Chapter 4

Before beginning to make the pudding, prepare a pint tin by buttering it inside and fastening round it with string on the outside a buttered band of writing-paper, which will stand two inches above the tin and prevent the pudding running over as it rises. Melt an ounce of butter in a stewpan, add one ounce of sifted sugar, stir in an ounce and a half of Vienna flour, mix well together, add a gill of milk, and stir over the fire with a wooden spoon until it boils and is thick. Take the stewpan off the fire, beat up the yolks of three eggs with half a teaspoonful of extract of vanilla, and stir a little at a time into the paste, to insure both being thoroughly mixed together. Put a small pinch of salt to the whites of four eggs, whip them as stiff as possible, and stir lightly into the pudding, which pour immediately into the prepared mould. Have ready a saucepan with enough boiling water to reach a little way up the tin, which is best placed on a trivet, so that the water cannot touch the paper band. Let the pudding steam very gently for twenty minutes, or until it is firm in the middle, and will turn out.

For sauce, boil two tablespoonfuls of apricot jam in a gill of water, with two ounces of lump sugar, stir in a wine-glassful of sherry, add a few drops of Nelson's Vanilla Flavouring, pour over the pudding and serve.

OMELET SOUFFLE.

Put the yolks of two eggs into a basin with an ounce of sifted sugar and a few drops of Nelson's Vanilla Essence; beat the yolks and sugar together for six minutes, or until the mixture becomes thick. Then whip the whites very stiff, so that they will turn out of the basin like a jelly. Mix the yolks and whites lightly together, have ready an ounce of butter dissolved in the omelet-pan, pour in the eggs, hold this pan over a slow fire for two minutes, then put the frying-pan into a quick oven and bake until the omelet has risen; four minutes ought to be sufficient to finish the omelet in the oven; when done, slide it on to a warm dish, double it, sift sugar over, and serve instantly.

SPONGE SOUFFLE.

Cover the bottom of a tart-dish with sponge-cakes, pour over a little brandy and sherry; put in a moderate oven until hot, then pour on the cakes an egg whip made of two packets of Nelson's Albumen, beaten to a strong froth with a little sugar. Bake for a quarter of an hour in a slow oven.

CABINET PUDDING.

Butter very thickly a pint pudding-basin, and cover it neatly with stoned muscatel raisins, the outer side of them being kept to the basin. Lightly fill up the basin with alternate layers of sponge-cake and ratafias, and when ready to steam the pudding, pour by degrees over the cake a custard made of half-a-pint of boiling milk, an egg, three lumps of sugar, a tablespoonful of brandy, and a little lemon flavouring. Cover the basin with a paper cap and steam or boil gently for three-quarters of an hour. Great care should be taken not to boil puddings of this class fast, as it renders them tough and flavourless.

BRANDY SAUCE.

Mix a tablespoonful of fine flour with a gill of cold water, put it into a gill of boiling water, and, having stirred over the fire until it is thick, add the yolk of an egg. Continue stirring for five minutes, and sweeten with two ounces of castor sugar. Mix a wine-glass of brandy with two tablespoonfuls of sherry, stir it into the sauce, and pour it round the pudding. If liked, a grate of nutmeg may be added to the sauce, and, if required to be rich, an ounce of butter may be stirred in before the brandy.

WARWICKSHIRE PUDDING.

Butter a pint-and-a-half tart-dish, lay in it a layer of light bread, cut thin, on this sprinkle a portion of two ounces of shred suet, and of one ounce of lemon candied-peel, chopped very fine. Fill the dish lightly with layers of bread, sprinkling over each a little of the suet and peel.

Boil a pint of milk with two ounces of sugar, pour it on two eggs, beaten for a minute, and add it to the pudding just before putting it into the oven; a little of Nelson's Essence of Lemon or Almonds may be added to the custard. Bake the pudding in a very slow oven for an hour.

VANILLA RUSK PUDDING.

Dissolve, but do not oil, an ounce of butter, mix in a quarter of a pound of sifted sugar, stir over the fire for a few minutes, add an egg well beaten, and half a teaspoonful of Nelson's Vanilla Extract, or as much as will give a good flavour to the paste, which continue stirring until it gets thick.

