Chapter 8

Half a cup of rice washed and boiled in water, one pound of dates, washed first in cold then in hot water, stoned and chopped a little, one pint of milk, two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar, and a little salt. Butter well a pudding dish, lay in half the dates, then over them half the rice, then dates again with a layer of rice on top. Beat the eggs light, add to them the milk, sugar and salt, and pour over the rice and fruit and bake from twenty-five to thirty minutes. Serve cold, with cream.

RICE AND FIG PUDDING

may be made according to the preceding recipe, steaming or stewing the figs a little and chopping slightly.

RICE AND RAISIN PUDDING.

Soak the raisins, seed them and stew a little, and follow the same recipe.

RICE AND PRUNE PUDDING.

Soak the prunes over night, stew and stone and slightly chop them and proceed as in the other puddings. Any kind of dried or fresh fruit may be used for this very wholesome and nutritious pudding.

RICE FLOUR PUDDING.

Take a quart of milk, leaving out enough to mix with three ounces of rice flour, put the rest in a saucepan over the fire. When it boils add one ounce and a half of sugar, one-half ounce of sweet and a few bitter almonds, blanched and pounded, or chopped very fine, one ounce of butter, and a small piece of vanilla bean if convenient, if not flavor at the last with vanilla extract. Mix the three ounces of rice flour with milk, reserved from the quart, and stir into the pudding. Beat one egg yolk with half a cup of cream and stir in just before removing from the fire. Turn into a mould that has been dipped in cold water and serve very cold with fruit sauce.

RICE SOUFFLE COLD.

Put into a double boiler a quarter of a pound of well washed rice, a pint and a third of milk, a small tablespoonful of butter, and cook until the rice is so stiff that it no longer adheres to the sides of the pan. Soak a heaping tablespoonful of gelatine in two tablespoonfuls of water fifteen minutes. Put a pint of thin cream or rich milk in a saucepan over the fire with two ounces of blanched and pounded almonds; while it is coming to a boil beat two egg yolks and two tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar together until light, then add the gelatine to the milk on the stove. When it has dissolved pour a little of the cream into the eggs and sugar, mix well, then turn it back into the saucepan, and stir all rapidly together until it begins to thicken, remove at once from the fire, add to the rice and beat until smooth. Rinse a mould with cold water, turn the souffle into it and set on ice until it is wanted. Turn it out on a glass dish and serve with or without a fruit sauce.

RICE PUDDING.--No. 1.

Take a quarter of a pound of rice, wash well in cold and then scald in boiling water, drain and put on in a quart of sweet milk in a double boiler, cook one hour and a half. A little before it is done stir in an ounce and a half of butter, one ounce of sugar, a little grated lemon peel, a few sweet and bitter almonds blanched and chopped very fine or pounded in a mortar. Don't stir too much, but keep the rice grains whole. When done dip a mould in cold water and turn the rice into it. Set it on the ice and serve very cold with a fruit sauce.

RICE PUDDING.--No. 2.

Put a scant half cup of rice to soak in water for an hour, then boil in salted boiling water for twenty minutes. While it is cooking put three cups of rich milk and half a cup of sugar in a saucepan on the stove, mix a tablespoonful of corn starch with a little cold milk, stir with the milk and sugar and let it come to a boil, then add a cupful of the hot boiled rice and stir until it thickens like custard. Turn it into a pudding dish, flavor with vanilla or anything liked and bake slowly until a delicate brown. Serve cold in the dish in which it is baked, with brandy peaches or any fruit liked.

RICE OMELETTE SOUFFLE.

Boil a quarter of a pound of well-washed Carolina rice in a pint and a half of milk until stiff. Stir in two ounces of butter, half a pint of cream and four egg yolks beaten light with two ounces of granulated sugar and vanilla to taste, add a quarter of a pound of citron cut fine and two ounces of almonds blanched and pounded fine in a mortar. Stir all well together, adding at the last four whites of eggs beaten very stiff. Put in a pudding dish and bake until firm--about half an hour. Serve immediately in the dish in which it was baked.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE.--No. 1.

