Chapter 3

In places where cream is not abundant, this receipt (though inferior in richness) will be found more economical than the preceding one. It is, however, less easy and expeditious.

CALF'S-FEET JELLY.

Eight calf's feet. Three quarts of water. A pint of white wine. Three lemons. The whites of six eggs. Half an ounce of cinnamon. Half a pound of loaf-sugar, broken into lumps.

Endeavour to procure calf's-feet, that have been nicely singed, but not skinned, as the skin being left on, makes the jelly much firmer.

The day before you want to use the jelly, boil the eight calf's-feet in three quarts of water, till the meat drops from the bone. When sufficiently done, put it into a collender or sieve, and let the liquid drain from the meat, into a broad pan or dish. Skim off the fat. Let the jelly stand till next day, and then carefully scrape off the sediment from the bottom. It will be a firm jelly, if too much water has not been used, and if it has bolted long enough. If it is not firm at first, it will not become so afterwards when boiled with the other ingredients. There should on no account be more than three quarts of water.

Early next morning, put the jelly into a tin kettle, or covered tin pan; set it on the fire, and melt it a little. Take it off, and season it with the cinnamon slightly broken, a pint of madeira wine, three lemons cut in thin slices, and half a pound of loaf-sugar, broken up.

If you wish it high-coloured, add two table-spoonfuls of French brandy. Mix all well together. Beat, slightly, the whites of six eggs (saving the egg-shell) and stir the whites into the jelly. Break up the egg-shells into very small pieces, and throw them in also. Stir the whole very well together.

Set it on the fire, and boil it hard five minutes, but do not stir it, as that will prevent its clearing. Have ready a large white flannel bag, the top wide, and the bottom tapering to a point.

Tie the bag to the backs of two chairs, or to the legs of a table, and set a while dish or a mould under it.

After the jelly has boiled five minutes, pour it hot into the bag, and let it drip through into the dish. Do not squeeze the bag, as that will make the jelly dull and cloudy.

If it is not clear the first time it passes through the bag, empty out all the ingredients, wash the bag, suspend it again, put another white dish under-it, pour the jelly back into the bag, and let it drip through again. Repeat this six or eight times, or till it is clear, putting a clean dish under it every time. If it does not drip freely, move the bag into a warmer place.

When the jelly has all dripped through the bag, and is clear, set it in a cool place to congeal. It will sometimes congeal immediately, and sometimes not for several hours, particularly if the weather is warm and damp. If the weather is very cold you must take care not to let it freeze. When it is quite firm, which perhaps it will not be till evening, fill your glasses with it, piling it up very high. If you make it in a mould, you must either set the mould under the bag while it is dripping, or pour it from the dish into the mould while it is liquid. When it is perfectly congealed, dip the mould for an instant in boiling water to loosen the jelly. Turn it out on a glass dish.

This quantity of ingredients will make a quart of jelly when finished. In cool weather it may be made a day or two before it is wanted.

You may increase the seasoning, (that is, the wine, lemon, and cinnamon,) according to your taste, but less than the above proportion will not be sufficient to flavour the jelly.

Ice jelly is made in the same manner, only not so stiff. Four calves-feet will be sufficient. Freeze it as you would ice-cream, and serve it up in glasses.

BLANCMANGE.

Four calf's-feet A pint and a half of thick cream. Half a pound of loaf-sugar, broken up. A glass of wine. Half a glass of rose-water. A tea-spoonful of mace, beaten and sifted.

Get four calf's-feet; if possible some that have been singed, and not skinned. Scrape, and clean them well, and boil them in three quarts of water till all the meat drops off the bone. Drain the liquid through a colander or sieve, and skim it well. Let it stand till next morning to congeal. Then clean it well from the sediment, and put it into a tin or bell-metal kettle. Stir into it, the cream, sugar, and mace. Boil it hard for five minutes, stirring it several times. Then strain it through a linen cloth or napkin into a large bowl, and add the wine and rose-water.

Set it in a cool place for three or four hours, stirring it very frequently with a spoon, to, prevent the cream from separating from the jelly. The more it is stirred the better. Stir it till it is cool.

Wash your moulds, wipe them dry, and then wet them with cold water. When the blancmange becomes very thick, (that is, in three or four hours, if the weather is not too damp) put it into your moulds.

