(b) Beat up the whites of 2 eggs; then add ½ lb. castor sugar and the juice of a lemon or a few drops of orange-flower water. Beat the mixture until it hangs upon the fork in flakes, then spread over the cake, dipping the knife in cold water occasionally. Stand it before the fire, and keep turning the cake constantly, or the sugar will catch and turn brown. As soon as it begins to harden it may be removed. The icing must not be put on until the cake itself is cold, otherwise it will not set. A few drops of cochineal will colour it if desired.
Cherry Water Ice.—Take out the stones of the cherries, pound them in a mortar in order to get the flavour, and then pass them through a sieve with the fruit. Add syrup, and freeze as strawberry water ice. The flavour of the kernel should come out well in cherry ices, a few drops of home-made extract of almonds (bitter almonds infused in spirit) is therefore an improvement. If the cherries do not give sufficient sharpness, add a little lemon juice.
Chocolate Ice Cream.—Mix 2 teaspoonfuls Van Houten’s cocoa in a gill of cold milk, stir it into 1 pint cream or custard, add vanilla flavour, and sweeten. Scraped and sifted chocolate, so as to bring it to a fine powder, can be used; but the cocoa named is on all accounts best for this cream.
Chocolate Icing.—Put into a saucepan ½ lb. powdered loaf sugar, 2 oz. grated chocolate, and about 1 gill water; stir on the fire until the mixture assumes the consistence of a thick, smooth cream. Lay the icing evenly on the cake or pastry, with a palette knife, and put it into the oven for a minute or two to set the icing.
Coconut Ice.—Put on in a brass or copper pan 4 lb. loaf sugar, with 2 pints of cold water, stir till it comes to the boil, by which time the sugar should be quite dissolved, let it boil to candy light, and draw it to the side. Have a large coconut pared and grated, mix together with the milk, add ¾ of it to the sugar, and stir till it begins to candy. Have a sheet of paper greased and laid upon a stone slab; on it place 4 iron rods so as to form a square, into which pour the tablet. Repeat the above process with 2 lb. sugar and 1 pint cold water, adding a little cochineal to colour it, and the remainder of the grated coconut; when ready, pour it over the first sheet of tablet, which will be set by the time you have done the second; when quite cold, turn it over, draw off the paper, and cut it in stripes 3-4 in. long.
Coffee Ice Cream.—Make a custard, without any flavour, of 1 pint cream and 4 yolks of eggs. Put into this ¼ lb. freshly-roasted mocha coffee berries; they should, if possible, be used hot. Cover up the stewpan closely with its lid, putting a napkin over to keep in the steam. Let the custard stand for an hour, strain and sweeten, and when cold put it into the freezing pot. Cream thus prepared will not take the colour of the coffee, and when carefully made is very delicate and delicious. Coffee ice cream is also made with a strong infusion of coffee, or Branson’s extract of coffee can be used. To make the infusion, put 2 oz. ground coffee into a French cafetière, and pour over it 1 gill fast-boiling water. When the infusion has all run through boil it up, and pour it over 2 oz. more coffee. Put the infusion thus obtained to 1 pint sweetened cream or custard and freeze.
Ginger Ice Cream.—Make a custard of 1 pint cream and 4 eggs put to it. Cut up in small pieces 2 oz. preserved ginger, add sufficient ground ginger to flavour well, and syrup or sugar to taste. Stir occasionally until cold, and put it into the freezing pot. Care should be taken to use fresh and good ground ginger, as otherwise it is apt to impart a mouldy kind of flavour.
Lemon Water Ice.—Wash the lemons in cold water in order to ensure cleanliness. Take a few lumps of sugar, and rub them over the peel until you have enough to flavour the ices; probably 2 fine lemons will be sufficient. Put this lemon sugar into 1 qt. cold filtered water, and let it stand 10 minutes, or while the lemons are squeezed. About ½ pint juice is usually needed, with sufficient syrup to register 24° by the saccharometer. Having strained the juice and water flavoured with the lemon sugar, add the syrup, and strain into the freezing pot. When the ices register 22° F., press well down in the pot, and leave them in the freezing mixture for an hour. A little Nelson’s gelatine is useful to give richness and body to water ices; but care must be taken not to use more than the quantity named. Soak and dissolve in boiling water ¼ oz. Nelson’s gelatine, add it to the quart of water to be used for the ices, thoroughly mix it with the other materials, and afterwards strain them.
Pineapple Ice Cream.—Press the juice from a fine ripe pineapple, add that of a lemon, with syrup or pounded sugar to give the required sweetness. Mix with an equal quantity of rich cream, and strain into the freezing pot. Or, make a custard as follows: boil 1 pint milk, pour it whilst boiling on the yolks of 6 eggs; stir rapidly over the fire until it thickens, taking care not to curdle it. With a little experience a perfect custard may be thickened in this way in less than 7 minutes, a much longer time being required if the milk is not boiled. When cold, add pineapple pulp made as follows: Boil 1 lb. pineapple sliced and peeled, in 1 gill water for 10 minutes, pound the fruit and rub it through a sieve, add syrup or sugar to taste. When cold mix with the custard, and strain into the freezing pot. Lemon juice can be added if necessary.