Wash the sago. Soak it for 4 hours. Strain off the water. Add to the strainings enough water or the juice from stewed fruit to make 1-1/2 pints liquid. Sweeten if necessary, but if the juice from stewed fruit is used it will probably be sweet enough. This dish is spoiled if made too sweet. Put the sago and 1-1/2 pints liquid into a saucepan and stew for 20 minutes. Now add the stewed fruit which you deprived of its juice, stir well, pour into a wet mould, and serve cold. Made with water only, and flavoured with a very little sugar and lemon peel, it may be served with stewed fruit.
28. SUMMER PUDDING.
Put a layer of sponge cake at the bottom of a glass dish. Cut up a tinned pine-apple (get the pine-apple chunks if possible) and fill dish, first pouring a little of the juice over the cake. Melt a very little agar-agar in the rest of the juice. (Allow half the 1/4 oz. to a pint of juice.) Pour over the mixture. Serve when cold.
29. TREACLE PUDDING.
Line a pudding-basin with short crust. Mix together in another basin some good cane golden syrup, enough bread-crumbs to thicken it, and some grated lemon rind. Put a layer of this mixture at the bottom of the pudding-basin, cover with a layer of pastry, follow with a layer of the mixture, and so on, until the basin is full. Top with a layer of pastry, tie on a floured pudding-cloth, and boil or steam for 3 hours.
30. TRIFLE, SIMPLE.
Put a layer of sponge cake at the bottom of a glass dish. Better still, use sections of good home-made jam sandwich. Pour hot boiled custard on to this until the cake is barely covered. Blanch some sweet almonds, and cut into strips. Stick these into the top of the cake until it somewhat resembles the back of a hedgehog! Serve when cold.
X.—CAKES AND BISCUITS.
Cakes need a hot oven for the first half-hour.
If possible, they should not be moved from one shelf to another, but the oven should be cooled gradually by opening the ventilators or lowering the gas. A moderate oven is needed to finish the cooking.