[726.] Paté à choux.— Place a saucepan over the fire with 1 pint water or milk, ½ pound butter, 1½ tablespoonfuls sugar, the grated rind of 1 lemon and a pinch of salt; as soon as it boils add slowly ½ pound sifted flour, stirring constantly; stir until it forms into a smooth paste and loosens itself from bottom of saucepan; transfer the paste to a dish and when cooled off a little mix it by degrees with 6 or 8 eggs. This paste should be soft, but must not run apart when dropped on a tin.
[727.] Chocolate Eclairs.— Prepare a pâté à choux, put it into a pastry bag or paper funnel and squirt it upon buttered tins in long narrow cakes 4 inches long and 1 inch wide; brush over with beaten egg and bake in a medium hot oven; when done brush them over with boiled chocolate glaze and set for a few minutes in oven again; then set them aside in a cool place; shortly before serving cut each one open on the side and fill with vanilla cream. For cream cakes drop this mixture (by tablespoonfuls) onto buttered tins, not too close together and in the form of round cake; when cold slit them open on one side and fill with vanilla cream.
[728.] Canapes.— Prepare a puff paste and roll it out ½ inch in thickness; cut it out into square pieces of 2 inches wide, cut these again into strips of ½ inch wide, lay them with the cut side in a shallow tin pan, not too close together, and bake in a hot oven; when done draw them to front of oven, dust with sugar and let them remain in oven a few minutes longer to glaze; put two and two together with jelly between; or they may be served single.
[729.] Cannelous.— Prepare 1 pound puff paste and roll it out 8 times, instead of 6; then take about 18 connelonghölzer (they consist of round pieces of wood about 5 inches long and a finger thick, and can be bought at wholesale confectioneries) and rub each piece of wood over with butter; roll the paste out very thin and cut it into strips of about 1 inch wide and 9 inches long; wind a strip of the paste around each piece of wood, snake-like, brush them over with beaten egg, lay them in shallow tins and bake in a quick oven; when done remove the pieces of wood and when cold fill the cannelous with whipped cream flavored with vanilla and sweetened with sugar.
[730.] Vole-au-vent.— Carefully prepare 1 pound puff paste and roll and fold it 6 times; great care must be taken in doing this, as the whole result depends upon it; after the last rolling let it lay in summer ½ hour on ice, in winter in a cold place; when ready to use roll the paste out 1 inch in thickness, place the dish on which the vol-au-veut is to be served upside down onto the paste and cut off the paste from the dish; turn the paste around and lay it on a tin which has been dampened with water; make with the back of a knife a few dents in it around the edge, brush the top over with beaten egg and make with the point of a knife a slight incision in the paste all round the top about 1½ inches from the edge; this forms the cover; bake in a very hot oven; do not open the oven for 10 minutes; then open and if the vol-au-veut is a light brown cover with paper and bake from ¾ to 1 hour; when done remove the cover, put the vol-au-veut onto the dish it was made to fit and set it for a few minutes in the oven to dry; then fill with either ragouts or fricasseed chickens, birds, rabbits or pigeons, put on the cover and serve; or fill it with fresh or preserved fruit and serve as a dessert.
[731.] Vole-au-vent (with Strawberries and Whipped Cream).— Roll out some carefully made puff paste ¾ inch in thickness and cut it out with a fluted cutter the desired shape, either round or oval; make a slight incision in the paste 1 inch from the edge and bake in a very hot oven; when nearly done brush it over with white of egg, dust with sugar and put it back in the oven to glaze; when done remove the interior, or soft crumbs, and fill the vol-au-veut shortly before serving with fresh strawberries sweetened with sugar and cover them with whipped cream.
[732.] Vole-au-vent (with Currants and Raspberries.)—Prepare a vol-au-veut the same as in foregoing recipe; strip some large, ripe, cherry currants from their stems, put them in a colander with the same quantity of raspberries, let cold water run over and drain them well; put the fruit into a dish with plenty of sugar, mix them up with 2 silver forks and let it stand in a cool place for several hours; shortly before serving put the fruit into the vol-au-veut, put over the cover, again dust with sugar and serve.
[733.] Vole-au-vent (with Peaches and Cream) is made the same as strawberries. Preserved pineapples, apricots, cherries or plums may be used in the same manner; also oranges peeled and cut into slices, freed from their pits and well sugared. Put into the vol-au-veut and serve either covered with its own cover or whipped cream. Makes an excellent dish for dessert.
[734.] Neapolitan Breads.— Mix a finely chopped orange peel (only the yellow part) with ½ pound neapolitan paste; divide it into small pieces the size of a walnut, roll these lengthwise about ½ finger thick, bread 3 together, brush them over with beaten egg and bake in a medium hot oven; or the paste may be rolled into long, thin rolls, breaded together and then cut into lengths 2½ inches long.
[735.] Viennoises.— Stir ½ cup butter with ½ cup powdered sugar to a cream and add the yolks of 5 eggs, 1 teaspoonful vanilla extract, 1½ cups sifted flour, ¼ cup cornstarch and lastly the beaten whites of 2 eggs; spread this over a sheet of buttered paper ½ inch in thickness, lay the paper in a shallow tin and bake in a slow oven; when done cut the cake into 2 pieces; cover one piece with pineapple or peach marmalade and lay the other piece over it; also cover the top with marmalade and glaze the whole with wine glaze; then cut the cake at once into small, long pieces and set them in the oven again for a few minutes.