Part 11

Special recipes for every kind of fruit tart are not given, as the same rules apply to all. For the crust either of the recipes given for pie-crusts may be used, and the fruit tarts can be made either open, with a bottom crust only, with top and bottom crust, or with a top crust only. When any dried fruit is used, like prunes, dried apricots, apple-rings, &c., these should first be stewed till tender, and sweetened if necessary, and allowed to cool; then place as much of the fruit as is required into your tart, cover it with a crust, and bake until the crust is done. If an open tart is made, only very little juice should be used, as it would make the crust heavy.

Summer fruit, like strawberries, raspberries, currants, cherries, and gooseberries need not be previously cooked. Mix the fruit with the necessary sugar, and it the tart is made with a top crust only, a little water can be added and an egg-cup or a little tea-cup should be placed in the pie-dish upside down to keep up the crust.

BLANCMANGE TARTLETS.

1 pint of milk, 3 oz. of ground rice, 1 teaspoonful of sugar, a few drops of almond essence, any kind of jam preferred. Make a blancmange, of the milk, ground rice, and flavouring; grease some patty pans, fill them with the blancmange mixture, place a spoonful of jam on every tartlet, and bake them 10 minutes.

CHEESECAKES (ALMOND).

3 oz. of sweet ground almonds, 1/2 oz. bitter ground almonds, 3 oz. castor sugar, 1 egg, 1 dessertspoonful of orange-water. Pound the almonds well together with the orange-water, and the sugar, beat the egg and mix it well with the almonds. Line 8 or 10 little cheesecake tins with a short crust, bake them, fill with the almond mixture, and serve cold.

CHOCOLATE TARTS.

6 oz. of Allinson fine wheatmeal, 2 oz. of butter, 2 oz. of Allinson chocolate (grated), 1 dessertspoonful of sugar, 1/2 oz. of ground rice, 4 eggs, well beaten, and 1 pint of milk. Mix the milk with the ground rice, add to it the chocolate smoothly and gradually; stir the mixture over the fire until it thickens, let cool a little and stir in the eggs; make the meal and butter into a paste with a little cold water; line a greased plate with it, and pour the cooled custard into it; bake the tart 1/2 hour in a moderate oven.

MARLBOROUGH PIE.

6 good-sized apples, 1 oz. of butter, 3 eggs, the juice and rind of 1 lemon, 1 teacupful of milk, sugar to taste, and some paste for crust. Steam or bake the apples till tender and press them through a sieve while hot, add the butter, and let the mixture cool; beat the yolks of the eggs, add to them the milk, sugar, lemon juice and rind, and add all these to the apples and butter; line a dish with paste, fill it with the above mixture, and bake the pie for 1/2 hour in a quick oven; whip the whites of the eggs stiff, adding a little castor sugar, heap the froth over the pie, and let it set in the oven.

LEMON CREAM (for Cheesecakes).

1 lb. powdered sugar, 6 yolks of eggs, 4 whites of eggs, juice of 8 lemons, grated rind of 2 lemons, 1/4 lb. fresh butter. Put the ingredients into a double boiler and stir over a slow fire until the cream is the consistency of honey.

LEMON TART.

1 lemon, 1 breakfastcupful of water, 1 dessertspoonful of cornflour, 2 eggs, 1 oz. of butter, sugar to taste, some short crust made of 4 oz. of Allinson's fine wheatmeal and 1-1/2 oz. of butter. Moisten the cornflour with a little of the water; bring the rest of the water to the boil with the juice and the grated rind of the lemon and sugar. Thicken the mixture with the cornflour; let it simmer for a few minutes, then set aside to cool; beat up the eggs, mix them well through with the rest of the ingredients, line a flat dish or soup-plate with pastry; pour the mixture into this, cover the tart with thin strips of pastry in diamond shape, and bake the tart 3/4 of an hour.

TREACLE TART.