Puff paste makes a delicious strawberry shortcake. Roll thin, as for pie crust, and line three layer cake tins and bake. Put a quart of fresh, ripe strawberries stemmed in a bowl, sweeten them, cover and stand the bowl on the shelf over the range, stir occasionally and mash slightly with the back of a spoon. When serving time comes lay one of the shells on the dish in which it is to be served, and pour a third of the berries over it, then put on a second and a third, decorate the top layer with whipped cream and serve with cream. It should be served immediately after the berries are added to the crust that it may be crisp. Both berries and shells should be cold.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE.--No. 2.

Make a biscuit dough in the proportion of a pint of flour, a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder and half a teaspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of butter and enough milk to mix it. Roll about an inch thick, cut it round or oblong and bake in a quick oven about fifteen minutes. Cut around the edge and pull gently apart, butter slightly, have the berries prepared as for Shortcake No. 1. Put the crust on the serving dish, pour half the berries over it, put on the top and pour the remainder of the berries over it. Serve with cream.

LADIES' LOCKS FILLED WITH STRAWBERRIES.

Roll the puff paste thin, cut in strips an inch wide and about twelve inches long; wind these around the forms overlapping the paste as it is wound. Brush over with beaten egg and bake on the forms. When baked slip the forms out, fill with strawberries prepared as for strawberry shortcake.

STRAWBERRIES SCALLOPED.

Equal quantities of fresh strawberries and bakers' stale bread grated. Begin with a layer of the berries, sprinkle well with sugar, then a layer of bread crumbs, dot with bits of butter, then another layer of fruit and sugar; finish with bread crumbs and butter, sprinkle a little sugar over the top and bake half an hour in a good oven. Serve hot with cream. Currants and raspberries, either separately or mixed, and blackberries also make excellent puddings.

CURRANT PUDDING.

Stem and wash some currants, mash through a sieve, add as much water as there is currant juice and sweeten to taste. To one quart of liquid take two ounces of Groult's potato flour. Mix the potato flour with a little of the cold fruit juice, put the rest over the fire, and when it comes to a boil stir in the flour and let it cook for a few minutes. It will become clear. Turn it into a mould that has been dipped in cold water, and set it when cool on the ice until the next day. Turn out carefully and serve with cream.

STEWED DATES.

Break the dates apart, wash in cold, then in hot water, drain them and cover with cold water; cook until tender--a very few minutes--take out the fruit, add a little sugar to the water and boil five minutes, pour over the dates and set away to get cold.

STUFFED DATES.

Wash the dates as in the other recipes, drain in a colander and shake from time to time until they are dry. Stone them and fill with blanched almonds, or chopped nuts or cocoanut grated.

TAPIOCA AND APPLE PUDDING.

Six good, tart cooking apples, three-quarters of a cup of pearl tapioca, sugar to taste and one quart of water. Soak the tapioca in the water two hours, then put in a double boiler and cook until clear, sweeten to taste. It may be flavored with the rind of lemon cut very thin and removed when the tapioca is done. Peel and core the apples and fill the holes with sugar, arrange them in a pudding dish and pour the tapioca over them, bake until the apples are tender. A few tiny bits of butter on the top will make it brown a little. Serve hot or cold with cream and sugar.

TAPIOCA AND STRAWBERRY JELLY.

Five ounces of Groult's tapioca, two cups of boiling water, two cups of strawberry juice, four heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar and a dash of salt. Hull and wash the berries, mash with a spoon and strain through a fine cheese-cloth. Put the boiling water in a double boiler, and sprinkle in the tapioca, stirring to prevent lumping. Let it cook until clear, add the sugar and salt, and then the strawberry juice, and boil until thick--a few minutes only; turn into an earthenware mould; when cold set on the ice. It is better to make it the day before it is wanted. It should be served with cream.

TAPIOCA AND RASPBERRY JELLY.

Follow the above recipe, using raspberries in the same proportion.

TAPIOCA AND CURRANT JELLY.

Follow the recipe for tapioca and strawberry jelly.

PEARL SAGO AND FRUIT JELLIES.

Soak half a cup of pearl sago two hours in a cup of cold water, then add half a cup of water and a cup and a half of fruit juice--strawberry, raspberry, or currant; boil for twenty minutes and sweeten to taste. Fruit syrups may be used in winter; it will require less of the syrup than fruit juice.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING.--No. 1.