When it has set in them till it is quite firm, loosen it carefully all round with a knife, and turn it out on glass or china plates.

If you wish to make it with almonds, take an ounce of blanched bitter almonds, and two ounces of sweet. Beat them in a mortar to a fine paste, pouring in occasionally a little rose-water. When the mixture is ready to boil, add the almonds to it gradually, stirring them well in. Or you may stir them in, while it is cooling in the bowl.

If it inclines to stick to the moulds, set them an instant in hot water. It will then turn out easily.

If you choose to make it without calf's feet, you can substitute an ounce of the best and dearest isinglass (or, if in summer, an ounce and a quarter) boiled with the other ingredients. If made with isinglass, you must use two ounces of sweet, and an ounce of bitter almonds, with the addition of the grated rind of a large lemon, and a large stick of cinnamon, broken up, a glass of wine, and half a glass of rose-water. Those ingredients must be all mixed together, with a quart of cream, and boiled hard for five minutes. The mixture must then be strained through a napkin, into a large bowl. Set it in a cool place, and stir it frequently till nearly cold. It must then be put into the moulds.

You may substitute for the almonds, half a gill of noyau, in which case, omit the wine.

PART THE SECOND.

CAKES.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS.

In making cakes it is particularly necessary that the eggs should be well beaten. They are not sufficiently light till the surface looks smooth and level, and till they get so thick as to be of the consistence of boiled custard.

White of egg should always be beaten till it becomes a heap of stiff froth, without any liquid at the bottom; and till it hangs from the rods or fork without dropping.

Eggs, become light soonest when new-laid, and when beaten near the fire or in warm dry weather.

Butter and sugar should be stirred till it looks like thick cream, and till it stands up in the pan.

It should be kept cool. If too warm, it will make the cakes heavy.

Large cakes should be baked in tin or earthen pans with straight sides, that are as nearly perpendicular as possible. They cut into handsomer slices, and if they are to be iced, it will be found very inconvenient to put on the icing, if the cake slopes in towards the bottom.

Before you ice a cake dredge it all over with flour, and then wipe the flour off. This will enable you to spread on the icing more evenly.

Before you cut an ice cake, cut the icing by itself with a small sharp penknife. The large knife with which you divide the cake, will crack and break the icing.

Large Gingerbread, as it burns very easily, may be baked in an earthen pan. So also may Black Cake or Pound Cake. Tin pans or moulds, with a hollow tube in the middle, are best for cakes.

If large cakes are baked in tin pans, the bottom and sides should be covered with sheets of paper, before the mixture is put in. The paper must be well buttered.

Sponge cakes, and Almond cakes should be baked in pans that are as thin as possible.

If the cakes should get burnt, scrape them with a knife or grater, as soon as they are cool.

Always be careful to butter your pans well. Should the cakes stick, they cannot be got out without breaking.

For queen-cakes, &c. the small tins of a round or oval shape are most convenient. Fill them but little more than half.

After the mixture is completed, set it in a cool place till all the cakes are baked,

In rolling out cakes made of dough, use as little flour as possible. When you lay them in the pans, do not place them too close together, lest they run into each other.

When you are cutting them out, dip the cutter frequently in flour, to prevent its slicking.

QUEEN CAKE.

One pound of powdered white sugar. One pound of fresh butter--washed. Fourteen ounces of sifted flour. Ten eggs. One wine-glass of wine and brandy, mixed. Half a glass of rose-water, or twelve drops of essence of lemon. One tea-spoonful of mace and cinnamon, mixed. One nutmeg, beaten or grated.

Pound the spice to a fine powder, in a marble mortar, and sift it well.

Put the sugar into a deep earthen pan, and cut the butter into it. Stir them together, till very light.

Beat the eggs in a broad shallow pan, till they are perfectly smooth and thick.

Stir into the butter and sugar a little of the beaten egg, and then a little flour, and so on alternately, a little egg and a little flour, till the whole is in; continuing all the time to beat the eggs, and stirring the mixture very hard. Add by degrees, the spice, and then the liquor, a little at a time. Finally, put in the rose-water, or essence of lemon. [Footnote: In buying essence or oil of lemon, endeavour to get that which is white, it being much the strongest and best. When it looks greenish, it is generally very weak, so that when used, a double or treble quantity is necessary.] Stir the whole very hard at the last.