To 1 lb. of golden syrup add 1 breakfastcupful of Allinson breadcrumbs, the grated rind and juice of 1 lemon. Mix well together. Line the tins with short paste. Put about 1 tablespoonful of the mixture in each tin; bake in a quick oven.

BLANCMANGES

BLANCMANGE.

1 quart of milk, 2 oz. of Allinson fine wheatmeal, 2 oz. of Allinson cornflour, 1 oz. of sugar, piece of vanilla 3 inches long, or some vanilla essence. Bring 1-1/2 pints of milk to the boil, adding the vanilla spliced and the sugar; mix the wheatmeal and cornflour smooth with the rest of the milk, add the mixture to the boiling milk, stir all well for 8 to 10 minutes, and then pour it into one or two wetted moulds; when cold, turn out and serve with stewed fruit or jam.

BLANCMANGE (CHOCOLATE).

1 quart of milk, 1 oz. of N.F. cocoa, 2 oz. of Allinson cornflour, 2 oz. of sifted Allinson fine wheatmeal, sugar to taste, 1 good dessertspoonful of vanilla essence. Set the greatest part of the milk over the fire, leaving enough to smooth the cornflour, flour, and cocoa. Mix the cornflour, wheatmeal flour, and cocoa, and smooth it with the cold milk. Stir the mixture into the boiling milk, and let it all simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring very frequently. Add the vanilla essence, stir it well through, pour the mixture into a wetted mould, and let it get cold. Turn it out, and serve.

BLANCMANGE (LEMON) (a very good Summer Pudding).

1 pint of water, 2 tablespoonfuls of Allinson cornflour, 1 lemon, 2 eggs, sugar to taste. Put the water in an enamel saucepan, and let it boil with the rind of the lemon in it. When boiling, add the cornflour mixed with a little cold water. Allow it all to boil for a few minutes; then add sugar and the juice of a lemon. Have the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth, and beat up well with the mixture; then pour into a mould. Make a little custard to pour over the blancmange--1/2 pint of milk, a little sugar, and essence of lemon; whisk in the yolks of the eggs. This makes an excellent custard.

BLANCMANGE EGGS.

Make a blancmange with 1 pint of milk, 1 oz. of Allinson cornflour, and 1 oz. of Allinson fine wheatmeal. Pierce the ends of 4 or 6 eggs, and let the contents drain away. Rinse the shells with cold water, then fill them with the hot blancmange mixture. When cold gently peel off the shells. Serve on a glass dish nicely arranged with stewed fruit or jam.

ORANGE MOULD (1).

7 oranges, 1 lemon, 4 oz. of cornflour, 4 oz. of sugar, 4 eggs, some water. Take the juice of the oranges and lemon and the grated rind of the latter. Add enough water to the juice to make 1 quart of liquid. Set that over the fire to boil (keeping back a 1/4 of a pint for mixing the cornflour smooth), and add the sugar. Separate the yolks of the eggs from the white; beat up the yolks and add them to the cornflour and juice when those are smooth. When the liquid over the fire boils, stir in the mixture of eggs, cornflour, and juice, and keep all stirring over the fire for 2 minutes. Have ready the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth, mix it lightly with the rest, and pour the mixture into wetted moulds. Turn out when cold and serve when required.

ORANGE MOULD (2).

The juice of 7 oranges and 1 lemon, 6 oz. of sugar, 4 oz. of Allinson cornflour, and 4 eggs. Add enough water to the fruit juice to make 1 quart of liquid. Put 1-1/2 pints of this over the fire with the sugar. When boiling thicken it with the cornflour, which should be smoothed with the rest of the liquid. Stir well over the fire for 5 to 8 minutes; whip up the eggs and stir them carefully into the mixture so as not to curdle them. Pour all into a wetted mould, let it get cold, turn it out, and serve.

CREAMS

APRICOT CREAMS.

1 pint of cream, the whites of 4 eggs, some apricot jam, 2 inches of vanilla pod, 1 dessertspoonful of castor sugar. Split the vanilla, put this and the sugar into the cream; whip this with the whites of eggs until stiff, then remove the vanilla. Place a good teaspoonful of apricot jam in each custard glass, and fill up with whipped cream.

