Part 5

Dissolve an ounce of isinglass in warm water, and then stir it into a quart of cream. Add a quarter of a pound of broken loaf-sugar, and a wine-glass of rose-water. Boil it hard for a quarter of an hour, and stir it all the time. Then strain it through a linen bag, and put it into egg-cups, or into the halves of egg-shells nicely and evenly trimmed, and set it away in a cold place to congeal.

Have ready some calves-feet jelly (made according to the directions given in the article "Chickens in Jelly"); and when the blancmange is firm, take out a small piece from the middle of each cupful, and replace it with a lump of the jelly, put in so as to look like the yolk of the egg. Or if more convenient, you need not put in the jelly till you have taken the blancmange out of the cups or egg-shells, which must be done by wetting the moulds with warm water on the outside.

The jelly for this purpose must be very high-colored, by means of brandy, or dark sweet wine.

If nicely managed, the blancmange and jelly will look like eggs cut in half. Lay them in a circle round a dish that contains something high and ornamental,--for instance, a pyramid of ice-cream.

PART THE SIXTH.

PASTRY, CAKES, &c.

FRENCH PASTE.

Sift a quart of flour, and lay it in a pan. Make a hole in the middle, and put into it the white of an egg slightly beaten, a piece of butter the size of an egg, and a very little salt. Pour in gradually as much cold water as will moisten it. Mix it well with your hands, as rapidly as possible, and see that no lumps are left in it. Set it away to cool, and in a quarter of an hour roll it out, and spread over it half a pound of butter which has been kept in ice. Then fold up the paste with the four sides laid one over another, so as entirely to inclose the butter, and set it for half an hour in a cool place. Then roll it again; fold it, and give it another roll. Set it away again; and in half an hour roll it out twice more, and it will be fit for use.

PUFF PASTE.

May be made with a pound of butter, and a pound and a quarter of sifted flour. The butter must be washed in cold water, and then squeezed very hard, and made up into a lump. Divide it into eight parts. Mix one part of the butter with the flour, adding just enough of water to moisten it. Roll it out; spread over it a second portion of the butter; flour it; fold it up, and roll it out again, adding another division of the butter. Repeat this till you get in all the butter, a piece at a time, folding and rolling the paste with each separate portion of the butter. Then set it away to cool. If it sets several hours, it will be the better for it; and better still if the paste is made the night before it is wanted; always keeping it in a cold place.

While buttering and rolling, do every thing as quickly as possible.

Before you put it into the dishes, roll it out once more. It is difficult in warm weather to make good puff paste without a marble table, or slab, to roll it on.

CREAM TARTS.

Mix together a quart of flour, half a pound of butter, a little salt, and two beaten eggs. Add a little cold water; make it into a paste, and set it away to cool. Then roll it out again. Cut it into round shapes with the edge of a tumbler. Lay round each a rim made of an even strip of the paste, and notch it handsomely. Bake them for a quarter of an hour, and then take them from the oven. Beat together a pint of cream, four eggs, and four table-spoonfuls of powdered sugar. Fill the tarts with this mixture, grate nutmeg over each, and bake them again for a quarter of an hour.

ALMOND TARTS.

Blanch half a pound of shelled sweet almonds and three ounces of shelled bitter almonds. Beat them, a few at a time, in a mortar, mixing them well, and adding at times a little rose-water. When done, mix with them a quarter of a pound of loaf-sugar powdered, and the juice and grated peel of half a lemon.

Have ready some fine paste. Cut it into circular pieces about the size and thickness of a dollar. Put into each piece of paste some of the almond mixture, heaping it up in the centre. Cover them with lids of the same, and crimp the edges very neatly. Bake them about half an hour, and grate sugar over them when done.

RISSOLES.

Make some fine paste, and cut it out with the edge of a tumbler. Have ready some minced veal, seasoned in the best manner, or some chopped oysters, or any sort of force-meat, and lay some of it on one half of each piece of paste. Then turn over it the other half, so as to inclose the meat. Crimp the edges. Put some butter into a frying-pan. Lay the rissoles into it, and fry them of a light brown.

They should be in the shape of a half-moon.

ALMOND CUSTARDS.

