APPLE BETTY.
Two cups of tart cooking apples, chopped, a cup and a half of stale bread crumbs—bakers' bread is the best; four heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar, one generous tablespoonful of butter, and the grated rind of one lemon. Butter a pudding dish, divide the ingredients into four layers, beginning with apples and finishing with bread crumbs. Sprinkle the sugar and lemon over the apples and cut the butter into tiny lumps and scatter over the crumbs. Bake three-quarters of an hour in a moderate oven. Serve with cream or hard sauce.
APPLE CHARLOTTE.
Pare, core and quarter eight or nine good cooking apples, put them into a double boiler with two tablespoonfuls of butter, half a cup of sugar, the juice and grated rind of a lemon; cook until tender. Take a plain mould that holds three pints, butter it well, line the bottom and sides with very thin slices of home-made bread. Remove the crust, dip each slice in melted butter, fit them evenly together in the mould, fill with the apples, cover with the bread, dredge it with sugar and bake three-quarters of an hour in a quick oven. Have a hot platter, lay it over the top of the charlotte, turn it over, and lift off the mould. Serve hot with or without sauce or cream.
APPLE CROQUETTES.
Peel, core and quarter four good-sized cooking apples, cut in thin slices and put them in a granite ware saucepan over the fire with a small tablespoonful of butter, a heaping tablespoonful of sugar, the grated rind of half a lemon and a saltspoonful of cinnamon; cover tightly and cook until tender, taking care that it does not burn. When done add an even tablespoonful of Groult's potato flour, mixed with a very little water, then stir in one beaten egg, and remove from the fire. Turn into a deep plate to get cold, form in cylinders, dip in egg and dried bread crumbs and fry in boiling fat. Sift powdered sugar over them and serve hot, with or without cream.
APPLES STEWED WHOLE.
Take some nice, tart cooking apples, pare and put them into a saucepan with the juice of two lemons and the rind of one; cover with water, cook slowly until they can be pierced with a straw, take them from the water with a draining spoon. Make a syrup, allowing half a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit, use as much of the water the apples were cooked in as will dissolve the sugar; when it comes to a boil add the apples and cook until clear. Take the apples out, core them and fill with a fruit jelly, if liked, boil down the syrup and pour over the fruit. Serve very cold with whipped or plain cream. Bartlett pears may be cooked in the same manner, serving them whole.
APPLE SOUFFLÉ.
Seven tart, juicy apples, pared and cored, and cut fine. Put them over the fire in a double boiler without any water, steam until tender, then stir into them two tablespoonfuls of butter and one cup of sugar, remove from the fire, and turn it into a bowl to cool. When it is cold beat in the yolks of four eggs, whipped very light, a little grated lemon peel, and then add alternately the whites of the eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, and a cup of stale bread crumbs. Beat hard for a few moments and turn into a buttered pudding dish and bake in a moderate oven about one hour. Cover it while baking until ten or fifteen minutes before it is done, so that it will not form a hard crust and become dry. Serve warm in the dish in which it is baked.
APPLE CUSTARD.—No. 1.
Grate some good, tart cooking apples—enough to measure one quart. Beat a generous tablespoonful of butter and seven tablespoonfuls of sugar to a cream, add to this four egg yolks beaten light, then the apples and the grated rind of a lemon, and lastly the whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth. It can be baked in puff paste or without. Serve cold.
APPLE CUSTARD.—No. 2.
Pare, core and quarter half a dozen fine, large cooking apples, put them in a double boiler with the grated rind of half a large lemon, cook until tender, and press through a sieve; there must be three-quarters of a pint of the purÉe. Add an ounce and a half of granulated sugar and set it away to get cold. Then beat three eggs very light and stir gradually into a pint of rich milk alternately with the apple purÉe, add a little cinnamon, pour it into a pudding dish and bake about twenty minutes. Serve cold with a little cinnamon and sugar sifted over it.
BAKED APPLE DUMPLINGS.
Sift a pint of flour with a teaspoonful of baking powder and half a teaspoonful of salt. Put a quarter of a pint of butter into it and chop it fine with a knife; mix it well—do not use the hands; then add milk enough to moisten it, about a quarter of a pint. Dust a pastry board with flour, take the dough from the bowl, roll lightly into a sheet about an eighth of an inch thick, cut into squares large enough to hold an apple. Pare and core medium sized cooking apples, fill with sugar and a little cinnamon, put in the middle of the square and draw the corners up over the apples, moistening them with a little white of egg or water to make them stick. Brush over the dumplings with beaten egg and bake in a good oven. The time will depend upon the apples—about half an hour. Serve with cream.
APPLE FLOAT.
