Part 6

Allow for each loaf of cake, the white of one egg, and ten heaping tea spoonsful of powdered double refined loaf sugar. Beat the eggs on a shallow plate till you can turn the plate upside down, without the eggs dropping from it. Then stir in the sugar very gradually; stir it without any cessation for fifteen minutes, then add a tea spoonful of lemon juice, vinegar will do but it is not as good as the lemon juice. If you wish to have it colored, stir in a few grains of cochineal powder, or a little powder blue. As soon as you have put in the lemon juice, lay it with a knife, on the cake, which should be hot, smooth it over, and set the cake away in a cool place, and let it remain, until it hardens.

181. _Cocoanut Cakes._

Beat the whites of eight eggs, to a stiff froth, then stir in half a pound of sifted loaf sugar; it should be stirred in very gradually, and beaten eight or ten minutes, then add half a pound of grated cocoanut, the brown part should be cut off before it is grated. Put in a table spoonful of the milk of the cocoanut, if you have it, if not it will do without, drop it on buttered pie plates, several inches apart, the drops should be about the size of a cent. Bake them in a oven about twenty minutes.

182. _Floating Island._

Beat the whites of nine eggs to a froth, then beat with them seven large table spoonsful of whatever dark colored jelly, you may happen to have. When you have beaten them seven or eight minutes, put some cream into a large shallow dish, and turn the jelly and eggs, into the center of it. This should not be made but a short time before it is to be eaten.

183. _Whip Syllabub._

Take good sweet cream, and to each pint of it, put six ounces of sifted double refined loaf sugar, half a tumbler of white wine, the juice and grated peel of a lemon. Beat it well, as the froth rises, take it off and lay it on jelly, in a dish or glasses. Keep it in a cool place till just before it is eaten.

184. _Blanc Mange._

Pull an ounce of isinglass, into small pieces, rinse and put it to a pint and a half of milk. Stir it over a slow fire, with a stick of cinnamon or mace, and loaf sugar to your taste. Stir it without boiling until the isinglass dissolves. Then set it where it will boil five or six minutes, stirring it constantly. Strain it and fill your moulds with it when cool, and let it remain until wanted.

185. _Rice Flour Blanc Mange._

Boil a quart of milk and sweeten it to your taste with loaf sugar; add the juice and grated peel of a lemon. Mix four table spoonsful of ground rice smoothly with a little cold milk, and stir it into the boiling milk. Boil the whole together ten minutes, stirring it occasionally while boiling; then take it from the fire, stir into it the beaten whites of three eggs, set it back on a few coals, and stir it constantly until nearly boiling hot, take it off, fill your moulds, and let it remain till cold. This is very good food for invalids.

186. _Ice Cream._

To one quart of milk, put the yolks of four eggs well beaten, the rind of a lemon pared thin, sweeten it very sweet with loaf sugar. Put it on a slow fire and stir it constantly till scalding hot, care must be taken then it does not get to boiling. Take it up, take out the lemon peel, set it away to cool. When perfectly cold put it into an ice cream form, (if you cannot procure one, a milk kettle will do,) set it into a large tub, strew round it a layer of ice cracked fine, then a layer of rock salt, then another layer of ice and salt, and so on, till the ice is as high as the top of the form; a layer of ice should be last. Shake the form frequently, while the cream is freezing; care must be taken that none of the salt gets into the cream. The tub should be covered with a flannel cloth, while the cream is freezing. If you wish to shape the cream in moulds, turn it into them, as soon as it freezes in the form, and set them in the tub, and let them remain in it, till just before they are to be eaten. When you wish to get them out of the moulds or form, dip them into warm water and take them out of it instantly and turn them out into your dishes. Where cream is used instead of milk, no eggs or scalding will be necessary. Three table spoonsful of pine apple juice, to a quart of the cream gives it a fine flavor, strawberries are also nice in the cream. If you wish to color the cream, stir in a little cochineal powder, saffron or powder blue, before you freeze it.