Take about two dozen little tins, or more, if you have room for them in the oven. Rub them very well with fresh butter. With a spoon, put some of the mixture in each tin, but do not fill them to the top as the cakes will rise high in baking. Bake them in a quick oven, about a quarter of an hour. When they are done, they will shrink a little from the sides of the tins.

Before you fill your tins again, scrape them well with a knife, and wash or wipe them clean.

If the cakes are scorched by too hot a fire, do not scrape off the burnt parts till they have grown cold.

Make an icing with the whites of three eggs, beaten till it stands alone, and twenty-four tea-spoonfuls of the best loaf-sugar, powdered, and beaten gradually into the white of egg. Flavour it with a tea-spoonful of rose-water or eight drops of essence of lemon, stirred in at the last. Spread it evenly with a broad knife, over the top of each queen-cake, ornamenting them, (while the icing is quite wet) with red and green nonpareils, or fine sugar-sand, dropped on, carefully, with the thumb and finger.

When the cakes are iced, set them in a warm place to dry; but not too near the fire, as that will cause the icing to crack. [Footnote: You may colour icing of a fine pink, by mixing with it a few drops of liquid cochineal; which is prepared by boiling very slowly in an earthen or china vessel twenty grains of cochineal powder, twenty grains of cream of tartar, and twenty grains of powdered alum, all dissolved in a gill of soft water, and boiled till reduced to one half. Strain it and cork it up in a small phial. Pink icing should be ornamented with white nonpareils.]

POUND CAKE.

One pound of flour, sifted. One pound of white sugar, powdered and sifted. One pound of fresh butter. Ten eggs. Half a glass of wine \ Half a glass of brandy }mixed. Half a glass of rose-water / Twelve drops of essence of lemon. A table-spoonful of mixed mace and cinnamon. A nutmeg, powdered.

Pound the spice and sift it. There should be twice as much cinnamon as mace. Mix the cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg together.

Sift the flour in a broad pan, or wooden bowl. Sift the powdered sugar into a large deep pan, and cut the butter into it, in small pieces. If the weather is very cold, and the butter hard, set the pan near the fire for a few minutes; but if the butter is too warm, the cake will be heavy. Stir the butter and sugar together, with a wooden stick, till they are very light, and white, and look like cream.

Beat the eggs in a broad shallow pan with a wood egg-beater or whisk. They must be beaten till they are thick and smooth, and of the consistence of boiled custard.

Pour the liquor and rose-water, gradually, into the butter and sugar, stirring all the time. Add, by degrees, the essence of lemon and spice.

Stir the egg and flour alternately into the butter and sugar, a handful of flour, and about two spoonfuls of the egg (which you must continue to beat all the time,) and when all is in, stir the whole mixture very hard, for near ten minutes.

Butter a large tin pan, or a cake mould with an open tube rising from the middle. Put the mixture into it as evenly as possible. Bake it in a moderate oven, for two, or three, or four hours, in proportion to its thickness, and to the heat of the fire.

When you think it is nearly done, thrust a twig or wooden skewer into it, down to the bottom. If the stick come out clean and dry, the cake is almost baked. When quite done, it will shrink from she sides of the pan, and cease making a noise. Then withdraw the coals (if baked in a dutch oven), take off the lid, and let the cake remain in the oven to cool gradually.

You may ice it either warm or cold. Before you put the icing on a large cake, dredge the cake all over with flour, and then wipe the flour off; this will make the icing stick on better--If you have sufficient time, the appearance of the cake will be much improved by icing it twice. Put on the first icing soon after the cake is taken out of the oven, and the second the next day when the first is perfectly dry. While the last icing is wet, ornament it with coloured sugar-sand or nonpareils.

BLACK CAKE, OR PLUM CAKE.

One pound of flour sifted. One pound of fresh butter. One pound of powdered white sugar. Twelve eggs. Two pounds of the best raisins. Two pounds of currants. Two table-spoonfuls of mixed spice, mace and cinnamon. Two nutmegs powdered. A large glass of wine \ A large glass of brandy }mixed together. Half a glass of rose-water / A pound of citron.