Have a pint of apple purÉe, made from nice tart apples, sweetened to taste and flavored with the grated rind of lemon and cinnamon, or nutmeg if preferred. Set it on the ice that it may be very cold, beat the whites of two eggs to a stiff froth and add to the purÉe of apples, and serve with cream.
APPLES FRIED.
Wash and wipe some tart cooking apples, cut in slices a quarter of an inch thick, core and fry them in butter until tender and brown, dredge them with sugar and serve hot.
APPLE MARMALADE.
Two pounds of tart cooking apples, one pound of sugar, one pint of water, one lemon and some blanched almonds. Stir the sugar and water together and boil it until it strings from the spoon, then add the apples pared and cored and cut in small pieces, cook until very thick, flavor with the juice and grated peel of a small lemon. Turn into a wet mould, when cold set on the ice. Turn out on a glass dish, stick it thickly over with the blanched almonds, garnish with whipped cream and serve with cream.
APPLE MERINGUE.
Put a pint of apple sauce, made of tart cooking apples, slightly sweetened, into a pudding dish. Beat the whites of four eggs to a stiff froth and stir into it a cup and a quarter of sugar, flavor with a very little extract of lemon—a few drops only—and spread over the apple sauce, and bake twenty or twenty-five minutes. Make a custard of the four egg yolks and a pint of milk, sweeten to taste and flavor with vanilla. Serve the meringue very cold in the dish in which it is baked, with the custard as a sauce in a sauceboat or glass pitcher.
APPLE PUDDING.—No. 1.
Take some tart cooking apples, pare, core and slice them and lay in cold water for a few minutes to prevent them from turning dark. Put the apples in a porcelain lined or granite saucepan and add water as deep as the apples, but not to cover them. Cover the saucepan tightly and let the apples cook until tender, then mash well, add sugar, grated lemon peel and cinnamon to taste. Put it back on the stove, and when it comes to a boil add a tablespoonful of potato flour mixed with a little cold water, stir well and let it cook for a few minutes. Turn it into a mould and serve the next day with cream.
APPLE PUDDING.—No. 2.
Prepare the apples as for Apple Pudding, No. 1. When tender mash through a colander, and put the purÉe back on the stove. When it boils stir in a very heaping tablespoonful of potato flour mixed with a little cold water, and let it cook for a few minutes. Remove from the fire, stir in a wine glass of sherry. Turn into a mould, set it on the ice until the next day and serve with cream.
APPLES STEWED IN BUTTER.
Take half a dozen good, tart cooking apples—greenings or Newtown pippins; peel, cut in slices about a quarter of an inch thick and core them. Melt an ounce of butter in a spider, and lay in the slices of apples with a quarter of a pound of granulated sugar and the juice of a lemon, stew gently over a moderate fire. When done arrange them nicely on a dish, melt a generous tablespoonful of currant jelly in the spider, and when ready to serve mix with it half a glass of Madeira or sherry; pour over the apples and serve.
TO STEAM APPLES.
Pare and core some good cooking apples, place them in an earthen or granite ware dish that fits in a steamer. Have water boiling in the steamer, set the dish over it, stretch a towel over the top, put on the cover and fold the ends of the towel over it. Steam the apples until tender—about twenty minutes. Take the apples out, measure the juice in the pan and add to it an equal quantity of sugar, flavor with a little lemon juice, cook until thick, put the apples in a glass dish and pour the syrup over them. It will be a jelly when cold. Serve with cream.
SCALLOPED APPLES.
Pare, core and cut in slices some good, tart cooking apples, put a layer in a baking dish with sugar, cinnamon and a grating of lemon rind, dot with tiny lumps of butter, then another layer of apples, sugar, etc., and so on until the dish is full. Add a very little water and the juice of a lemon, and use a little more sugar and butter on top than on the other layers. Bake until the apples are thoroughly cooked. Cover until nearly done, when the cover should be removed to allow them to brown. Serve hot with cream or hard sauce.
BANANA FRITTERS.
Half a pint of sweet milk, a scant half pint of flour, two rounded teaspoonfuls of baking powder and a small pinch of salt, stir all together; this should make a batter as thick as that of cake. Roll the pieces of fruit in it with a fork, and drop quickly into boiling fat. The batter should be prepared just as it is wanted and not allowed to stand. Cut three medium-sized bananas into three pieces each and divide each slice lengthwise so that the fruit will be thin enough to cook thoroughly while the batter is browning. This recipe will make eighteen small fritters. Put them on a hot platter—do not pile up—and serve immediately with a fruit sauce.
BAVARIAN CHERRY CAKE.