Cut six small tea buns in half, butter well, using two generous ounces of butter for the six, and put them together again. Beat three eggs with a cup and a half of rich milk, add half a cup of almonds blanched and chopped fine, one ounce of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of sherry, let the buns soak in this for awhile. Butter a mould, sprinkle with fine bread crumbs, take the buns out of the custard, lay them in the mould and pour the custard over them. Set the mould in a pan of boiling water in the oven and bake three-quarters of an hour, and serve hot with a sauce.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING.--No. 2.

Cut some slices of home-made bread about half an inch thick, butter and lay in a pudding dish, sprinkle with currants, put another layer of buttered bread and currants. Beat three eggs light and stir into a pint of milk, sweeten to taste, flavor with a little grated lemon peel or cinnamon, pour over the bread and butter and bake in a moderate oven until the custard is set. Test with a knife; if it comes out clean it is done. If baked too long the pudding will be watery. Serve cold and in the dish in which it is baked.

BREAD CUSTARD.

Put a pint of rich milk in a saucepan on the fire. When it comes to a boil, add half a cup of grated stale bread crumbs, then stir in a heaping tablespoonful of butter, a little grating of lemon peel, a quarter of a cup of granulated sugar and a tablespoonful of almonds blanched and chopped fine. Have two eggs beaten light, remove the saucepan from the fire, stir a little of the mixture into the eggs and then turn that into the saucepan, stir well for a moment and pour it into a pudding dish. Set the dish in a pan of hot water in the oven and bake about twenty minutes, until firm in the center; test with a knife. If it comes out clean the pudding is done; if it bakes too long it will be watery. It may be eaten cold or hot. If served hot add a quarter of a cup more bread crumbs.

FRIED BREAD.

Sweeten a pint of milk, flavor with cinnamon or nutmeg to taste. Have some slices of home-made bread half an inch thick, cut off the crust and soak the bread in the custard until all is absorbed, turning the bread in it. Put some butter in a spider; when hot fry the bread a nice brown on both sides. Arrange the slices nicely on a platter and serve with or without a sauce.

CHOCOLATE CREAM.

Soak a third of a box of gelatine in a very little cold water. Put a cup and a half of milk in a saucepan with four ounces of sweet, fine chocolate grated, let it boil until dissolved and add a slightly heaping tablespoonful of sugar. Take two-thirds of the soaked gelatine and put into the chocolate when melted, cool the mixture and turn into a mould, roll the mould from side to side in the hands until it is thoroughly coated with the mixture about a finger thick. When cold, even off the surface with a knife. Whip about half a pint of nice, rich cream, sweeten with powdered sugar and flavor with vanilla. Melt the other third of the soaked gelatine in a little boiling water and stir quickly into the cream and fill the chocolate with it. Set on the ice. Serve very cold.

CHOCOLATE CUSTARD.

Put a pint and a half of rich milk into a double boiler over the fire with the third of a vanilla bean split and cut in small pieces, let it come to a boil, and stir in two ounces of fine, sweet chocolate grated and a lump of butter the size of a walnut. Let it boil for a few moments, remove from the fire and beat very light four eggs, strain the chocolate gradually over them, stirring all the time, add a little salt, and sugar if necessary. Rinse a plain mould in cold water, pour the custard into it, set the mould in a pan of hot water and bake twenty-five minutes. Test with a knife. Too long cooking makes the custard watery. It must be served ice cold and may be prepared the day before. Serve with cream or soft boiled custard.

CHOCOLATE PUDDING.

Beat one-quarter of a pound of butter to a cream and stir in six egg yolks, one at a time, then add a quarter of a pound of fine, sweet chocolate grated, a cup of almonds blanched and chopped fine, six tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar and one tablespoonful of citron cut very fine, beat the six whites of eggs to a stiff froth and stir in at the last. Pour into a mould and boil three-quarters of an hour and send to the table hot with whipped cream poured around it, or any fine sauce served in a sauceboat.

COTTAGE PUDDING.

One cup of granulated sugar, a cup and a half of flour sifted, half a cup of milk, a heaping tablespoonful of butter, two eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, a teaspoonful of Cleveland's baking powder mixed with the flour. Beat butter and sugar to a cream, add the well-beaten yolks of the eggs, then add milk and flour alternately by degrees, and the whites of eggs beaten to a stiff froth, stirred in at the last. Bake half an hour. Serve hot with plenty of sauce.

