Soak the tapioca in three cups of lukewarm water in a pan, put the pan back on the range and let it just keep warm for several hours till the tapioca becomes a clear jelly. Peel, core, and pack the apples together in a dish, fill the centres with sugar, cover and steam in the oven, then put the tip of salt into the tapioca, and pour it over the apples, return to the oven and leave till quite cooked—about an hour. Serve with cream. If there is any objection to the appearance of the pudding, then a beaten white of egg can be spread over it just before removing from the oven.
German Apple Tart.—One and three-quarter pounds of apples, quarter of a pound of dates.
Peel, core, and cut the apples into small pieces, stone and quarter the dates, and put them in a pan with a very little water and stew till soft. Then stir in two tablespoonfuls of sugar, one ounce of butter, one teaspoonful of ground cinnamon, half a teaspoonful of ginger. Beat smooth, then turn out to cool.
Make a short crust of half a pound of flour, two ounces of castor sugar, one teaspoonful of cinnamon, a small teaspoonful of baking powder, and a quarter of a pound of butter. Rub all together and work into a dough with the yolk of one egg and half a teacup of milk. Divide the dough into three pieces, roll out for bottom and sides a little thicker than the piece for the top. Line tin, fill up with the apple mixture, smooth on top, then lay third piece of crust over it, pinching the edge to the side crust, then bake in a moderate oven for half an hour. Beat the white of the egg to a stiff froth, sift in two ounces of castor sugar, a drop or two of lemon juice, and then spread evenly on top of the tart when nearly cool, and leave to set.
Apple Mould.—One and a half pounds of apples, pare, core, and cut in quarters, put in a pan with half a pound of sugar and four ounces of butter. Stew till soft, but keep the pieces whole, lift them on to a sieve and let the syrup run into a dish. Butter a pudding-dish, line it with thin fingers of bread, lay in the pieces of apple, cover with slices of bread, brush over with egg, pour over some syrup, and bake in a moderate oven for three-quarters of an hour. Turn out and serve with sauce.
Apple Charlotte.—One and a half pounds of apples, peel, core, and cut up, and put on to stew with very little water and three ounces of sugar. When soft rub through a sieve, then put back into the pan, add four ounces more sugar and simmer till thick, taking care not to let the pulp burn.
Cut some stale bread into fingers, dip into melted butter, and arrange them round a well-buttered pudding mould, lapping one edge over the other and pressing firmly down, cover the bottom with rounds of bread in the same way, shake in some bread-crumbs, fill up with the apples, place more rounds of bread on the top, put into the oven and bake for an hour. Turn on to a dish, let it stand a few minutes, then draw off the mould and dust sugar over. By allowing the mould to remain a little, there is less danger of it sticking.
Before leaving the recipes for apples, I would like to give an excellent way of stewing. Pare the apples, quarter them, take out the cores, and cut the quarters into thin slices, then put them into a pan, put sugar over them to taste, shake it down through the fruit, then put a piece of white paper over, tucking it well round the edges to keep in the steam, then put on the lid, and set the pan at the side of the fire and shake occasionally till it heats.
The steam generated by the moisture of the apples is quite enough to prevent burning, and if care is taken in shaking the pan well there is no fear of burning. Stew slowly till soft. By using no water, the flavour of the fruit is much finer and the apples become a clear jelly and are most delicious to taste.
Gooseberry Fool.—Take a quart of green gooseberries, put them, after topping and tailing them, into a pan with four ounces of loaf sugar and stew them as directed for the apples—without water. When soft, rub them through a sieve, and then stir into the purée half a pint of thick cream, stir all together, add more sugar if required, then when cold pour into a crystal dish. Garnish with whipped cream on the top.