Half a pound of fine, juicy black cherries, five tablespoonfuls of fine bread crumbs, five tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, five eggs and one ounce of sweet chocolate grated. Put the grated chocolate in a mixing bowl, break an egg into it and add one tablespoonful of bread crumbs and one of sugar, beat light and break another egg into it, adding another tablespoonful of bread crumbs and one of sugar. Then separate the three remaining eggs, the yolks from the whites, adding one yolk at a time alternately with bread crumbs and sugar until all are used. Add the cherries. Beat the three whites of eggs to a stiff froth and fold it in lightly. Butter thick a cake mould, sift dried bread crumbs over it, turn the cake into it and bake about three-quarters of an hour in a moderate oven. Test it as other cake. In Bavaria it is served cold, but I think it would also be nice hot with fruit sauce.
CRANBERRY BAVARIAN CREAM.
Stew one quart of cranberries; while hot rub through a sieve; measure out half a pint, and add to it a half cup of granulated sugar. Have a quarter of a box of gelatine soaked in a quarter of a cup of water one hour, set the bowl over steam entirely to dissolve the gelatine, then add the cranberries. Turn it into an earthenware bowl, set in a pan of ice water and beat until it is perfectly cold and begins to thicken, then add half a cup of rich milk and beat again, and at the last add half a cup of whipped cream. Beat it thoroughly and turn it into a mould and set on the ice to congeal. Serve with cream. Do not use a tin mould for cranberries.
A MOULD OF FRESH FRUIT.
Take enough fresh, ripe currants and raspberries to make half a cupful of juice of each, and press through a sieve fine enough to retain the seeds; or the fruit may be strained and squeezed through cheese cloth. Take also enough ripe cherries to make a cupful of juice and mix all together. Put a quart of boiling water in a saucepan over the fire with four ounces of sugar and two ounces of almonds blanched and cut fine. Mix five ounces of arrowroot or the same quantity of potato flour with the cold fruit juices, stir it into the boiling water and let it boil about five minutes, turn it into a wet mould, and when cold set on the ice. This should be made the day before it is to be served. Serve with cream.
A DESSERT OF MIXED FRUIT.
Peel some sweet, juicy oranges, removing all the white, bitter skin, cut in thin slices and put a layer at the bottom of a glass dish, sprinkle with sugar, then put a layer of freshly grated cocoanut and a layer of bananas, cut in thin slices, and repeat, beginning again with oranges, until the bowl is full, finishing with a layer of cocoanut. Pour over it any juice that may have run from the oranges, and if liked a glass or two of sherry may be added. Serve very cold.
GOOSEBERRY PUDDING.
Use either ripe or unripe English gooseberries for this pudding, stem and pick off the flower, wash and cover with water and cook until tender, strain through a sieve. Return to the fire, let it come to a boil, sweeten to taste, flavor with cinnamon and some almonds blanched and cut fine. Stiffen with potato flour as in other fruit puddings—a tablespoonful to a quart of the purÉe—and mould and serve in the same way.
PINEAPPLE MERINGUE.
Half a large or one small pineapple grated, two ounces of butter, three of granulated sugar, an ounce and a half of grated bread crumbs, the yolks of three eggs and the whites of four. Cream the butter and sugar, add the yolks and one white of egg beaten well together, then the fruit and bread crumbs; turn into a pudding dish and bake twenty minutes. Beat three whites of eggs to a stiff froth and add three-quarters of a cup of granulated sugar to it, flavor with a few drops of almond extract, spread over the pudding, set the dish in a pan of warm water in the oven and bake about ten or fifteen minutes. Test with a straw; when it comes out clean it is done. Serve cold.
PRUNE SOUFFLÉ.
Soak three-quarters of a pound of prunes in water to cover them over night, cook until soft in the water they were soaked in, drain, take out the stones and press through a purÉe sieve. Add half a cup of granulated sugar and the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Bake in a pudding dish twenty minutes. Serve in the dish in which it is baked, cold, with cream.
PRUNE MOULD.
Prepare a prune purÉe as above and to the same quantity have a third of a box of gelatine soaked in a little of the water the prunes were cooked in, and dissolved over the teakettle. Stir quickly into the purÉe, then add three whites of eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Wet a mould and pour the mixture into it; set on the ice to congeal. Turn out on a glass dish and serve with cream.
STEWED DRIED FIGS.
Wash and cut in half two dozen dried figs, slice very thin one small lemon, add to the figs, put in a saucepan and pour over them cold water almost to cover. Let them cook until the lemon is clear. Sweeten to taste.
RHUBARB MERINGUE.
Take three cups of stewed rhubarb, put in a saucepan over the fire, sweeten to taste, and when hot add two ounces of butter and three ounces of bread crumbs dried and rolled fine, the juice and rind of half a lemon. Remove from the fire and stir in three egg yolks, turn it into a pudding dish, set aside while preparing the meringue. Beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth, add three-quarters of a cup of granulated sugar and pour over the rhubarb. Set the pudding dish in a pan of hot water in the oven and bake ten or fifteen minutes. Test with a broom straw; when it comes out of the meringue clean it is done. Serve cold with cream.