BLACKBERRY CREAM.

1 quart of blackberries, sugar to taste, 1/2 pint of cream, white of 2 eggs. Mash the fruit gently, put it into a hair-sieve and allow it to drain. Sprinkle the fruit with sugar to make the juice drain more freely; whip the cream and mix with the juice.

CHOCOLATE CREAM.

1 quart of milk, 6 oz. of Allinson chocolate, 4 eggs, 1 tablespoonful of Allinson corn flour, essence of vanilla, sugar to taste. Dissolve the chocolate in a few tablespoonfuls of water, stirring it over the fire until a thick, smooth paste; add the milk, vanilla, and sugar. When boiling thicken the milk with the cornflour; remove the mixture from the fire to cool slightly, beat the eggs well, stir them into the thickened chocolate very gradually, and stir the whole over the fire, taking care not to allow it to boil When well thickened let the cream cool; serve in custard glasses or poured over sponge cakes or macaroons.

CHOCOLATE CREAM (French) (1).

Use the whites of 3 eggs to 2 large bars of chocolate; vanilla to taste. Break the chocolate in pieces, and melt it in a little enamelled saucepan with very little water; stir it quite smooth, and flavour with Allinson vanilla essence. Set the chocolate aside until quite cold, when it should be a smooth paste, and not too firm. Beat the whites of the eggs to a very stiff froth, and mix the chocolate with it, stirring both well together until the chocolate is well mixed with the froth. It the cream is not found sweet enough, add a little castor sugar. Serve in a glass dish. This is easily made, and very dainty.

CHOCOLATE CREAM (WHIPPED).

2 oz. of Allinson chocolate to 1/4 pint of cream, white of 1 egg. Dissolve the chocolate over the fire with 2 tablespoonfuls of water; let it get quite cold, and then mix it with the cream previously whipped stiff; this will not require any additional sugar.

EGG CREAM.

The yolks of 6 eggs, 1/2 pint of water, juice of 1 lemon, 2 oz. of sifted sugar, a little cinnamon. Beat up all the ingredients, put the mixture into a saucepan over a sharp fire, and whisk it till quite frothy, taking care not to let it boil; fill into glasses and serve at once.

LEMON CREAM.

The juice of 3 lemons and the rind of 1, 7 eggs, 6 oz. of sugar, 1 dessertspoonful of cornflour. Proceed exactly as in "Orange Cream."

MACAROON CREAM.

Pound 1-1/2 doz. macaroons, place in a bowl, add 1 or 2 spoonfuls of milk, and mix all to a smooth paste. Take a 6d. jar of cream, whip to a stiff froth. Lay a little of the macaroon paste roughly in the bottom of a glass dish, then 1 or 2 spoonfuls of the cream, more paste and cream, then cover with 1 spoonful of cream put on roughly.

ORANGE CREAM.

6 oranges, 1 lemon, 7 eggs, 4 to 6 oz. of sugar (according to taste), 1 dessertspoonful of cornflour, some water. Take the juice of the oranges and the juice and grated rind of the lemon. Add enough water to the fruit juice to make 1-1/2 pints of liquid; let this get hot, adding the sugar to it; mix the cornflour smooth with a spoonful of cold water, and thicken the fruit juice with it, letting it boil up for a minute, set aside and let it cool a little; beat the eggs well, and when the liquid has cooled mix them carefully in with it; return the whole over a gentle fire, keep stirring continually until the cream thickens, but take care not to let it boil, as this would curdle it. When cold, serve in custard glasses, or in a glass dish poured over macaroons.

RASPBERRY CREAM.

1 quart of raspberries, sugar to taste, 1/2 pint of cream. Proceed as in "Blackberry Cream."

RUSSIAN CREAM.