187. _Pastry._

For good common pie crust, allow two tea cups of shortening to a quart of flour, and a tea spoonful of salt, half lard and half butter is the best, beef shortening does very well with butter for plain pie crust. Rub part of the shortening thoroughly with two thirds of the flour; then put in the salt, together with cold water, to moisten it just enough to roll out easily. Roll it out thin, spread on the reserved shortening, then sprinkle on the remainder of your flour, and roll it up. Cut it into as many pieces as you have pies, roll out the under crust very thin, butter your pie plates, and put it on them, fill your plates with your fruit, roll out the upper crust lightly, about half an inch thick, and cover your pies, pare it off neatly round the edges of the plates. This rule furnishes crust enough for a couple of pies. Pie crust to be light, should be baked in a quick oven.

188. _Puff Paste or Confectioner's Pastry._

Sift three quarters of a pound of flour, and mix it with cold water enough to render it sufficiently stiff to roll out, put in one half a tea spoonful of salt, before you put in the water. Weigh out a pound of butter, cut it into thin slices, and roll it out thin as possible on a moulding board; in order to do this a great deal of flour should be sprinkled on the board and butter, and rubbed on the rolling pin. Lay your rolled butter on a platter. Then roll out your crust very thin, lay the pieces of butter thickly over it. Weigh out a quarter of a pound of sifted flour, and sprinkle part of it over it, roll it up, then roll it out again, put on the remainder of the butter and flour, roll it up and let it stand half an hour in a cool place. Roll it our lightly half an inch thick, for the upper crust to the pies. Bake it in a quick oven till of a light brown.

189. _Apple Pie._

Pare, quarter, and take out the cores of the apples, and if not ripe, stew them before baking them, and season them to your taste. Butter your plates, put on a thin under crust, fill the plates, and cover them with a thick crust. Bake them about three quarters of an hour. When done take off the upper crust carefully, and put a piece of butter of the size of a walnut, into each pie, sweeten them to your taste, if not acid enough, squeeze in the juice of part of a lemon, or put in a little tartaric acid, dissolved in a little water. Essence of lemon, nutmeg, or rosewater, are all good spice for apple pies. Apples stewed in new cider, and molasses, with a few quinces and strained, with a little cinnamon in it makes nice pies. Dried apples for pies, should have boiling water turned on them, and stewed till tender, then add a little sour cider, and a little orange peel, and stew them a few moments longer, take them up, put in a little butter, sugar, and the juice and peel of a lemon improve them, they are better for being rubbed through a sieve. Fill your pie plates and bake the pies half an hour.

190. _Mince Pie._

The best kind of meat for mince pies, is neats tongue and feet, and chickens; a shank of beef makes very good pies. Boil your meat till perfectly tender, then take it up, clear it from the bones and gristle, chop it very fine and mix it with double the quantity of chopped apple; if the meat is not fat, put in a little suet or melted butter, moisten it with cider, add cloves, mace, or nutmeg, and cinnamon, to your taste, sweeten it with molasses and sugar, add a little salt. If you wish to have your pies very rich, put in wine or brandy to your taste, the juice and peel of a lemon, the peel should be grated, and stoned raisins and citron cut in small strips. Bake the pies in shallow plates. Make apertures in the upper crust, before you cover the pies. Bake the pies from half, to three quarters of an hour. Mince meat for pies, with brandy or wine in it, and strongly spiced will keep several months, in cold weather. It should be put in a stone pot, and kept in a dry cool place.

191. _Peach Pie._

Take mellow juicy peaches, wash and put them in a deep pie plate, or pudding dish, lined with pie crust, sprinkle sugar on each layer of peaches, a great deal will be necessary to sweeten them sufficiently, put in about a table spoonful of water, sprinkle a little flour over the top and cover the pie with a thick crust. Bake it an hour. Pies made in this manner are much better than with the stones taken out, as the prussic acid of the stones, gives the pie a fine flavor. Dried peaches should be stewed and sweetened, before being made into pies; they do not require any spice.

192. _Tart Pie._

Sour apples, cranberries, and dried peaches, all make nice tarts. Stew and strain them; if the peaches are not tart, put in the juice and grated peel of a lemon, put in a little sugar. Line shallow pie plates with a thin crust, put a rim of pie crust round the edge of the dish, fill the plates with your tart. Roll some of the crust very thin, cut it into narrow strips, with a jagging iron, and lay it on the pie in a fanciful manner. Bake the pies about twenty five minutes.