Pick the currants very clean, and wash them, draining them through a colander. Wipe them in a towel. Spread them out on a large dish, and set them near the fire, or in the hot sun, to dry, placing the dish in a slanting position. Having stoned the raisins, cut them in half, and, when all are done, sprinkle them well with sifted flour, to prevent their sinking to the bottom of the cake. When the currants are dry, sprinkle them also with flour.

Pound the spice, allowing twice as much cinnamon as mace. Sift it, and mix the mace, nutmeg, cinnamon together. Mix also the liquor and rose-water in a tumbler or cup. Cut the citron in slips. Sift the flour into a broad dish. Sift the sugar into a deep earthen pan, and cut the butter into it. Warm it near the fire, if the weather is too cold for it to mix easily. Stir the butter and sugar to a cream.

Beat the eggs as light as possible. Stir them into the butter and sugar, alternately with the flour. Stir very hard. Add gradually the spice and liquor. Stir the raisins and currants alternately into the mixture, taking care that they are well floured. Stir the whole as hard as possible, for ten minutes after the ingredients are in.

Cover the bottom and sides of a large tin or earthen pan, with sheets of white paper well buttered, and put into it some of the mixture. Then spread on it some of the citron, which must not be cut too small. Next put a layer of the mixture, and then a layer of citron, and so on till it is all in, having a layer of the mixture at the top.

This cake is always best baked in a baker's oven, and will require four or five hours, in proportion to its thickness. [Footnote: After this cake is done, it will be the better for withdrawing the fire (if baked in an iron oven) and letting it stay in the oven all night, or till it gets quite cold.] Ice it the next day.

SPONGE CAKE.

Twelve eggs. Ten ounces of sifted flour, dried near the fire. A pound of loaf sugar, powdered and sifted. Twelve drops of essence of lemon. A grated nutmeg. A tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon and mace, mixed.

Beat the eggs as light as possible. Eggs for sponge or almond cakes require more beating than for any other purpose. Beat the sugar, by degrees, into the eggs. Beat very hard, and continue to beat some time after the sugar is all in.

No sort of sugar but loaf will make light sponge-cake. Stir in, gradually, the spice and essence of lemon. Then, by degrees, put in the flour, a little at a time, stirring round the mixture very slowly with a knife. If the flour is stirred in too hard, the cake will be tough. It must be done lightly and gently, so that the top of the mixture will be covered with bubbles. As soon as the flour is all in, begin to bake it, as setting will injure it.

Put it in small tins, well buttered, or in one large tin pan. The thinner the pans, the better for sponge-cake. Fill the small tins about half full. Grate loaf-sugar over the top of each, before you set them in the oven.

Sponge-cake requires a very quick oven, particularly at the bottom. It should be baked as fast as possible, or it will be tough and heavy, however light it may have been before it went into the oven. It is of all cakes the most liable to be spoiled in baking. When taken out of the tins, the cakes should be spread on a sieve to cool. If baked in one large cake, it should be iced.

A large cake of twelve eggs, should be baked at least an hour in a quick oven.

For small cakes, ten minutes is generally sufficient. If they get very much out of shape in baking, it is a sign that the oven is too slow.

Some think that sponge-cakes and almond cakes are lighter, when the yolks and whites of the eggs are beaten in separate pans, and mixed gently together before the sugar is beaten into them.

If done separately from the yolks, the whites should be beaten till they stand alone.

ALMOND CAKE

Two ounces of blanched bitter almonds, pounded very fine. Seven ounces of flour, sifted and dried. Ten eggs. One pound of loaf sugar, powdered and sifted. Two table-spoonfuls of rose-water.

Take two ounces of shelled bitter almonds or peach-kernels. Scald them in hot water, and as you peel them, throw them into a bowl of cold water, then wipe them dry, and pound them one by one in a mortar, till they are quite fine and smooth.

Break ten eggs, putting the yolks in one pan and the whites in another. Beat them separately as light as possible, the whites first, and then the yolks.

Add the sugar, gradually, to the yolks, beating it in very hard. Then by degrees, Beat in the almonds, and then add the rose-water.