Spread four slices of rusk with the vanilla paste, put them in a buttered tart-dish. Boil half-a-pint of new milk, pour it on to an egg well beaten, then add it to the rusk, and put the pudding to bake in a slow oven for an hour. Turn out when done, and sift sugar over the pudding. If a superior pudding is desired, boil a tablespoonful of apricot jam in a teacupful of plain sugar syrup, add a little vanilla flavouring, and pour over the pudding at the moment of serving.

JUBILEE PUDDING.

Pour a pint of boiling milk on two ounces of Rizine, stir over the fire for ten minutes, add half an ounce of butter, the yolks of two eggs, an ounce of castor sugar, and six drops of Nelson's Essence of Almonds. Put the pudding into a buttered pie-dish, and bake in a moderate oven for a quarter of an hour. When taken from the oven, spread over it a thin layer of apricot jam, and on this the whites of the eggs beaten to a strong froth, with half an ounce of castor sugar. Return the pudding to a slow oven for about four minutes, in order to set the meringue.

NATAL PUDDING.

Soak half-an-ounce of Nelson's Gelatine in half-a-pint of cold water until it is soft, when add the grated peel of half a lemon, the juice of two lemons, the beaten yolks of three eggs, and six ounces of lump sugar dissolved in half-a-pint of boiling water. Stir the mixture over the fire until it thickens, taking care that it does not boil. Have ready the whites of the eggs well whisked, stir all together, pour into a fancy mould, which put into a cold place until the pudding is set.

QUEEN'S PUDDING.

Half-a-pound of bread-crumbs, a pint of new milk, two ounces of butter, the yolks of four eggs, and a little Nelson's Essence of Lemon. Boil the bread-crumbs and milk together, then add the sugar, butter, and eggs; when these are well mixed, bake in a tart-dish until a light brown. Then put a layer of strawberry jam, and on the top of this the whites of the eggs beaten to a stiff froth, with a little sifted sugar. Smooth over the meringue with a knife dipped in boiling water, and bake for ten minutes in a slow oven.

CHOCOLATE PUDDING.

Boil half-a-pound of light stale bread in a pint of new milk. Stir continually until it becomes a thick paste; then add an ounce of butter, a quarter of a pound of sifted sugar, and two large teaspoonfuls of Schweitzer's Cocoatina, with a little Nelson's Essence of Vanilla. Take the pudding off the fire, and mix in, first, the yolks of three eggs, then the whites beaten to a strong froth. Put into a buttered tart-dish and bake in a moderate oven for three-quarters of an hour.

COCOA-NUT PUDDING.

Choose a large nut, with the milk in it, grate it finely, mix it with an equal weight of finely-sifted sugar, half its weight of butter, the yolks of four eggs, and the milk of the nut. Let the butter be beaten to a cream, and when all the other ingredients are mixed with it, add the whites of the eggs, whisked to a strong froth. Line a tart-dish with puff-paste, put in the pudding mixture and bake slowly for an hour. Butter a sheet of paper and cover the top of the pudding, as it should not get brown.

RASPBERRY AND CURRANT PUDDING.

Stew raspberries and currants with sugar and water, taking care to have plenty of juice. Cut the crumb of a stale tin-loaf in slices about half-an-inch thick and put in a pie-dish, leaving room for the bread to swell, with alternate layers of fruit, until the dish is full. Then put in as much of the juice as you can without causing the bread to rise. When it is soaked up put in the rest of the juice, cover with a plate, and let the pudding stand until the next day. When required for use turn out and pour over it a good custard or cream. The excellence of this pudding depends on there being plenty of syrup to soak the bread thoroughly. This is useful when pastry is objected to.

THE CAPITAL PUDDING.

Shred a quarter of a pound of suet, mix it with half a pound of flour, one small teaspoonful each of baking-powder and carbonate of soda, then add four tablespoonfuls of strawberry or raspberry jam, and stir well with a gill of milk. Boil for four hours in a high mould, and serve with wine or fruit sauce. The latter is made by stirring jam into thin butter sauce.

ITALIAN FRITTERS.

Cut slices of very light bread half-an-inch thick, with a round paste-cutter, divide them into neat shapes all alike in size. Throw them into boiling fat and fry quickly of a rich golden brown, dry them on paper, place on a dish, and pour over orange or lemon syrup, or any kind of preserve made hot. Honey or golden syrup may be used for those who like them.

DUCHESS OF FIFE'S PUDDING.