CARAMEL CUSTARD BAKED.

A pint and a half of rich milk, a cup and a half of granulated sugar, the fourth of a vanilla bean. Put the milk and vanilla bean cut small into a double boiler over the fire. Melt the sugar without water in a spider, stirring constantly until it is all dissolved and the syrup is a rich golden brown. Do not let it get too dark or it will be bitter. When the milk is at the boiling point stir in half the boiling syrup--if put in too fast the milk will boil over. Let it cook until the sugar (if it hardened as it touched the milk) dissolves. Have four eggs beaten very light in a bowl, pour the milk over them, add a little salt, and if vanilla bean is not used for flavoring, stir in extract of vanilla to taste. Rinse a mould with cold water, pour the custard into it and set it in a pan of hot water in the oven, bake from twenty to twenty-five minutes and test with a knife. If it comes out clean it is done. Add boiling water to the remainder of the syrup and let it cook gently until it is the consistency of thick cream. Flavor with vanilla. Serve very cold.

SOFT-BOILED CUSTARD.

Put a quart of rich milk in a double boiler over the fire with a third of a vanilla bean, split in half, and sugar to taste. Beat the whites of six eggs to a stiff froth, add three heaping teaspoonfuls of granulated sugar, and when the milk comes to the boiling point drop the whites of eggs into it by tablespoonfuls in egg-shape, turn them over in the hot milk for a few seconds, repeat until all are done, drain them and return the milk to the saucepan. Beat the six egg yolks to a light cream, turn the hot milk over it gradually and pour the custard back into the boiler; return to the fire and stir vigorously until it thickens and is smooth to the taste. Remove from the fire, pour at once into a bowl, add a little salt, and set aside to cool. Then put on the ice and at serving time turn into a glass bowl, arrange the whites of eggs on top and serve with sponge cake.

A SIMPLE DESSERT.

A loaf of stale sponge cake--one that has been baked in a border mould looks pretty. Saturate the cake with orange juice to which has been added a little lemon. Stick the cake over with blanched almonds and fill the center with whipped cream. If the cake is a plain loaf, pile the cream around it.

GINGER CREAM.

Soak a quarter of a box of gelatine in half a cup of milk for half an hour, then place the bowl over steam until the gelatine is perfectly dissolved. Add to it four ounces of granulated sugar and a pint of whipped cream, two tablespoonfuls of preserved ginger chopped fine, two tablespoonfuls of the ginger syrup and a tablespoonful of almonds blanched and chopped very fine. Stir until it begins to thicken, pour into a mould and set on the ice. Serve in a glass dish and powder the top with chopped almonds.

GRAHAM PUDDING.

Two cups of Graham flour, one cup of milk, one cup of Porto Rico molasses, one cup of raisins stoned and slightly chopped, one egg, one even teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful of ground cinnamon, one-half teaspoonful of cloves, a little nutmeg, if liked, and a small pinch of salt. Flour the raisins with a little white flour, mix all the ingredients thoroughly together, butter a mould and steam three hours. Serve with a sauce. If there should be any of the pudding left over, it can be used by cutting in slices half an inch thick, each piece dipped in milk, in which an egg has been stirred, fried brown in a little butter, and served hot with a sauce.

NALESNEKY (a Russian Recipe).

Beat three yolks of eggs light, add to it half a cup of milk, half a cup of water, one cup of flour, and a little salt, mix until smooth, then stir in the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Have some melted butter, brush over the bottom of a frying pan and pour a little of the batter into it, let it cover the bottom of the pan without being thicker than paper, let it brown, turning it to brown the other side, spread with any jelly preferred, fold in half and fold again, making a wedge-shaped cake. Use all the batter in this way, and serve hot. It would be well to have two spiders in use.

NOODLE PUDDING.

Put two ounces and a half of noodles in a pint of boiling milk and cook until stiff like mush. Remove from the fire, and stir in one ounce and a half of butter, one ounce of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of finely chopped almonds, a few drops of extract of almond, when cool add three eggs and a quarter of a cup of cream beaten together, and turn the mixture into a well buttered mould sprinkled thoroughly with fine sifted bread crumbs. Set the mould in a pan of boiling water in the oven, cover to prevent browning, and if the mould has a pipe through the center bake half an hour, if a plain mould it will require three-quarters of an hour. Turn out of the mould and serve hot with a sauce.