193. _Rice Pie._

To a quart of boiling water, put a small tea cup of rice, and boil it till very soft. Then add a quart of milk, strain it through a sieve, put in a little salt, five beaten eggs, a nutmeg grated, and sugar enough to sweeten it, the sugar should be put in before the rice is strained, add a few raisins. Bake it in deep pie plates, without an upper crust.

194. _Rhubarb or Persian Apple Pie._

Take the stalks of the rhubarb plant in the spring, or fore part of summer, (they are not good later,) cut them in small pieces, and stew them till tender; then strain and sweeten them to your taste, bake them with only an under crust.

195. _Cherry and Blackberry Pies._

Cherries and blackberries for pies, should be perfectly ripe; put them in a deep plate, with an under crust, and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon, or cloves, over them; cover them and bake them half an hour.

196. _Grape Pie._

Grapes are the best for pies when very small and tender; if not very small, they should be stewed and strained, on account of the seeds. Sweeten them to your taste, no spice is necessary.

197. _Currant and Gooseberry Pies._

Pick them over, and stew them in just water enough to prevent their burning at the bottom, when tender sweeten them to your taste with sugar, and bake them without any spice, in deep dishes. Some people do not stew the currants before baking them, but they are not apt to be sweet enough, if not previously stewed.

198. _Pumpkin Pie._

Cut your pumpkin in two, take out the seeds, and wash the pumpkin, cut it into small strips, and boil it in just water enough to prevent its burning, when tender turn off the water, and let it steam over a moderate fire for fifteen minutes, taking care it does not burn. Take it up, strain it through the sieve, and if you like the pies very thin, put two quarts of milk, to a quart of the pumpkin, and six eggs; if you wish to have them thick, put a quart only of milk, to a quart of pumpkin, and three eggs. Three eggs to a quart of milk does very well, but they are better with five or six. Sweeten it with molasses or sugar, put in ginger, or grated lemon peel to your taste. Bake them in deep plates from fifty to sixty minutes in a hot oven.

199. _Carrot Pie._

Scrape three good sized carrots, boil them till very tender. Then rub them through a sieve, and mix them with a quart of milk, four beaten eggs, a piece of butter of the size of half an egg, a table spoonful of lemon juice, and the grated peel of half a one. Sweeten it to your taste. Bake it in deep pie plates with an under crust and rim.

200. _Potatoe Pie._

Boil Irish or sweet potatoes, till very soft. Take them up, peel and mash them fine. To one quarter of a pound of potatoes put a quart of milk, three ounces of butter, melted; five eggs, a glass of wine, and one of lemon or French brandy. Put in sugar, and mace to your taste.

201. _Marlborough Pie._

Pare tart mellow apples, quarter them, take out the seeds, and stew them in a little water till soft enough to rub through a sieve. To twelve table spoonsful of it when strained, put twelve table spoonsful of sugar, the same quantity of wine, five eggs, six table spoonsful of melted butter, half a pint of milk, the juice and grated peel of half a lemon, and half a nutmeg. Bake it in deep pie plates, without an upper crust.

202. _Custard Pie._

Beat seven eggs with three table spoonsful of rolled sugar, mix them with a quart of milk, flavor it with nutmeg or rosewater. This is good baked either in cups, or deep pie plates, with an under crust. Set the pie plates with the crust in the oven and let it bake a moment before you turn in the custard. To ascertain when the pie is done, stick a clean broom splinter through the center of the pie, if none of the custard adheres to it, it is sufficiently bakes.

203. _A Plain Custard Pie._

Boil a quart of milk with a few peach leaves, or lemon peel; strain it. Put it back on the fire; when it boils, mix a table spoonful of flour, with a little milk, and turn it in, let it boil a minute, then put it with four beaten eggs, and sugar to your taste, and bake it in deep pie plates with an under crust.

204. _Lemon Pie._

Squeeze out the juice of two good sized lemons, grate the rind of the lemon, but not the white part, put the juice and grated lemon to a pint of milk. Beat six eggs, with five table spoonsful of powdered loaf sugar, and put them in the milk, with a couple of crackers pounded fine, and a table spoonful of melted butter. Line a pudding dish with pie crust, put a rim of puff paste, or nice pie crust, round the edge, turn the mixture into it, and bake it from twenty five to thirty minutes.