Blanch and pound in a mortar half a pound of shelled sweet almonds, and three ounces of peach-kernels, or shelled bitter almonds, adding sufficient rose-water to moisten them. When they are all pounded to a paste, mix with them a quarter of a pound of powdered loaf-sugar, and boil them in a quart of milk or cream. Then set it away to cool. When cold, stir eight beaten eggs into it. Put the mixture into cups. Set them in an iron oven half filled with water, and bake them.

VANILLA CUSTARDS.

Cut a vanilla bean into slips, and boil them in a quart of milk, with a quarter of a pound of white sugar. Let it boil slowly for a quarter of an hour, and then set it away to cool. When cold, stir into it eight beaten eggs, having left out the whites of four. Put the mixture into cups, set them in water and bake them. Color them when done, by holding over them a red-hot shovel. When cold, grate on sugar.

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_Lemon Custards_ are made in the same manner; substituting for the vanilla bean the grated rind of a large fresh lemon.

CHOCOLATE CUSTARDS.

Cut into pieces half a pound of the best chocolate. Pour on it sufficient milk to prevent its burning, and let it boil ten minutes. After you remove it from the fire, have ready a pint of boiling milk or cream, and pour it on the chocolate. Beat together the yolks of eight eggs and the whites of two only, and stir them into the chocolate with two ounces, or more, of loaf-sugar. Put the mixture into cups, set them in an oven with water in it, and bake them. Beat the six remaining whites of eggs to a froth, adding a very little sugar, and heap some of the froth on each custard. You may lay on the top of each heap of froth one of the bonbons or confections called chocolate-nuts.

COFFEE CUSTARDS.

Take two ounces of roasted coffee and two ounces of raw coffee. Pound them together in a mortar, but do not grind them. Boil this coffee in a quart of rich milk. Let it get cold, and then strain it. Stir into it two ounces of powdered loaf-sugar, and two large spoonfuls of cream. Beat eight eggs, omitting the whites of four. Stir them gradually into the coffee. Put it into cups, and bake the custards in an oven with water. Grate white sugar over the tops when cold.

TEA CUSTARDS.

Boil a quart of cream or rich milk, and pour it (while boiling) on three ounces of the best green tea. Add two ounces of loaf sugar. Cover it and set it away. Take eight eggs, and beat them well, leaving out the whites of four; and when the tea is cold, stir in the eggs. Then strain the whole mixture; put it into cups, and bake them in an oven with water. Grate sugar over the top of each.

RICE POTTAGE.

Put six table-spoonfuls of rice into a pint of water, and boil it till quite soft. Drain it through a sieve, and put the rice into a quart of milk with a quarter of a pound of sugar, and three or four peach-leaves, or a few peach-kernels. Boil it, and before you serve it up, take out the peach-leaves or kernels, and stir in the yolks of two eggs.

APPLE FRITTERS.

Pare and core some fine large pippins, and cut them into round slices. Soak them in brandy for two or three hours. Make a batter, in the proportion of four eggs to a table-spoonful of olive-oil, a table spoonful of rose-water, the same quantity of brandy, the same quantity of cold water. Thicken the batter with a sufficient quantity of flour stirred in by degrees, and mix it two or three hours before it is wanted, that it may be light by fermentation.

Put some butter into a frying-pan. Dip each slice of apple into the batter, and fry them brown. Then drain them, grate white sugar over them, and send them to table.

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_Peach Fritters_ may be made in the same way, but the peaches must be cut into quarters.

BREAD FRITTERS.

Boil a quart of milk with cinnamon and sugar to your taste. When done, stir in a table-spoonful of rose-water. Cut some slices of bread into a circular shape. Soak them in the milk till they have absorbed it. Then drain them. Have ready some yolks of eggs well beaten. Dip the slices of bread into it, and fry them in butter. Serve them up strewed with powdered sugar.

RICE CAKE.

Take half a pound of rice and wash it well. Put it into a pint of cream or milk, and boil it soft. Let it get cold. Then stir into it alternately a quarter of a pound of sugar, two ounces of butter, eight eggs well beaten (having left out the whites of four), and a wine-glass of rose-water, or else the grated peel of a lemon. Mix all well. Butter a mould or a deep pan with straight sides, and spread grated bread crumbs all over its inside. Put in the mixture, and bake it three quarters of an hour.

