When the pastry is nearly baked, brush it over with white of egg, cover it thickly with sifted sugar, and brown it in the oven, or it may be browned with a salamander.
For savory pies beat the yolk of an egg, dip a paste-brush into it, and lay it on the crust before baking.
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FRUIT TARTS OR PIES.
A fruit tart is so common a sweet that it is scarcely necessary to give any directions concerning it. Acid fruits are best stewed before putting into a pie: the usual proportions are half a pound of sugar to a quart of fruit—not quite so much if the fruit is ripe; the fruit should be laid high in the middle of the dish, to make the pie a good shape. It is the fashion to lay over the crust, when nearly baked, an icing of the whites of eggs whisked with sugar; the tart or pie is then replaced in the oven.
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A VERY FINE SAVOURY PIE.
Lay a fine veal cutlet, cut in pieces and seasoned, at the bottom of the dish; lay over it a layer of smoked beef fat, then a layer of fine cold jelly made from gravy-beef and veal, then hard boiled eggs in slices, then chicken or sweetbread, and then again the jelly, and so on till the dish is filled; put no water, and season highly with lemon-juice, essence of mushroom, pepper, salt, and nutmeg; also, if approved, a blade of mace: small cakes of fine forcemeat are an improvement; cover with a fine puff paste, and brush over with egg, and bake.
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