Nut creams, with the exception of almond, are not very well known, but are so delicious that they ought to be. One reason perhaps is that it is not generally known that kernels of nuts, such as hazel-nuts, walnuts, hickory-nuts, etc., can be bought by the pound at confectioners’ supply stores. This, of course, saves the tedious work of cracking and shelling. To use with creams or for frozen puddings the nuts must be pounded very well, with very little white of egg—just enough to moisten and render the process easy.

Cocoanut Cream.—Grate a fresh, sweet cocoanut (having first peeled, washed, and wiped it dry); mix with it an ounce of sugar; melt in as little water as possible three quarters of an ounce of gelatine; whip the whites of three eggs, mix them with half a pint of milk, and stir over the fire until the custard thickens; sweeten with four tablespoonfuls of sugar. Stir the gelatine and a full half-pint of grated cocoanut with the cocoanut milk into the custard. Whip half a pint of thick cream solid, and stir it very carefully into the custard; when the latter is quite cold, but before it sets, flavor with a little vanilla or lemon extract. Mould and set on ice.

Hazel-nut Cream.—Put a pint of hazel-nut kernels into a cool oven until they are thoroughly dry and rather hot (they must not become too hot, or they will change flavor); then rub them between two coarse cloths to get rid of as much as possible of the skin (it cannot be entirely removed); blow away the loose hulls, and pound the nuts to a paste with a little white of egg. Make a custard with the yolks of three eggs and half a pint of milk; dissolve half an ounce of gelatine in a gill of water, mix with six ounces of powdered sugar, and add to the custard when nearly cool. Stir in the hazel-nut paste, taking care that it is well mixed with the custard, and add a half-pint of cream whipped solid; flavor with vanilla, or you may omit flavoring, the hazel-nut being sufficient for many people. Mould and set on ice.

This cream and the two that follow are flecked with brown, for which reason it may be colored brown with caramel, although I prefer it uncolored, the specks being no more objectionable than the vanilla seeds one rejoices to see in ice-cream.

Walnut or Hickory-nut Cream.—Pound one pint of either of these nuts, after rubbing them well in a cloth, make the same custard as for hazel-nut cream, stir in the walnut or hickory-nut paste till smooth, add the whipped cream, color a pale pink with cochineal, and flavor faintly with rum or vanilla. Mould, set on ice, and serve with whipped cream flavored slightly with rum.

Bohemian Jelly Creams.—These may be made of any flavor, according to the jelly you use. It may be jelly of fruit or liqueur. If fresh fruit is used for jelly, the juice must be expressed, and well-sweetened gelatine added in the proportion of an ounce to the pint. If jam or marmalade is used, a pint of water is added and the same amount of gelatine, with the juice of half a lemon to the pint. Water, jam, and dissolved gelatine must be mixed quickly and passed through a sieve; either must be stirred in a bowl set in ice till quite cold and beginning to thicken; then stir in gently and quickly three-quarters of a pint of cream whipped solid; pour the mixture into the mould, which must be set in ice. Cover well, and keep on ice till needed.

Frangipanni Iced Pudding.—Grate six ounces of almond paste to crumbs; then on a smaller grater grate four or six bitter almonds blanched and dried; pound a dozen candied orange-flower petals with three-quarters of a pound of powdered sugar; put all into a stewpan with the yolks of eight eggs, and beat them very well together. In another stewpan have a pint and a half of boiling milk, which must be poured over the other ingredients by degrees, keeping them well stirred. Place it over the fire, stirring until it thickens and adheres to the back of the spoon; rub this all through a coarse sieve, add a glass of sherry, and when cold pour the mixture into the freezer; when half frozen add a pint and a half of whipped cream, and when quite frozen fill a pudding mould, bury it in ice and salt, and serve as you would Nesselrode pudding.

Iced Cabinet Pudding.—Cut a stale sponge cake into slices half an inch thick and rather smaller than the mould you intend to use for the pudding; lay the slices of cake to soak in brandy flavored with noyau; decorate the bottom and sides of the mould with candied fruits, split cherries, angelica rings, the same of green oranges, and little diamonds of ginger, with a few whole ratafias, dipping them in jelly to make them adhere; lay in one slice of cake, then cherries and ratafias, another slice of cake, and so on, until the mould is three parts full. Make a quart of custard with six yolks of eggs, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and an ounce of gelatine; when this is cold pour part into the mould, which must close hermetically; pack it in salt and ice for at least two hours; when you wish to turn it out, dip it a minute in lukewarm water. Keep the remaining custard on ice, flavor it with sherry or rum, beat it up, pour it around the pudding, and strew it with chopped pistachio-nuts.

Ice Pudding.—Make a custard with a pint and a half of milk, one whole egg and the yolks of four others, and a quarter of a pound of sugar; when cold, add half a glass of brandy, a glass of maraschino, an ounce of citron cut fine, a quarter of a pound of dried fruits, and an ounce of pistachio-nuts, the fruits cut up in small pieces, the pistachio-nuts blanched and split; mix well; and lastly add half a pint of whipped cream. When well frozen, pack into a pudding mould, and bury in ice and salt till wanted.

Bombay Ice Pudding.—Line a plain mould with Roman-punch ice an inch thick, keeping it bedded nearly to the brim in ice and salt while you do it; then fill the centre with the following mixture: a pint of cocoanut grated very fine, mixed with a pint of ice-cream; take great care that the cocoanut is ice-cold before you mix it in, or it will melt the ice-cream. When the mould is filled within an inch of the top, cover it with Roman punch, close the mould hermetically, and bury in ice. These puddings, where two kinds of ice are used, must only be attempted after one has learned to pack plain ice-cream with success.

Iced Jelly Pudding.—Make a custard with a pint of boiling cream, three ounces of sugar, and the yolks of four eggs beaten; pour the cream to the eggs very carefully, stirring it in by degrees. Have ready a quarter of an ounce of gelatine dissolved in very little milk, mix it in, and put the vessel containing the custard in a stewpan of boiling water, and stir till it just thickens; then whisk it until nearly cold. Mask a quart mould with jelly an inch thick—any favorite red jelly, or a pale one tinted. Directions have already been given how the inside of a mould is to be coated with jelly. There is an easier but extravagant way, namely, to fill the mould with jelly, then scoop out the centre neatly, leaving a shell of jelly an inch thick. The centre, of course, might be made hot and bottled for another occasion, or to make Bohemian cream jellies. When the mould is masked, fill it with the custard, which must be half frozen; then cover securely, and pack in ice and salt at least five hours before it is served.