Boil two ounces of rice in a pint of milk until quite tender. When done, mix with it a quarter of an ounce of Nelson's Gelatine soaked in a tablespoonful of water. Line the inside of a plain mould with the rice, and when it is set fill it up with half-a-pint of cream, whipped very stiff and mixed with some nice preserve, stewed fruit, or marmalade. After standing some hours turn out the pudding, and pour over it a delicate syrup made of the same fruit as that put inside the rice.

WELSH CHEESECAKE.

Dry a quarter of a pound of fine flour, mix with two ounces of sifted loaf-sugar, and add it by degrees to two ounces of butter beaten to a cream; then work in three well-beaten eggs, flavour with Nelson's Essence of Lemon. Line patty-pans with short crust, put in the above mixture, and bake in a quick oven.

FRIAR'S OMELET.

Make six moderate-sized apples into sauce, sweeten with powdered loaf-sugar, stir in two ounces of butter, and when cold, mix with two well-beaten eggs. Butter a tart-dish, and strew the bottom and sides thickly with bread-crumbs, then put in the apple-sauce, and cover with bread-crumbs to the depth of a quarter of an inch, put a little dissolved butter on the top, and bake for an hour in a good oven. When done, turn it out, and sift sugar over it.

COMPOTE OF APPLES WITH FRIED BREAD.

Bake a dozen good cooking apples, scrape out the pulp, boil this with half-a-pound of sugar to a pound of pulp, until it becomes stiff. It must be stirred all the time it is boiling. When done, place the compote in the centre of the dish, piling it up high. Have ready some triangular pieces of fried bread, arrange some like a crown on the top, the remainder at the bottom of the compote. Have ready warmed half a pot of apricot marmalade mixed with a little plain sugar-syrup, and pour it over the compote, taking care that each piece of bread is well covered.

APPLE FOOL.

Bake good sharp apples; when done, remove the pulp and rub it through a sieve, sweeten and flavour with Nelson's Essence of Lemon; when cold add to it a custard made of eggs and milk, or milk or cream sweetened will be very good. Keep the fool quite thick. Serve with rusks or sponge finger biscuits.

APPLE MERINGUE.

Beat up two packets of Nelson's Albumen with six small teaspoonfuls of water, and stir them into half-a-pound of stiff apple-sauce flavoured with Nelson's Essence of Lemon. Put the meringue on a bright tin or silver dish, pile it up high in a rocky shape, and bake in a quick oven for ten minutes.

STEWED PEARS WITH RICE.

Put four large pears cut in halves into a stewpan with a pint of claret, Burgundy, or water, and eight ounces of sugar, simmer them until perfectly tender. Take out the pears and let the syrup boil down to half; flavour it with vanilla. Have ready a teacupful of rice, nicely boiled in milk and sweetened, spread it on a dish, lay the pears on it, pour the syrup over, and serve. This is best eaten cold.

COMPOTE OF PRUNES.

Wash the fruit in warm water, put it on to boil in cold water in which lump sugar has been dissolved. To a pound of prunes put half-a-pound of sugar, a pint of water, with the thin rind and juice of a lemon. Let them simmer for an hour, or until so tender that they will mash when pressed. Strain the fruit and set it aside. Boil the syrup until it becomes very thick and is on the point of returning to sugar, then pour it over the prunes, turn them about so that they become thoroughly coated, taking care not to break them, let them lie for twelve hours, then pile up on a glass dish for dessert.

ON JELLY-MAKING.

***

It is within the memory of many persons that jelly was only to be made from calves' feet by a slow, difficult, and expensive process. There is, indeed, a story told of the wife of a lawyer, early in this century, having appropriated some valuable parchment deeds to make jelly, when she could not procure calves' feet. But the secret that it could be so made was carefully guarded by the possessors of it, and it was not until the introduction of Nelson's Gelatine that people were brought to believe that jelly could be made other than in the old-fashioned way. Even now there is a lingering superstition that there is more nourishment in jelly made of calves' feet than that made from Gelatine. The fact is, however, that Gelatine is equally nutritious from whatever source it is procured. Foreign Gelatine, as is well known, does sometimes contain substances which, if not absolutely deleterious, are certainly undesirable; but Messrs. Nelson warrant their Gelatine of equal purity with that derived from calves' feet.

