Dry Meringues in the form of Eggs.—Ten whites of eggs, twelve ounces of sugar.

Obtain the newest laid eggs, and separate the white from the yolk very carefully; put the whites into a pan, which must be quite free from grease; whisk them to a very strong froth, so as it will support an egg, or even a greater weight; have the sugar pounded and sifted through a lawn sieve, and mix it as lightly as possible; spread some pieces of board about an inch thick, then with a table or dessert spoon drop them on the paper about two inches asunder, dust them with fine powdered loaf sugar, blow off all that does not adhere, and put them into a cool oven to bake until they are a nice light brown; if the oven should be too warm, when the surface gets dry or hardened cover them with paper; as soon as they are done take them off with a knife; press the inside or soft part down with the top or the back of a spoon, place them on sieves, and put them into the stove to dry; when they are required to be served, fill them with any kind of preserved fruit or cream, if it is rather acid the better, and put two together.

The quality of the meringues will depend on the eggs being well whipped to a very strong froth, and also on the quantity of sugar, for if there is not enough they will eat tough.

Icing for Wedding or Twelfth Cakes, Etc.—Pound and sift some treble-refined sugar through a lawn sieve, and put it into an earthen pan, which must be quite free from grease; to each pound of sifted sugar add the whites of three eggs, or sufficient to make it into a paste of a moderate consistence, then with a wooden spoon or spatula beat it well, using a little lemon-juice occasionally, and more white of egg if you find that it will bear it without making it too thin, until you have a nice light icing, which will hang to the sides of the pan and spoon; or, if it is dropped from the spoon, it should remain on the top without speedily losing the form it assumed. A pan of icing, when well beat and finished, should contain as much again in bulk as it was at the commencement; use sufficient lemon-juice to give the icing a slight acid, or it will scale off the cake in large pieces when it is cut. Many prefer the pyroligneous acid to the lemon-juice, but the flavor is not so delicate, and it always retains a smell of the acid; neither did I ever find, as some assert, that it improves the quality and appearance of the icing; the only advantage derived from it is that of economy.

Italian Meringues.—One pound of sugar, the whites of six eggs. Clarify the sugar and boil it to the blow; in the meantime whip up the whites as for the last, take the sugar from the fire and rub it a little against the sides of the pan to grain it; as soon as it begins to turn white mix in the whipped eggs, stirring the sugar well from the pan with the whisk or spatula; lay them off, and bake as dry meringues: these may be colored by adding the liquid color to the syrup so as to give the desired tint; and either of them maybe flavored by rubbing off the peel of oranges, lemons, or cedrats on sugar, and scraping it off as it imbibes the oil; or it may be flavored with vanilla, by cutting it in small pieces and pounding it with some sugar, or with any liquor by adding a spoonful or two when you mix the eggs or sugar. They may also be varied in form, and baked on tin or iron plates instead of wood, that the bottoms may be quite firm. The tops may be covered with almonds or pistachios, blanched and cut small or in fillets, or with currants, or colored sugars; the whole depending on the taste and ingenuity of the artist.

Kisses.—Twelve ounces of sugar powdered very fine and passed through a silk sieve, the whites of six eggs beaten to a strong froth; mix and lay out on paper, as for dry meringues; when baked, place two together. The size should be about that of pigeons' eggs.

Mushrooms.—To make these, take either of the pastes for meringues or light icing, as for cakes; put some into a bag in the shape of a cone, with a tin pipe at the end, the same as used for Savoy biscuits; lay them off in drops the size you wish them to be, on iron plates rubbed quite clean and dry; bake them as you would meringues, make also a smaller drop to form the stalk; when they are baked, take them off the tin and scoop out a little with your finger from the bottom near the edge, to form the hollow rough surface underneath; then dry them in the stove; scrape some chocolate and dissolve it in a little warm water, and rub a little over the rough part underneath; then place the stalk in the center, fixing it with a little icing, and let the flat part which was on the tin be placed outermost, to represent where it was cut.

Piping Cakes, Bonbons, Etc.—This is a method of ornamenting wedding, twelfth-cakes, and other articles with icing, by means of small pipes or tubes; these are most generally made with writing-paper folded in the form of a cone, in the same manner as a grocer makes up his papers for small lots of sugar, tea, etc. The tube is filled with icing, made as for cakes, the base of the cone, or the place where it was filled, is turned down to prevent the sides opening, and the escape of the icing; the point is then cut off with a sharp knife or scissors, so as to make a hole sufficiently large to form the icing, when squeezed or pressed out, in a thread of the required size, and which will either be fine or coarse, according to the length of the point which is cut off. If the hole at the point of the cone is not perfectly straight when the icing is pressed out, it will form a spiral thread, which is very inconvenient to work with. Stars, borders, flowers, and different devices are formed on cakes after they are iced, the execution of which depends on the ability and ingenuity of the artist. Baskets, Chinese and other temples, etc., are formed on molds by these means, first giving them a coating of white wax, which is brushed over them after it is melted, and when cold, the icing is formed on it like trellis-work; when finished, the mold is warmed, and the icing easily comes off.

Some of the pipes which are used cannot be formed with paper, as the tape and star-pipes, which are made of tin, having a bag fastened to them in a similar manner to that generally used for dropping out Savoy biscuits, macaroons, etc., only much smaller, the point of the tin tube of the one being fluted to form a star, and in the other it is flat, so that when the icing is forced or squeezed through, it comes out in a broad thin sheet, like a piece of tape. I employ a set of pipes made of tin, with small bags fastened to them; these are of different dimensions; the orifice of the round ones commences at the size of a common pin, and the tape-pipes from a quarter to half an inch in width. I find these much better than paper ones, as the trouble and time which is lost in constantly making new ones is amply repaid by the others, as they are not very expensive and are always ready for use. These pipes should be in the hands of the confectioner what the pencil or brush is to the painter—capable of performing wonders with men of genius. Some of the bonbons which may be seen in the shops are proofs of what I assert; and many things are so cleverly done, that many persons would believe that they were either formed in a mold or modeled. I have not space to enlarge further on this subject, but much more might be given in explanation; therefore the artist must be guided by his own genius and fancy.