Lay 6 sponge cakes on a glass dish, and soak them with any fruit syrup; then add 1 pint of blancmange. When nearly cold cover the top with ratafia biscuits and decorate with angelica and cherries.

STRAWBERRY CREAM.

1 quart of strawberries, sugar to taste, 1/2 pint of cream. Proceed as in "Blackberry Cream."

SWISS CREAM.

1/2 pint of cream, 1/2 pint of milk, 1 tablespoonful of Allinson cornflour, 1/4 lb. of macaroons, 2 oz. of ratafias, vanilla, and sugar to taste. Put the cream and milk over the fire, adding a piece of vanilla 2 inches long, and sugar to taste; smooth the cornflour with a tablespoonful of cold milk, mix it with the milk and cream when nearly boiling, stir the mixture over the fire until it has thickened and let it simmer 2 minutes longer, always stirring; remove the vanilla, arrange the macaroons and ratafias on a shallow glass dish, let the cream cool a little, then pour it over the biscuits and serve cold. This makes a delicious dish.

WHIPPED CREAMS.

Quantity of good thick cream according to requirement. The white of 1 egg to 1/4 pint. Whip it well with a whisk or fork until it gets quite thick; in hot weather it should be kept on ice or standing in another basin with cold water, as the cream might curdle. Add sugar to taste and whatever flavouring might be desired, this latter giving the cream its name. When whipped cream is used to pour over sweets, &c., flavour it with stick vanilla; a piece 1 inch long is sufficient for 1/2 pint of cream; it must be split and as much as possible of the little grains in it rubbed into the cream.

CUSTARDS

ALMOND CUSTARD.

1 quart of milk, 6 eggs, 1 dessertspoonful of Allinson cornflour, 1 wineglassful of rosewater, sugar to taste, 1/2 lb. ground almonds. Boil the milk with the sugar and almonds; smooth the cornflour with the rosewater and stir it into the boiling milk, let it boil up for a minute. Beat up the eggs, leaving out 3 of the whites of the eggs, which are to be beaten to a stiff froth. Let the milk cool a little, then stir in the eggs very gradually, taking care not to curdle them; stir over the fire until the custard is nearly boiling, then let it cool, stirring occasionally; pour it into a glass dish, and pile the whipped whites of the eggs on the top of the custard just before serving.

BAKED APPLE CUSTARD.

8 large apples, moist sugar to taste, half a teacupful of water and the juice of half a lemon, 1 pint of custard made with Allinson custard powder. Peel, cut and core the apples and put into a lined saucepan with the water, sugar, and lemon juice, stew till tender and rub through a sieve; when cold put the fruit at the bottom of a pie-dish and pour the custard over, grate a little nutmeg over the top, bake lightly, and serve cold.

BAKED CUSTARD.

1 quart of milk, 6 eggs, sugar, and flavouring to taste. Heat the milk until nearly boiling, sweeten it with sugar, and add any kind of flavouring. Whip up the eggs, and mix them carefully with the hot milk. Pour the custard into a buttered pie-dish, and bake it in a moderately hot oven until set. If the milk and eggs are mixed cold and then baked the custard goes watery; it is therefore important to bear in mind that the milk should first be heated. Serve with stewed fruit.

CARAMEL CUSTARD.

1-1/2 pints of milk, 4 eggs, 1 dessertspoonful of sugar, 1/2 lemon and 4 oz. of castor sugar for caramel. Put the dry castor sugar into an enamelled saucepan and let it melt and turn a rich brown over the fire, stirring all the time. When the sugar is melted and browned stir into it about 2 tablespoonfuls of hot water, and the juice of 1/2 lemon. Then pour the caramel into a mould or cake-tin, and let it run all round the sides of the tin. Meanwhile heat the milk near boiling-point, and add the vanilla and sugar. Whip up the eggs, stir carefully into them the hot milk, so as not to curdle the eggs. Then pour the custard into the tin on the caramel and stand the tin in a larger tin with hot water, place it in the oven, and bake in a moderately hot oven for about 20 minutes or until the custard is set. Allow it to get cold, turn out, and serve.