205. _Cocoanut Pie._

Cut off the brown part of the cocoanut, grate the remainder of it. Scald a quart of milk, and turn it on to the cocoanut, and three crackers pounded fine. Beat eight eggs, with three table spoonsful of sifted loaf sugar, turn it into the milk, together with a glass of wine, and half a grated nutmeg. If any of the milk of the cocoanut can be saved, to mix with the cow's milk, it makes the pie nicer. Bake it in a deep pie plate, or pudding dish, with a rim of puff paste round the edge of the dish.

206. _Small Puffs._

Make some puff paste, and roll it half an inch thick, cut it with a tumbler, into any number of puffs you want, cut the remainder of your paste, into narrow strips with a jagging iron, put them round the edge of those you have cut with a tumbler, lay the puffs on buttered plates, and bake them in a quick oven, till of a light brown. Then fill them with any preserved fruit, you may happen to have.

207. _Boiled Custards._

Boil a quart of milk. Beat six eggs with three table spoonsful of sugar, four eggs are enough if you want them plain, grate in a nutmeg, or put in a little rosewater, or essence of lemon. Turn the boiling milk on to the sugar and eggs, stir it several minutes then put it on a few coals, stir it constantly till boiling hot, take it up before it gets to boiling, stir it a few moments, then turn it into your cups and grate nutmeg on them.

208. _Almond Custards._

Boil in a quart of milk, a couple of ounces each of sweet, and of bitter almonds, pounded fine. When it has boiled seven or eight minutes strain it on to the beaten yolks of eight eggs, and three table spoonsful of loaf sugar. Stir it several moments, then put it on a moderate fire, stir it without any cessation till scalding hot, then take it from the fire, and stir it constantly till nearly cold, then fill your glasses or cups. Just before they are to be eaten, beat the whites of the eggs, to a froth, and lay them on the top of the custards. A few grains of cochineal powder, or saffron in the beaten whites, makes them look handsomely.

209. _Cold Custard or Rennet Pudding._

Put a piece of calf's rennet three inches square, to a pint of wine, when it has stood seven or eight hours, it is fit for use. Whenever you wish to make your custard, put three table spoonsful of the wine, to a quart of milk, and four table spoonsful of powdered loaf sugar, flavor it with essence of lemon, or rosewater. Stir it twenty minutes, then dish it out, grate nutmeg over it. It should be eaten in the course of an hour after it is made, as it will soon curdle.

210. _Custard Pudding._

Stir a quart of milk very gradually into half a pint of flour, put in a little salt, seven beaten eggs, and a little nutmeg or essence of lemon, sweeten it to your taste, bake it three quarters of an hour.

211. _Boiled Bread Pudding._

Soak about three quarters of a pound of rusked bread, in milk, if you have not milk, water will do. When soft, squeeze out the water, mash it fine and put in a heaping table spoonful of flour, mixed with a tea cup of milk, put in three eggs, half a tea spoonful of salt. Mix the whole well together, flour the inside of your pudding bag, and put the pudding in. The bag should not be more than two thirds full, as the pudding swells considerably while boiling. The pudding should be put into a pot of boiling water, and boiled an hour and a half without intermission; if allowed to stop it will be heavy.

212. _A Plain Baked Bread Pudding._

Pound rusked bread, and put five heaping table spoonsful of it to a quart of milk, three beaten eggs, four table spoonsful of sugar, half a tea spoonful of salt, half a nutmeg, and a table spoonful of melted butter. Bake it an hour and a half; it is good without the eggs, if baked two hours and a half. It does not require any sauce.

213. _A Rich Bread Pudding._

Cut a loaf of baker's bread into thin slices, spread butter on both sides; lay them in a buttered pudding dish, and on each layer strew Zante currants, or stoned raisins, and citron cut into small pieces. Beat eight eggs with six table spoonsful of sugar rolled free from lumps; mix them with three pints of milk, and a grated nutmeg. Turn the whole over the bread and let it stand until the bread has absorbed most of the milk, then bake it about three quarters of an hour.