Ground rice is best for this cake.

If any of the cake is left, you may next day cut it in slices and fry them in butter.

Or, instead of baking the mixture in a large cake, you may put flour on your hands, and roll it into round balls. Make a batter of beaten eggs, sugar, and grated bread; dip the balls into it, and fry them in butter.

POTATO CAKE.

Roast in the ashes a dozen small or six large potatoes. When done, peel them, and put them into a pan with a little salt, and the rind of a lemon grated. Add a quarter of a pound of butter, or half a pint of cream, and a quarter of a pound of sugar. Having mashed the potatoes with this mixture, rub it through a cullender, and stir it very hard. Then set it away to cool.

Beat eight eggs, and stir them gradually into the mixture. Season it with a tea-spoonful of mixed spice, and half a glass of rose-water.

Butter a mould or a deep dish, and spread the inside all over with grated bread. Put in the mixture, and bake it for three quarters of an hour.

SPONGE CAKE--CALLED IN FRANCE BISCUIT.

Take ten eggs, and beat them till very thick and smooth. Add gradually a pound of powdered loaf-sugar. Rub a lump of loaf-sugar all over the rind of a large lemon, to draw the juice to the surface; then grate the peel of the lemon, and stir it into the mixture, together with the lump of sugar. Squeeze in the juice of the lemon, and add two table-spoonfuls of rose-water. Beat the mixture very hard; then take half a pound of potato flour (which is best), or else of fine wheat flour, and stir it in very lightly and slowly. It must be baked immediately.

Have ready some small square or oblong cases of thick white paper, with an edge turned up all round, and sewed at the corners. They should be about a finger in length, half a finger in breadth, and an inch and a half in depth. Either butter these paper-cases, or sift white sugar all over the inside. Put some of the mixture into each case, but do not fill them to the top. Grate loaf-sugar over the top of each, and bake them quickly.

These cakes are much better when baked in paper cases; tins being generally too thick for them. No cake requires greater care in baking. If the oven is not hot enough, both at top and bottom, they will fall and be heavy, and lose their shape.

CROQUETTES.

Take a pound of powdered sugar, a pound of butter, half a pound of wheat-flour, and half a pound of Indian meal; mix all together, and add the juice and grated peel of a large lemon, with spice to your taste. Make it into a lump of paste. Then put it into a mortar, and beat it hard on all sides.

Roll it out thin, and cut it into cakes with the edge of a tumbler, or with a tin cutter.

Flour a shallow tin pan. Lay the cakes into it, but not close together. Bake them about ten minutes. Grate sugar over them when done.

MARGUERITES.

Beat together till very light, a pound of butter and a pound of powdered sugar. Sift a pound of flour into a pan. Take the yolks only, of twelve eggs, and beat them till very thick and smooth. Pour them into the flour, and add the beaten butter and sugar. Stir in a grated nutmeg, and a wine-glass of rose-water. Mix the whole together, till it becomes a lump of dough.

Flour your paste-board, and lay the dough upon it; sprinkle it with flour. Roll it out about half an inch thick, and cut it into round cakes with the edge of a cup. Flour a shallow pan, put in the cakes (so as not to touch), and bake them about five minutes in a quick oven. If the oven is too cool, they will run.

When the cakes are cool, lay on each a large lump of currant jelly. Take the whites of the eggs, and beat them till they stand alone. Then add to them, by degrees, sufficient powdered sugar to make the consistence of icing, and ten drops of strong essence of lemon. Heap on each cake, with a spoon, a pile of the icing over the currant-jelly. Set them in a cool oven till the icing becomes firm and of a pale brownish tint.

These cakes are very fine.

WAFERS.

Sift half a pound of flour into a pan. Make a hole in the middle, and put in three beaten eggs, a table-spoonful of brandy, a table-spoonful of powdered sugar, a table-spoonful of sweet-oil, and a very little salt, not more than will lie on a sixpence. Mix all together, adding gradually a little milk, till you have a batter about the thickness of good cream. Then stir in a table-spoonful of rose-water. Let there be no lumps in the batter. Heat your wafer-iron on both sides, in a clear fire, but do not allow it to get red-hot. Then grease the inside with a brush dipped in sweet-oil, or a clean rag with some butter tied up in it. Then put in the batter, allowing about two table-spoonfuls to each wafer. Close the iron, and in baking turn it first on one side and then on the other. When done, sprinkle the wafers with powdered sugar, and roll each one up, pressing the edges together while warm, so as to make them unite.