CARAMEL CUP CUSTARD (French).

Make the custard as in the recipe for "Cup Custard." Take 4 oz. of castor sugar; put it over a brisk fire in a small enamelled saucepan, keep stirring it until quite melted and a rich brown. Then cautiously add 2 tablespoonfuls of boiling water, taking care not to be scalded by the spluttering sugar. Gradually stir the caramel into the hot custard. Let it cool, and serve in custard glasses.

CUP CUSTARD.

6 whole eggs or 10 yolks of eggs, 1 quart of milk, sugar and vanilla to taste. Beat the eggs well while the milk is being heated. Use vanilla pods to flavour--they are better than the essence, which is alcoholic; split a piece of the pod 3 or 4 inches long, and let it soak in the milk for 1 hour before it is set over the fire, so as to extract the flavour from the vanilla. Sweeten the milk and let it come nearly to boiling-point. Carefully stir the milk into the beaten eggs, adding only a little at a time, so as not to curdle the eggs. When all is mixed, pour the custard into a jug, which should be placed in a saucepanful of boiling water. Keep stirring the custard with a wooden spoon, and as soon as the custard begins to coat the spoon remove the saucepan from the fire, and continue stirring the custard until it is well thickened. In doing as here directed there is no risk of the custard curdling, for directly the water ceases to boil it cannot curdle the custard, although it is hot enough to finish thickening it. If the milk is nearly boiling when mixed with the eggs, the custard will only take from 5 to 10 minutes to finish. When the custard is done place the jug in which it was made in a bowl of cold water, stir it often while cooling to prevent a skin forming on the top. Remove the vanilla pod and pour the custard into glasses. Should the custard be required very thick, 8 eggs should be used, or the milk can first be thickened with a dessertspoonful of Allinson cornflour before mixing it with the 6 eggs. This is an excellent plan; it saves eggs, and the custard tastes just as rich as if more eggs were used. Serve in custard glasses, or in a glass dish.

CUSTARD (ALLINSON).

1 pint of milk or cream, 2 oz. of lump sugar and 1 packet of Allinson custard powder. Put the contents of the packet into a basin and mix to a smooth, thin paste with about 2 tablespoonfuls of the milk; boil the remainder of milk with the sugar, and when quite boiling pour quickly into the basin, stirring thoroughly; stir occasionally until quite cold, then pour into custard glasses and grate a little nutmeg on the top, or put in a glass dish and serve with stewed or tinned fruits, or the custard can be used with Christmas or plum pudding instead of sauce.

When the custard has been standing over night, it should be well stirred before using.

CUSTARD IN PASTRY OR KENTISH PUDDING PIE.

Line a pie-dish with puff paste, prick well with a fork and bake carefully, then fill the case with a custard made as follows. Mix 1 dessertspoonful of flour with the contents of a packet of Allinson custard powder, out of a pint of milk take 8 tablespoonfuls and mix well with the flour, custard powder, &c., boil the remainder of milk with sugar to taste and 1 oz. of butter and when quite boiling pour on to the custard powder, stir quickly for a minute, then pour into the pastry case, grate a little nutmeg on the top and bake till of a golden brown; serve either hot or cold.

FRUMENTY.

1 quart of milk, 1/2 pint of ready boiled wheat (boiled in water), 1/4 lb. of sultanas and currants mixed, sugar to taste, 4 eggs, a stick of cinnamon. Mix the milk with the wheat (which should be fresh), the sugar and fruit, adding the cinnamon, and let all cook gently over a low fire, stirring frequently; when the mixture is nicely thickened remove it from the fire and let it cool; beat up the eggs and gradually mix them with the rest, taking great care not to curdle them. Stir the frumenty over the fire, but do not allow to boil. Serve hot or cold. The wheat should be fresh and soaked for 24 hours, and then cooked from 3 to 5 hours.

GOOSEBERRY CUSTARD.