It is unnecessary to enlarge on the economy both in time and money of using Gelatine, or the more certain result obtained from it. If the recipe given for making "a quart of jelly" is closely followed, a most excellent and brilliant jelly will be produced. Many cooks get worried about their jelly-bags, and are much divided in opinion as to the best kind to use. It is not a point of great consequence whether a felt or close flannel is selected. We incline to the latter, which must be of good quality, and if the material is not thick it should be used double.

When put away otherwise than perfectly clean and dry, or when stored in a damp place, flannel bags are sure to acquire a strong mouldy flavour, which is communicated to all jelly afterwards strained through them.

The great matter, therefore, to observe in respect of the jelly-bag, is that it be put away in a proper condition, that is, perfectly free from all stiffness and from any smell whatever.

As soon as the bag is done with, turn it inside out, throw it into a pan of boiling water, stir it about with a spoon until it is cleansed. Then, have another pan of boiling water, and again treat the bag in the same manner. Add as much cold water as will enable you to wring the bag out dry, or it can be wrung out in a cloth. This done, finally rinse in hot water, wring, and, if possible, dry the bag in the open air. See that it is perfectly free from smell; if not, wash in very hot water again. Wrap the bag in several folds of clean paper and keep it in a dry place.

A thing to be observed is that, if the jelly is allowed to come very slowly to boiling-point it will be more effectually cleared, as the impurities of the sugar and the thicker portions of the lemons thus rise more surely with the egg than if this part of the process is too rapidly carried out. In straining, if the jelly is well made, it is best to pour all into the bag at one time, doing it slowly, so as not to break up the scum more than necessary. Should the jelly not be perfectly bright on a first straining, it should be kept hot, and slowly poured again through the bag. The contents of the bag should not be disturbed, nor should the slightest pressure be applied, as this is certain to cloud the jelly. If brandy is used, it should be put in after the jelly is strained, as by boiling both the spirit and flavour of it are lost.

IN ORDER THAT JELLY MAY TURN OUT WELL, DO NOT PUT IT INTO THE MOULD UNTIL IT IS ON THE POINT OF SETTING. If attention is paid to this there will never be any difficulty in getting jelly to turn out of a mould, and putting it into hot water or using hot cloths will be unnecessary. A mould should be used as cold as possible, because then when the jelly comes into contact with it, it is at once set and cannot stick. Any kind of mould may be used. If the direction to put the jelly in _when just setting_ is followed, it will turn out as well from an earthenware as from a copper mould.

It should be unnecessary to say that the utmost cleanliness is imperative to insure the perfection of jelly. So delicate a substance not only contracts any disagreeable flavour, but is rendered cloudy by the least touch of any greasy spoon, or by a stewpan which has not been properly cleansed.

HOW TO USE GELATINE.

There are a few points connected with the use of Gelatine for culinary purposes which cannot be too strongly impressed upon housekeepers and cooks.

1. Gelatine should always be soaked in cold water till it is thoroughly saturated--say, till it is so soft that it will tear with the fingers--whether this is specified in the recipe or not.

2. Nelson's Gelatine being cut very fine will soak in about an hour, but whenever possible it is desirable to give it a longer time. When convenient, it is a good plan to put Gelatine to soak over-night. It will then dissolve in liquid below boiling-point.

When jelly has to be cleared with white of egg do not boil it longer than necessary. Two minutes is quite sufficient to set the egg and clarify the jelly.

Use as little Gelatine as possible; that is to say, never use more than will suffice to make a jelly strong enough to retain its form when turned out of the mould. The prejudice against Gelatine which existed in former years was doubtless caused by persons unacquainted with its qualities using too large a quantity, and producing a jelly hard, tough, and unpalatable, which compared very unfavourably with the delicate jellies they had been accustomed to make from calves' feet, the delicacy of which arose from the simple fact that the Gelatine derived from calves' feet is so weak that it is almost impossible to make the jellies too strong.

Persons accustomed to use Gelatine will know that its "setting" power is very much affected by the temperature. In the recipes contained in the following pages the quantity of Gelatine named is that which experience has shown to be best suited to the average temperature of this country. In hot weather and foreign climates a little more Gelatine should be added.

TO MAKE A QUART OF BRILLIANT JELLY.