A little practice will soon show you the proper degree of heat, and the time necessary for baking the wafers. They should be but slightly colored, and of an even tint all over.

GINGERBREAD.

Mix together two pounds of flour, one pound of sugar, five beaten eggs, three quarters of a pound of butter, and a tea-cupful of ginger. Put the flour to the other ingredients, a little at a time, and stir the whole very hard. Melt a tea-spoonful of sal aratus or fine pearl-ash in a little sour milk, and stir it in at the last. Roll the dough into sheets, and cut it out with square tins. If not stiff enough for rolling, add a little more flour. Lay it in buttered pans, and bake it in a moderate oven.

PART THE SEVENTH.

PREPARATIONS OF FRUIT, SUGAR, &c.

AN APPLE CHARLOTTE.

Pare and core some fine pippins, and cut them into small pieces. Melt some butter in the bottom of a pan. Then lay your apples in it with a sufficient proportion of sugar, beaten cinnamon or nutmeg, and some rose-water or grated lemon-peel. Set the pan in an oven, and let the apples bake till they are quite soft. Then take them out of the pan, and mash them to a marmalade with the back of a spoon.

Cut some thin slices of bread into a triangular or three-cornered shape, and dip them in melted butter. Then butter a broad deep dish, and lay the pieces of bread in the bottom of it, making the points meet in the centre. Spread a thick layer of apple all over the bread; then more bread, covered with another layer of apple, and so on till the dish is full; having a cover of bread on the top. Set it in the oven, and bake it slowly about a quarter of an hour.

A very fine Charlotte may be made by substituting slices of spunge-cake for the bread, or having square spunge-cakes laid round, leaving a hole in the centre to be filled up with gooseberry jelly. If you use spunge-cake, you need not put it in the oven.

APPLE COMPOTE.

Pare and core some large pippins, but leave them whole. Make a syrup by boiling and skimming a pound of loaf-sugar melted in a gill of water, into which the half of the white of an egg has been beaten. When the syrup is quite clear, boil the apples in it till soft and tender. Then take them out, lay them in a deep dish, and fill up with small sweet-meats or marmalade the holes from whence you took the cores.

Boil the syrup again till it becomes a jelly. Pour it hot over your apples, and set it in a cool place to congeal.

The syrup will be much improved by adding to it the juice of one or two lemons, or a dozen drops of essence of lemon.

COMPOTE OF PEARS.

Pare them, but leave on the stems. Lay them in a preserving-pan; and to a dozen moderate-sized pears, put half a pound of white sugar, a gill of water, and a few sticks of cinnamon, with some slips of lemon-peel. Simmer them till tender; and when half done, pour in a glass of port-wine. When quite done, take out the pears and lay them in a deep dish. Strain the syrup; give it another boil, and pour it over them.

COMPOTE OF CHESTNUTS.

Take some of the largest and finest chestnuts. Cut a slit in the shell of each, and roast them in a charcoal furnace, taking care not to burn them. When done, peel them and put them into a pan with some powdered sugar, and a very little water. Let them simmer over a slow fire for about a quarter of an hour. When done, take them out, put them into a dish, squeeze over them some lemon-juice, and sprinkle them with powdered sugar.

FRIED APPLES.

Pare and core some of the largest and finest pippins, and cut them into thin round slices. Mix together in a deep dish some brandy, lemon-juice, and powdered sugar. Lay the slices of apple in it, and let them soak for several hours. Then drain them, and dip each slice in flour. Put some butter into a pan, and fry the apples of a fine brown. Dish them, and grate loaf-sugar over them.

Quinces may be done in the same manner. So also may peaches, but they must be cut in half.

PEACH MARMALADE.

