JEWISH ALMOND PUDDING.
We have not thought it necessary to test this receipt ourselves, as we have tasted the puddings made by it more than once, and have received the exact directions for them from the Jewish lady at whose house they were made. They are extremely delicate and excellent. The almonds for them were procured ready ground from a Jew confectioner, but when they cannot be thus obtained they must be pounded in the usual manner. With half a pound of sweet, mingle six or seven bitter almonds, half a pound of sifted sugar, a little fine orange-flower water, with the yolks of ten and the whites of seven well whisked eggs, and when the whole of the ingredients are intimately blended, bake the pudding in a rather quick oven for half an hour, or longer should it not be then sufficiently firm to turn out of the dish. Sift sugar thickly over, or pour round it a rich syrup flavoured with orange-flower water, noyau or maraschino.
Obs.—We think a fruit syrup—pine-apple or other—or a compôte of fruit would be an excellent accompaniment to this pudding, which may be served hot or cold. We conclude that the dish in which it is baked, if not well buttered, must be rubbed with oil. The above proportions will make two puddings of sufficient size for a small party.
THE LADY’S OR INVALID’S NEW BAKED APPLE PUDDING.
(Author’s Original Receipt. Appropriate to the Jewish table.)
This pudding, which contains no butter, is most excellent when made with exactness by the directions which follow, but any variation from them will probably be attended with entire failure, especially in the crust, which if properly made will be solid, but very light and crisp; whereas, if the proportion of sugar for it be diminished, the bread will not form a compact mass, but will fall into crumbs when it is served. First weigh six ounces of the crumb of a light stale loaf, and grate it down small; then add to, and mix thoroughly with it three ounces and a half of pounded sugar, and a slight pinch of salt. Next, take from a pound to a pound and a quarter of russets, or of any other good baking apples; pare, and then take them off the cores in quarters without cutting the fruit asunder, as they will then, from the form given to them, lie more compactly in the dish. Arrange them in close layers in a deep tart-dish which holds about a pint and a half, and strew amongst them four ounces of sugar and the grated rind of a fine fresh lemon; add the strained juice of the lemon, and pour the bread-crumbs softly in a heap upon the apples in the centre of the dish, and with the back of a spoon level them gently into a very smooth layer of equal thickness, pressing them lightly down upon the fruit, which must all be perfectly covered with them. Sift powdered sugar over, wipe the edge of the dish, and bake the pudding in a somewhat quick oven for rather more than three-quarters of an hour. We have had it several times baked quite successfully in a baker’s oven, of which the heat is in general too great for puddings of a delicate kind. Very pale brown sugar will answer for it almost as well as pounded. For the nursery, some crumbs of bread may be strewed between the layers of fruit, and nutmeg or cinnamon may be used instead of lemon.
Obs.—We insert this receipt here because the pudding has been so much liked, and found so wholesome by many persons who have partaken of it at different times, that we think it will be acceptable to some of our readers, but it belongs properly to another work which we have in progress, and from which we extract it now for the present volume. An ounce or more of ratifias crushed to powder, may be added to the crust, or strewed over the pudding before it is served, when they are considered an improvement.
A FEW GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR THE JEWISH TABLE.
As a substitute for milk, in the composition of soufflés, puddings, and sweet dishes, almond-cream as it is called, will be found to answer excellently. To prepare it, blanch and pound the almonds by the directions of page [542], and then pour very gradually to them boiling water in the proportion directed below; turn them into a strong cloth or tammy, and wring it from them with powerful pressure, to extract as much as possible of it from them again.
The fruit custards of page [482], and the méringues of fruit of page 485, are perfectly suited to the tables of Jewish families; and sweet or savoury croustades or fried patties may be supplied to them from the receipts in the present work, by substituting clarified marrow (see page [388]) for the butter used for them in general cookery. The reader will easily discover in addition, numerous dishes distributed through this volume which may be served to them without departing from their peculiar usages.