisp and light than butter, and is, therefore, better suited to the purpose. These fritters may be agreeably varied by mingling with the batter just before it is used two or three ounces of well cleaned and well dried currants, or three or four apples of a good boiling kind not very finely minced. Double the quantity of batter will be required for a large dish.
Eggs, 3; flour, 3 tablespoonsful; milk, 1/4 to 1/2 pint.
PANCAKES.
These may be made with the same batter as fritters, if it be sufficiently thinned with an additional egg or two, or a little milk or cream, to spread quickly over the pan: to fry them well, this ought to be small. When the batter is ready, heat the pan over a clear fire and rub it with butter in every part, then pour in sufficient batter to spread over it entirely, and let the pancake be very thin: in this case it will require no turning, but otherwise it must be tossed over with a sudden jerk of the pan, in which the cook who is not somewhat expert will not always succeed; therefore the safer plan is to make them so thin that they will not require this. Keep them hot before the fire or in the stove-oven until a sufficient number are ready to send to table, then proceed with a second supply, as they should always be quickly served. Either pile them one on the other with sugar strewed between, or spread quickly over them, as they are done, some apricot or other good preserve, and roll them up: in the latter case, they may be neatly divided and dished in a circle. Clotted cream is sometimes sent to table with them. A richer kind of pancake may be made with a pint of cream, or of cream and new milk mixed, five eggs or their yolks only, a couple of ounces of flour, a little pounded cinnamon or lemon-rind rasped on sugar and scraped into them, with two ounces more of pounded sugar, and two ounces of clarified butter: a few ratifias rolled to powder may be added at pleasure, or three or four macaroons.
From 4 to 5 minutes.
FRITTERS OF CAKE AND PUDDING.
Cut plain pound, or rice cake, or rich seed cake, into small square slices half an inch thick; trim away the crust, fry them slowly a light brown in a small quantity of fresh butter, and spread over them when done a layer of apricot-jam, or of any other preserve, and serve them immediately. These fritters are improved by being moistened with a little good cream before they are fried: they must then be slightly floured. Cold plum-pudding sliced down as thick as the cake, and divided into portions of equal size and good form, then dipped into French or English batter and gently fried, will also make an agreeable variety of fritter. Orange marmalade and Devonshire cream may be served in separate layers on the seed cake fritters. The whole of the above may be cut of uniform size and shaped with a round cake-cutter.
MINCEMEAT FRITTERS.
With half a pound of mincemeat mix two ounces of fine bread-crumbs (or a tablespoonful of flour), two eggs well beaten, and the strained juice of half a small lemon. Mix these well, and drop the fritters with a dessertspoon into plenty of very pure lard or fresh butter; fry them from seven to eight minutes, drain them on a napkin or on white blotting paper, and send them very hot to table: they should be quite small.
Mincemeat, 1/2 lb.; bread-crumbs, 2 oz. (or flour, 1 tablespoonful); eggs, 2; juice of 1/2 lemon: 7 to 8 minutes.