(b) Boil 40 good-sized chestnuts, rub them through a sieve, and place in a stewpan with a pinch of salt, ¾ pint cream, 3 oz. butter, ¼ lb. sifted sugar, and half a stick of vanilla, pounded fine. Stir these gently over the fire till the mixture begins to thicken and then at once stir more rapidly, until it leaves the bottom and sides of the stewpan. Then remove it from the fire, add the yolks of 6 eggs and the whites of 4, whipped to a firm froth, mix well, and pour it into a plain mould well buttered; place a buttered paper over the top, and let the pudding steam for 1½ hour, or rather less. When done, turn the pudding carefully out on to a hot dish, and serve with diluted hot red currant jelly round it, the top being sprinkled with white sugar; or, better still, with diluted apricot jam, which should be poured quite warm over and around the pudding.
Chocolate Blancmange.—Grate ¼ lb. chocolate into 1 qt. milk, add 1½ oz. gelatine, and ¼ lb. powdered sugar; mix all in a jug, and stand it in a saucepan of cold water over a clear fire; stir occasionally till the water boils, and then stir continuously while boiling about 15 minutes. Dip a mould in cold water, pour in the blancmange, turn out when set.
Chocolate Pudding.—(a) Soak ½ lb. gelatine with a little cold water, put it in a pan with ¼ lb. grated chocolate, 1 oz. sugar, and 1 pint milk; stir till it boils. Break the yolks of 4 eggs in a basin, stir with a wooden spoon. When the chocolate boils allow it to stand one minute, then pour it on the yolks, return to the pan, and stir till it thickens, not letting it boil; pour into a wet mould.
(b) Take 4 rolls, cut off the crust, and leave them to soak, until quite soft, in milk sweetened according to taste. Add a lump of butter the size of an egg, a little cinnamon, the yolks of 6 eggs, and the whites beaten to snow, and, lastly, ½ lb. grated chocolate. Stir up all the ingredients, and, when thoroughly mixed, fill the pudding mould, which must be a closed one, and boil 2 hours, putting it into the water when boiling. Serve up with a cream custard, flavoured with vanilla.
Chocolate Strudels.—Beat well the whites of 2 eggs and the yolks of 4, warm a piece of butter the size of an egg, and add it to the eggs with a little salt; work in by degrees as much fine flour as will form a rather stiff dough, knead this till quite smooth. Divide the paste into small balls, roll them round in the hands, then, with a smooth rolling-pin, roll them out very thin—as thin as possible. They should be about the size of a saucer, but rather oval. Grate vanilla chocolate, and mix it with some pounded almonds and the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs, with the whites beaten to a snow. Spread hot butter over the strudels, and then the chocolate as thin as a knife-blade. Roll them up, when the shape will be larger in the middle, and tapering off at both ends. Lay them 1 in. apart in a baking tin, or a large stewpan, that has been well buttered; cover, and bake them in the oven, or over a slow fire, with red coals on the lid to draw them. When they are risen and beginning to colour, pour some hot milk over, and finish baking a very pale brown. The last thing before putting them in the oven they should have some grated chocolate and crushed sugar strewn over them.
Citron Pudding.—Take ½ pint cream, 1 tablespoonful flour, 2 oz. white sugar, and a little grated nutmeg. Mix all these ingredients together with the well-beaten yolks of 3 eggs. Cut 2 oz. citron into thin slices, place pieces of it in small buttered moulds or cups, fill them with the mixture, and bake until the pudding assumes a light brown colour. This quantity will make 5 puddings, which are sufficient for a side dish.
Claret Jelly.—1 bottle of claret, the juice and rind of 1 lemon, 1 sixpenny pot of red currant jelly, ½ lb. loaf sugar, rather more than 1 oz. isinglass in hot weather (in winter 1 oz. is quite sufficient), a wineglassful of brandy. Boil altogether for a few minutes, taking care that the red currant jelly is well dissolved and thoroughly mixed with the other ingredients: 10 minutes will generally effect this, but a good deal depends on the general temperature. Serve with cream sauce as follows: ½ pint cream sweetened and flavoured with vanilla whisked to a stiff froth; pour round the jelly, not over it. Half these quantities will fill a mould large enough for 6 people.
Clarges Street Pudding.—1 pint new milk, ¾ oz. isinglass, 1 bay leaf, the peel of 1 Seville orange, lemon and sugar to taste. Boil altogether; when the isinglass is dissolved take it off the fire and add immediately the yolks of 8 eggs and 1 pint cream; when nearly cold, add 1 wineglassful brandy, pour into a mould, turn out, and serve with the following sauce: The juice of 2 lemons, an equal quantity of water and sugar to taste; cut the peel of the lemon into long thin shreds and boil in the syrup till quite tender; pour it over the pudding, letting the shreds remain on the top.
Clifton Pudding.—Boil a teacupful of rice for nearly an hour in a cloth, putting it on in cold water. Have ready sweet sauce, made of ½ pint milk (or water), 1 tablespoonful flour, and 3 lumps sugar; pour this over just before sending to table.