Make some good puff paste and line a pie-dish with it, putting a double row round the edge. With 1/2 lb. of castor sugar stew 1 lb. of green gooseberries until the skins are tender, then rub them through a sieve. Scald 1 pint of milk, mix 1 tablespoonful of Allinson cornflour to a smooth paste with cold milk, add it to the milk when boiling, let it boil for 5 minutes, gently stirring it all the time, then turn it into a bowl and let it become cool. Add 1/4 lb. of castor sugar, 2 oz. of butter melted and dropped in gradually whilst the mixture is beaten, then put in the well-beaten yolks of 6 eggs, add the mashed gooseberries in small quantities, and lastly the whites of the eggs whipped to a stiff froth; beat all together for a minute to mix well. Pour this into the lined pie-dish and bake 25 or 30 minutes; serve in the pie-dish. This can be made from any kind of acid fruit, and is as good cold as hot.

GOOSEBERRY FOOL.

Top and tail 1 pint of gooseberries, put into a lined saucepan with sugar to taste and half a small teacupful of water, stew gently until perfectly tender, rub through a sieve, and when quite cold add 1 pint of custard made with Allinson custard powder, which should have been allowed to become cold before being mixed with the fruit. Serve in a glass dish with sponge fingers.

N.B.--Apple fool is made in exactly the same way as above, substituting sharp apples for the gooseberries.

MACARONI CUSTARD.

4 oz. of Allinson macaroni, 3 eggs, 1 tablespoonful of sugar, 1 even dessertspoonful of Allinson cornflour, vanilla to taste. Boil the macaroni in 1 pint of milk, and add a little water it needed; when quite tender place it on a glass dish to cool; make a custard of the rest of the milk and the other ingredients; flavour it well with vanilla; when the custard is cool pour it over the macaroni, and serve with or without stewed fruit.

MACAROON CUSTARD.

1/2 lb. of macaroons, 1 quart of milk, 6 eggs, 1 dessertspoonful of Allinson cornflour, sugar and vanilla essence to taste. Boil the milk and stir into it the cornflour smoothed with a little of the milk; whip up the eggs, and carefully stir in the milk (which should have been allowed to go off the boil) without curdling it; add sugar and vanilla to taste, and stir the custard over the fire until it thickens, placing it in a jug into a saucepan of boiling water. Arrange the macaroons in a glass dish, and when the custard is cool enough not to crack the dish, pour it over them and sprinkle some ground almonds on the top. Serve cold.

ORANGE CUSTARD.

The juice of 6 oranges and of 1/2 a lemon, 6 eggs, 6 oz. of sugar, and 1 dessertspoonful of Allinson cornflour. Add enough water to the fruit juices to make 1-1/2 pints of liquid. Set this over the fire with the sugar; meanwhile smooth the cornflour with a little cold water, and thicken the liquid with it when boiling. Set aside the saucepan, (which should be an enamelled one) so as to cool the contents a little. Beat up the eggs, gradually stir into them the thickened liquid, and then proceed with the custard as in the previous recipe. This is a German sweet, and very delicious.

RASPBERRY CUSTARD.

1-1/2 pints of raspberries, 1/2 pint of red currants, 6 oz. of sugar, 7 eggs, 1 dessertspoonful of Allinson cornflour. Mix the fruit, and let it cook from 5 to 10 minutes with 1 pint of water; strain the juice well through a piece of muslin or a fine hair-sieve. There should be 1 quart of juice; if necessary add a little more water; return the juice to the saucepan, add the sugar and reheat the liquid; when it boils thicken it with the cornflour, then set it aside to cool. Beat up the eggs, add them carefully after the fruit juice has somewhat cooled; stir the custard over the fire until it thickens, but do not allow it to boil, as the eggs would curdle. Serve cold in custard glasses, or in a glass dish poured over macaroons or sponge cakes. You can make a fruit custard in this way, with strawberries, cherries, red currants, or any juicy summer fruit.

STRAWBERRY CUSTARD.