Stir-half the whites of the eggs into the yolks and sugar. Divide the flour into two equal parts, and stir in one half, slowly and lightly, till it bubbles on the top. Then the other half of the white of egg, and then the remainder of the flour very lightly.

Butter a large square tin pan, or one made of paste-board which will be better. Put in the mixture, and set immediately in a quick oven, which must be rather hotter at the bottom than at the top. Bake it according to the thickness. If you allow the oven to get slack, the cake will be spoiled.

Make an icing with the whites of three eggs, twenty-four tea-spoonfuls of loaf-sugar, and eight drops of essence of lemon.

When the cake is cool, mark it in small squares with a knife. Cover it with icing, and ornament it while wet, with nonpareils dropped on in borders, round each square of the cake. When the icing is dry, cut the cake in squares, cutting through the icing very carefully with a penknife. Or you may cat it in squares first, and then ice and ornament each square separately.

FRENCH ALMOND CAKE.

Six ounces of shelled sweet almonds. Three ounces of shelled bitter almonds, or peach-kernels. Three ounces of sifted flour, dried near the fire. Fourteen eggs. One pound of powdered loaf-sugar. Twelve drops of essence of lemon.

Blanch the almonds, by scalding them in hot water. Put them in a bowl of cold water, and wipe them dry, when you take them out. Pound them, one at a time, in a mortar, till they are perfectly smooth. Mix the sweet and bitter almonds together. Prepare them, if possible the day before the cake is made. [Footnote: While pounding the almonds, pour in occasionally a little rose-water. It makes them much lighter.]

Put the whites and yolks of the eggs, into separate pans. Beat the whites till they stand alone, and then the yolks till they are very thick.

Put the sugar, gradually, to the yolks, beating it in very hard. Add, by degrees, the almonds, still beating very hard. Then put in the essence of lemon. Next, beat in, gradually, the whites of the eggs, continuing to beat for some time after they are all in. Lastly, stir in the flour, as slowly and lightly, as possible.

Butter a large tin mould or pan. Put the cake in and bake it in a very quick oven, an hour or more according to its thickness.

The oven must on no account be hotter at the top, than at the bottom.

When done, set it on a sieve to cool.

Ice it, and ornament it with nonpareils.

These almond cakes are generally baked in a turban-shaped mould, and the nonpareils put on, in spots or sprigs.

A pound of almonds in the shells (if the shells are soft and thin,) will generally yield half a pound when shelled. Hard, thick-shelled almonds, seldom yield much more than a quarter of a pound, and should therefore never be bought for cakes or puddings.

Bitter almonds and peach-kernels can always be purchased with the shells off.

Families should always save their peach-kernels, as they can be used in cakes, puddings and custards.

MACCAROONS.

Half a pound of shelled sweet almonds. A quarter of a pound of shelled bitter almonds. The whites of three eggs. Twenty-four large tea-spoonfuls of powdered loaf-sugar. A tea-spoonful of rose-water. A large tea-spoonful of mixed spice, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon.

Blanch and pound your almonds, beat them very smooth, and mix the sweet and bitter together; do them, if you can, the day before you make the maccaroons. Pound and sift your spice. Beat the whites of three eggs till they stand alone; add to them, very gradually, the powdered sugar, a spoonful at a time, beat it in very hard, and put in, by degrees, the rose-water and spice. Then stir in, gradually, the almonds. The mixture must be like a soft dough; if too thick, it will be heavy; if too thin, it will run out of shape. If you find your almonds not sufficient, prepare a few more, and stir them in. When it is all well mixed and stirred, put some flour in the palm of your hand, and taking up a lump of the mixture with a knife, roll it on your hand with the flour into a small round ball; have ready an iron or tin pan, buttered, and lay the maccaroons in it, as you make them up. Place them about two inches apart, in case of their spreading. Bake them about eight or ten minutes in a moderate oven; they should be baked of a pale brown colour. If too much baked, they will lose their flavour; if too little, they will be heavy. They should rise high in the middle, and crack on the surface. You may, if you choose, put a larger proportion of spice. [Footnote: Cocoa-nut cakes may be made in a similar manner, substituting for the pounded almonds half a pound of finely-grated cocoa-nut. They mast be made into small round balls with a little flour laid on the palm of the hand, and baked a few minutes. They are very fine.]

APEES.