Take ripe peaches; pare them and cut them in half, taking out the stones. Weigh them, and to each pound of fruit allow half a pound of loaf-sugar. Mash them with the sugar, and put them in a preserving-kettle. Boil them slowly till they become a shapeless mass, which will generally be in about three quarters of an hour. Stir the marmalade frequently, to prevent its sticking to the kettle. Blanch half the kernels, and cut them in two; and when the marmalade is about half done, put them into it to give it a fine flavor. Take out the kernels when the marmalade is cold, and then tie it up in pots or glasses, laying over it paper dipped in brandy.

Marmalade of plums or green-gages may be made in the same manner.

BRANDY PEACHES.

Take large yellow free-stone peaches; they must not be too ripe. Wipe off the down with a flannel, and then prick each peach to the stone with a large pin. Put them into a pan, and scald them with boiling water. Cover them, and let them rest for a few minutes. This is to make them white. You may repeat the scalding two or three times. Then take them out to drain and dry.

Allow a pound of the best loaf-sugar to a dozen large peaches. Put the sugar into a preserving-kettle (lined with enamel or porcelain), and melt it, allowing to each pound a gill of water, and half the white of an egg. Boil the sugar, and skim it till perfectly clear. Then put in the peaches, and give them a boil. Take them off the fire, and let them set in the syrup till next day.

The following morning take out the peaches, set the syrup over the fire, and when it has boiled a few minutes put in the peaches, and give them a short boil. Then take them out, and let them get cold. Boil down the syrup to half its original quantity, but take care that it does not boil long enough to congeal or become thick. Put the peaches into a glass jar, and pour the syrup over them. Fill up the jar with brandy, and cover it closely.

Apricots may be done in the same manner. Also pears. The stems must be left on the pears.

GOOSEBERRY POTTAGE.

Stew two quarts of fine large gooseberries in just sufficient water to cover them. When quite soft and broken, mash them with the back of a spoon, make them very sweet with sugar, and set them away to get cold. Take three pints of rich milk; stir into it a pounded nutmeg and the yolks of four eggs. Then set it over a bed of hot coals, and let it simmer, stirring it gently all the time. Before it comes to a boil, take it off the fire and gradually stir in the gooseberries. It must be quite cold before you serve it up. Send it to table in a bowl, and eat spunge-cake with it.

It will be still nicer, if you use the pulp only of the gooseberries, pressed through a sieve or cullender.

FRUIT JELLIES.

Previous to making your jelly, clarify the sugar, which must be the best loaf. Break it up, and to each pound allow a gill of water and an ounce of isinglass. Mix the water with the sugar. Dissolve the isinglass in as much hot water as will cover it. Set the sugar over the fire in a preserving-kettle; and when it is beginning to boil, throw in the melted isinglass. Skim the syrup well, and when it is quite clear and no more scum rises, take it from the fire, cover it, and leave it to settle.

Prepare the fruit of which you intend to make the jelly. If small fruit, such as gooseberries, currants, grapes, raspberries, or strawberries; pick them from the stems, and put them into a jar; set the jar in a vessel of warm water, and let them come to a boil. Then take them out, put them into a fine sieve, set a pan under it, and with the back of a large spoon press out all the juice from the fruit. Mix the juice, while warm, with the clarified sugar, and boil them together for about a quarter of an hour. Then put it into your jars or glasses, and tie it up with brandy-paper.

If you want the jelly for immediate use, put it into a mould; set the mould in ice for two or three hours; and when the jelly is congealed, loosen it by setting the mould in warm water, and then turn it out.

PRESERVED PUMPKIN.

Take a fine ripe pumpkin of a deep rich color. Cut from it as many slices as you want; they should be very thin. Have ready some lime-water. Put into it the slices of pumpkin, and let them soak for twenty-four hours. Then take them out, wash them well in cold water, and wipe them dry. Having prepared a nicely clarified syrup of sugar, put the slices of pumpkin into it, and let them simmer over a slow fire without stirring, for a day and a night; but first flavor them to your taste with lemon-juice mixed into the syrup. When done, they will be crisp and transparent. Put them into broad stone or queensware pots, and tie them up with brandy-paper.

PRESERVED RASPBERRIES.

Let your raspberries be gathered on a dry day. Measure them, and to a quart of raspberries allow a pound of fine loaf-sugar. Spread the fruit on large dishes, but do not heap it; let every raspberry lie singly. Pound the sugar to powder, and sift it over the fruit.