PARADISE PUDDING.

Melt two and a half ounces of butter in a saucepan, stir into it a quarter of a pound of sifted flour and a cup and a half of cream or rich milk, let it cook until it no longer sticks to the side of the pan, remove from the fire and let it cool. Then stir in an ounce and a half of sugar, three heaping tablespoonfuls of almonds blanched and chopped and a little vanilla to flavor--vanilla sugar is better than the extract--then mix in five well beaten eggs, a little at a time. Turn it into a well buttered mould sprinkled with dried and sifted bread crumbs, set in a pan of hot water in the oven, cover to prevent browning and bake about three-quarters of an hour. Serve hot with a wine or fruit sauce.

PRINCESS PUDDING.

Melt two and a half ounces of butter in a quarter of a cup of rich milk over the fire, stir an ounce and a half of flour into half a cup of milk and add to the boiling milk, stirring constantly until it becomes a smooth paste and no longer adheres to the pan. Remove from the fire; when cold stir in one good ounce of sugar, an ounce of almonds blanched and pounded very fine with a dozen cardamom seeds, three well beaten eggs, a little at a time, half a teaspoonful of almond extract. Beat well, turn into a buttered pudding mould sprinkled with fine bread crumbs, set the mould covered in a pan of boiling water in the oven, and if the mould has a pipe in the center bake from thirty to thirty-five minutes. Turn it out and serve immediately with a fruit or wine sauce.

ENGLISH PLUM PUDDING.

Two pounds of raisins, one pound of currants, one pound of citron, half a pound of almonds, one pound of butter, one pound of flour, one pound of brown sugar, one teaspoonful each of ground cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger and nutmeg, half a pint of brandy and wine mixed and one dozen eggs. Boil six hours. Keep water boiling by the side of pudding boiler all the time and continually refill as the water evaporates. In preparing the pudding have all the fruit stoned and cut, but not too fine, the almonds blanched and chopped. Incorporate all the ingredients well together before adding the eggs and spirits and beat the mixture well together for at least an hour--the longer the better.

SAGO SOUFFLE.

A pint of rich milk, two and a half ounces of butter, one ounce and a half of sugar, two ounces of pearl sago, one ounce and a half of blanched almonds chopped very fine. Mix all together, put over the fire and let it cook for fifteen minutes, stirring constantly, remove from the stove and let it cool. Beat three eggs and add a little at a time until all is used, flavor with half a teaspoonful of almond extract, put in a pudding dish and bake half an hour. Sift a little powdered sugar over it and serve immediately in the dish in which it is baked.

SEMOULINA PUDDING.

Put a pint and a half of milk on the fire to boil with two ounces of butter, three ounces of sugar, an ounce and a half of sweet and two or three bitter almonds blanched and chopped very fine, sprinkle into it three ounces of semoulina or farina, and boil until quite stiff, stirring constantly. Remove from the fire and turn into a mould that has been wet in cold water. Serve very cold with fruit sauce or cream.

SERNIKY (a Russian Recipe).

Put one ball of pot cheese, such as is sold at a creamery for five cents, in a mixing bowl, break it up with a spoon, and add to it a heaping tablespoonful of butter, the well beaten yolks of four eggs, a little salt, a heaping dessertspoonful of currants and two slightly heaping tablespoonfuls of flour. Mix all well together and let it stand an hour or more. Sprinkle a pastry board thickly with flour, turn the mixture out from the bowl, cut off pieces of it and roll with the hands until about an inch and a half thick, cut in pieces about two inches long, the ends bias. Have a saucepan ready with boiling water, drop the pieces into this without crowding and cook until they float--about five minutes--take them out with a skimmer. Roll in dried bread crumbs, fry brown on both sides in butter, and serve hot with cream and sugar.

STEAMED PUDDING.

One cup of raisins stoned and chopped, one cup of butter chopped, two cups and a half of flour, one cup of Porto Rico molasses, one cup of sweet milk, a scant teaspoonful of soda, a teaspoonful of cinnamon, and a little nutmeg. Steam in a mould two hours. Serve hot with a sauce.

SPONGE CAKE MERINGUE.