Soak one ounce of Nelson's Opaque Gelatine in half-a-pint of cold water for two or three hours, and then add the same quantity of boiling water; stir until dissolved, and add the juice and peel of two lemons, with wine and sugar sufficient to make the whole quantity one quart; have ready the white and shell of an egg, well beaten together, or a packet of Nelson's Albumen, and stir these briskly into the jelly; boil for two minutes without stirring it; remove from the fire, allow it to stand two minutes, and strain through a close flannel bag. Let it be on the point of setting before putting into the mould.

AN ECONOMICAL JELLY.

For general family use it is not necessary to clear jelly through the bag, and a quart of excellent jelly can be made as follows: Soak one ounce of Nelson's Gelatine in half-a-pint of cold water for two or three hours, then add a 3d. packet of Nelson's Citric Acid and three-quarters of a pound of loaf sugar; pour on half-a-pint of boiling water and half-a-pint of sherry, orange or other wine (cold), and add one-twelfth part of a bottle of Nelson's Essence of Lemon; stir for a few minutes before pouring into the moulds.

The effect of citric acid in the above quantity is to make the jelly clearer. When this is not of consequence, a third of a packet can be used, and six ounces of sugar. Wine can be omitted if desired, and water substituted for it. Ginger-beer makes an excellent jelly for those who do not wish for wine, and hedozone is also very good.

JELLY WITH FRUIT.

This is an elegant sweetmeat, and with clear jelly and care in moulding, can be made by inexperienced persons, particularly if Nelson's Bottled Jelly is used. If the jelly is home-made the recipe for making a "quart of jelly" will be followed. When the jelly is on the point of setting, put sufficient into a cold mould to cover the bottom of it. Then place in the centre, according to taste, any fine fruit you choose, a few grapes, cherries, strawberries, currants, anything you like, provided it is not too heavy to break the jelly. Put in another layer of jelly, and when it is set enough, a little more fruit, then fill up your mould with jelly, and let it stand for some hours.

RIBBON JELLY.

Soak one ounce of Nelson's Patent Gelatine in half-a-pint of cold water for twenty minutes, then add the same quantity of boiling water. Stir until dissolved, and add the juice and peel of two lemons, with wine and sugar sufficient to make the whole quantity one quart. Have ready the white and shell of an egg, well beaten together, and stir these briskly into the jelly; then boil for two minutes without stirring, and remove it from the fire; allow it to stand two minutes, then strain it through a close flannel bag. Divide the jelly in two equal parts, leaving one pint of a yellow colour, and adding a few drops of prepared cochineal to colour the remainder a bright red. Put a small quantity of red jelly into a mould previously soaked in cold water. Let this set, then pour in a small quantity of the pale jelly, and repeat this until the mould is full, taking care that each layer is perfectly firm before pouring in the other. Put it in a cool place, and the next day turn it out. Or, the mould may be partly filled with the yellow jelly, and when this is thoroughly set, fill up with the red.

Ribbon jelly and jelly of two colours can be made in any pretty fancy mould (there are many to be had for the purpose); of course one colour must always be perfectly firm before the other is put in, or the effect would be spoilt by the two colours running into each other. Ribbon jelly can be made with two kinds of Nelson's Bottled Jelly. The Sherry will be used for the pale, and Cherry or Port Wine jelly for the red colour. Thus an elegant jelly will be made in a few minutes.

CLARET JELLY.

Take one ounce of Nelson's Patent Gelatine, soak for twenty minutes in half-a-pint of cold water, then dissolve. Add three-quarters of a pound of sugar, a pot of red-currant jelly, and a bottle of good ordinary claret, and stir over the fire till the sugar is dissolved. Beat the whites and shells of three eggs, stir them briskly into the preparation, boil for two minutes longer, take it off the fire, and when it has stood for two minutes pass it through the bag. This should be a beautiful red jelly, and perfectly clear.

COFFEE JELLY.

Soak an ounce of Nelson's Gelatine in half-a-pint of water for an hour or more, dissolve it in a pint-and-a-half of boiling water with half-a-pound of sugar. Clear it with white of egg, and run through a jelly-bag as directed for making "a quart of brilliant jelly." This done, stir in a tablespoonful, or rather more if liked, of Allen and Hanbury's Cafe Vierge, which is a very fine essence of coffee. Or, instead of dissolving the Gelatine in water, use strong coffee.

COCOA JELLY.