Mix the sugar, spices and very finely-chopped suet. Chop the fruit, and peel as fine as possible. Mix all well together, adding the brandy and wine last. It is best made several weeks before using.
Orange Tartlets
7 oranges
¹⁄₂ pint syrup
1 lemon
Puff or short paste
Peel six oranges. Scrape off all the white skin with a sharp knife. Divide into sections, removing all the rest of the white and seeds. Drop them very carefully into boiling syrup (see [p. 151]) and let them simmer three minutes. Take the pieces out gently, and set them on a sieve to drain over a basin.
To the syrup add the juice of an orange and lemon and the juice that drains from the cooked oranges. Reduce it by boiling till very thick.
Line some patty pans with short or puff paste. Fill them with uncooked rice and bake quickly. Remove the rice, arrange the oranges on the pastry and pour the syrup over them just before serving.
Strawberry Tartlets
1 lb. loaf sugar
1 gill water
1 wine-glass brandy or sherry
Strawberries
Make a syrup of the sugar and water. Add the brandy or sherry. Reduce until thick. Pour this syrup over a number of fine strawberries.
Line some small tins with short crust (No. 125). Fill them with uncooked rice and bake in a quick oven.