214. _Flour Pudding._

Into a pint and a half of flour, stir gradually a quart of milk; stir it till free from lumps, then add seven beaten eggs, a couple of tea spoonsful of salt, and a grated nutmeg. A pudding made in this manner is good either baked or boiled; it takes two hours to boil and one to bake it. It should be eaten as soon as cooked or it will be heavy. This as well as all other kinds of boiled puddings should not be put into the pot until the water boils and should not be allowed to stop for a moment, if the water wastes much in boiling, fill the pot up with boiling water. A pudding bag should be floured on the inside, and not filled more than two thirds full. When the pudding has boiled six or eight minutes turn it over, as it is apt to settle. Flour puddings require rich sauce.

215. _A Plain Rice Pudding._

Swell the rice with a little milk over a fire, then put in acid apples pared and cut in thin slices, or gooseberries and currants, add a couple of eggs, a tea spoonful of salt, fill your pudding bag half full and boil it an hour and a half. Serve it up with butter and sugar.

216. _A Rich Rice Pudding._

Pick over and wash two small tea cups of rice and put it into two quarts of milk; add a tea cup of butter, two of sugar, and a grated nutmeg. Butter a pudding dish, set it in a bake pan, then turn in the pudding, when it begins to thicken stir in three tea cups full of raisins. Bake it two hours, it will not fall if taken from the fire sometime before it is to be eaten, it is also good cold. It is good without any sauce, and is the only kind of pudding that eggs do not improve.

217. _Rice Snow Balls._

Pare large tart apples, take out the cores with a pen-knife; fill the holes with sugar, and a stick of cinnamon or mace. Put each one in a small bag well floured, fill them half full of unboiled rice, tie up the bags and boil them an hour and twenty minutes. When done turn them out carefully and serve them up with pudding sauce.

218. _Baked Indian Pudding._

Boil three pints of milk, and turn it on to a pint of Indian meal, and five table spoonsful of wheat flour. When cool beat three eggs with the same quantity of sugar, and stir it into the pudding, together with a tea spoonful of salt, three tea spoonsful of cinnamon, and a piece of butter of the size of an egg. If raisins are put in the pudding, a tea cup more of milk will be required, as they absorb the milk. This pudding is good if the eggs are omitted. It takes two hours and a half to bake it.

219. _Boiled Indian Pudding._

Into a quart of boiling milk, stir a couple of table spoonsful of flour, and sifted Indian meal till it is a thick batter, and half a table spoonful of ginger or cinnamon, half a tea cup of molasses. Dip the pudding bag into water, wring it out, and flour the inside of it, and fill it not more than half full, as Indian puddings swell very much. Put it into boiling water, and keep it boiling constantly for four or five hours. A kettle of boiling water should be kept, to turn into the pudding pot as the water boils away.

220. _Corn Pudding._

Grate a cup and a half of green corn, mix it with a quart of milk, four beaten eggs, and half a grated nutmeg; melt a piece of butter of the size of a hen's egg, and stir it in. Bake it one hour.

221. _Hasty Pudding._

Wet Indian meal with cold water sufficient to make a thin batter, turn part of it into a pot of boiling water; when it has boiled fifteen or twenty minutes stir in the remainder, salt it to your taste, and stir in Indian meal by the handful as long as you can stir the pudding stick round in it easily. When the stick can be made to stand upright in it for a minute, it is thick enough. It should boil slowly, and be stirred often; if you wish to fry it, it will be necessary to boil it, from two to three hours, if not it will boil sufficiently in an hour. If a little flour is stirred in just before it is taken up, it will fry better. Turn it into a deep dish, and if it is to be fried, let it stand till cold, then cut it into thin slices, flour and fry them in lard, till very brown.

222. _Fruit Pudding._

Take raised or common pie crust, and roll it out about half an inch thick. Strew over it either currants, cherries, cranberries, gooseberries, black or whortle berries. Sprinkle sugar, and cinnamon or cloves over them. Roll it up carefully, join the ends together, and put it in a floured cloth and sew it up. Boil it an hour, and eat it with sauce as soon as done.

223. _Fritters._

Mix a quart of milk gradually, with a quart of flour, stir it till smooth, then add a little essence of lemon, or rosewater, and five beaten eggs. Drop it into boiling hot fat by the spoonsful. They are lighter for being fried in a great deal of fat, but less greasy if fried in just enough to prevent their sticking to the griddle. They should be served up with pudding sauce.

224. _Apple Dumplings._