SCALLOPED RHUBARB.
A dozen large stalks of young rhubarb, washed and scraped and cut in thin slices, half a loaf of bakers' stale bread grated, four heaping tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar, one generous tablespoonful of butter, and the grated rind of a large lemon. Butter a pudding dish, divide the ingredients into four parts, begin with the rhubarb and finish with bread crumbs. Sprinkle the sugar and grated lemon peel over the rhubarb and cut the butter in tiny bits over the bread crumbs, dredge the top with sugar. Bake three-quarters of an hour in a moderate oven and serve hot with cream or hard sauce.
RICE AND DATE PUDDING.
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 SOUFFLÉ 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 soufflÉ 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 SOUFFLÉ.
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.
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 SOUFFLÉ.
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.
Butter well a pudding dish, cover the bottom with slices of stale sponge cake about an inch thick, fit closely together. Beat the yolks of three eggs with three teaspoonfuls of granulated sugar, add the grated rind of half and the juice of one orange, the juice of half a small lemon, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter and stir in soda as large as a pea into a cup and a half of milk, add this to the orange and egg and stir well together. Pour three-quarters of this mixture over the cake, set the dish in a pan of boiling water in the oven, and when the cake has absorbed the custard and no longer floats, add the remainder of the custard. While the pudding is baking make a meringue of three whites of eggs beaten to a stiff froth and three-quarters of a cup of granulated sugar, flavor with the grated rind of half an orange and a few drops of orange extract. Spread quickly over the pudding and bake fifteen minutes.
PUDDING OF STALE CAKE.
Almost any kind of stale cake will do for this pudding. To three cups of the cake crumbs allow a cup and a half of milk, three tablespoonfuls of melted butter and two eggs beaten light. Pour the milk over the crumbs and let them soak until soft, then stir in the melted butter and the eggs, beat well and pour into a mould that has been well buttered and sprinkled with fine bread crumbs. Set the mould in a pan of hot water in the oven, cover to prevent browning and bake three-quarters of an hour. Serve hot with fruit or wine sauce.
BAKED TAPIOCA PUDDING.
Soak a cup and a half of pearl tapioca two hours in a quart of rich milk, put it in a double boiler and cook until the tapioca looks clear, remove from the fire, stir into it two slightly heaping tablespoonfuls of butter and a scant half cup of sugar. When cold add four eggs beaten light and flavor with vanilla, or the rind of a lemon grated and added when the tapioca is cooking. Butter a mould, sprinkle with dried bread crumbs, turn the mixture into it and bake. Turn out on a platter and serve hot with a foaming sauce.
TAPIOCA CREAM.
A quarter of a cup of pearl tapioca, a cup of water, a pint of rich milk, three even tablespoonfuls of sugar, a teaspoonful of vanilla extract, two eggs and a little salt. Soak the tapioca in the water two hours, then turn it into a double boiler with the milk; when it boils, beat the yolks of eggs to a cream and the whites to a stiff froth, mix a little of the milk with the egg, then pour it into the boiler and stir a moment until thick, remove from the fire, add the vanilla extract and stir in lightly the beaten whites of eggs. The froth should show through the custard. Serve very cold in a glass bowl.
STEAMED RICE.
Half a cup of rice, half a teaspoonful of salt and one and one-third cups of boiling water. Put in small cups in a steamer, cover closely and steam three-quarters of an hour. Serve with stewed fruit and cream or sugar and cream.
RICE CAKE.
Four ounces of rice, a pint and a half of milk, six eggs, two ounces and a half of sugar, half a cup of almonds blanched and chopped, two ounces of stoned raisins, a little citron, three heaping tablespoonfuls of dried bread crumbs, and four ounces of butter. Wash the rice and scald with boiling water, drain and put it into the milk, which must be boiling on the stove, cook until it is stiff like mush; remove from the fire and stir into it the butter. When it is cool, add the eggs, one at a time, the sugar, the almonds chopped fine, the raisins, a little citron finely cut, and the bread crumbs dried and rolled fine. Butter a mould, turn the cake into it and bake one hour in a moderate oven. Serve cold.
BROWN BREAD PUDDING.
Put in a bowl the yolks of four eggs and three whole eggs and six and a half ounces of sugar; beat together for fifteen minutes, then add six and a half ounces of almonds blanched and chopped fine, a dash of cinnamon, a tablespoonful of chocolate and four even tablespoonfuls of citron cut very fine; then add eight ounces and a half of brown bread grated and soaked in a few spoonfuls of claret or milk. Butter a mould, sprinkle with bread crumbs, pour the pudding into it and set it in a pan of hot water in a moderate oven. Bake three-quarters of an hour and serve with a sauce.
