“The pudding is nice and the sauce is nice, but the tart of the lemon destroys the flavor of the fig,” was the kindly criticism which my fig pudding with lemon sauce received from one of the ladies of the class in the junior days of my public work.

To combine desserts and sauces properly requires true artistic skill. As a rule, a rich sauce should be served with a plain pudding and a simpler or neutral sauce with a richer pudding, or with one having a characteristic or delicate flavor. Cream—almond, Brazil nut, cocoanut or dairy is the only thing that will develop the flavor of some desserts, while some puddings are too good to be spoiled with any sauce.

? Creamy (Apple Dumpling) Sauce

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup milk
• 1 teaspn. vanilla

Cream butter and sugar, add milk gradually, stirring; set over hot water and stir until just smooth, no longer. The sauce is not intended to be hot. Add vanilla and serve at once.

If the sauce should stand and separate, heat carefully again before serving. Water may be used in place of milk, or lemon juice and water in equal quantities, with lemon flavor, or fruit juices for cottage or plain steamed puddings. Orange juice with the flavor of the rind and vanilla makes a pleasing combination. The sauce is sometimes made with cream and sometimes with ¼ cup each of cream and fruit juice.

Strawberry or Raspberry Sauce

Add 1 cup mashed, drained, canned or fresh strawberries or raspberries to above sauce just before serving.

? Foamy Sauce

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspn. vanilla
• 2 tablespns. fruit juice
• ¼ cup boiling water
• white of 1 egg

Cream butter and sugar, add vanilla and fruit juice. Just before serving, add gradually the boiling water, and pour over the stiffly-beaten white of egg; beat until foamy. Vanilla may be omitted. Grape juice gives a lavender color.

Hard Sauce

• ¼ cup butter
• 1 cup sugar, powdered or granulated
• flavoring

Cream butter, add sugar gradually. When sauce is smooth and creamy, add flavoring. Pile on glass or other pretty dish, set in cold place to harden.

Variations of Hard Sauce

• a. Flavor with fine ground coriander seed, or very delicately with powdered anise seed.
• b. Beat 1 tablespn. cream with butter and sugar.
• c. Add unbeaten white of 1 egg and beat 5 m. more.
• d. Add unbeaten yolk of egg and beat.
• e. Add 1 egg, yolk and white beaten separately.
• f. Add gradually 1 or 2 stiffly-beaten whites of eggs, beat till frothy.
• g. Add 2 tablespns. boiling water.
• h. Flavor sugar with oil of lemon and add 1–1¼ tablespn. lemon juice.
• i. Add 2 tablespns. raspberry, grape or any desired fruit juice, sauce or jelly.
• j. Add 2 tablespns. any fruit juice and ½ tablespn. lemon juice.
• k. Flavor sugar with oil of orange, add 2 tablespns. orange juice and ½–1 teaspn. vanilla.
• l. Add 2 tablespns. very strong cereal coffee with 1 teaspn. vanilla.
• m. Add 1 cup fine grated cocoanut and if desired, 2 eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately.
• n. Add ¼–½ tablespn. lemon juice, and one at a time, beating well, 10 or 12 large ripe strawberries.
• o. Add 1 egg and beat; beat in 1 cup fresh crushed ripe strawberries—Annie’s sauce.
• p. Use raspberries in place of strawberries in “o.”
• q. Add ½ cup cream, whipped to either “o.” or “p.”
• r. Add fine ground dates or steamed figs.
• s. Use 1 cup fine rolled maple sugar instead of white, with or without beaten white of 1 or 2 eggs.

? Variegated Hard Sauce

• ¼–½ cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• white of 1 egg
• yolk of 1 egg
• pink fruit color

Cream butter and sugar, add beaten white of egg, divide into 3 parts, flavor one part with vanilla, add yolk of egg to another with 2 or 3 drops of lemon extract and put the fruit color with a drop or two of rose into the third part; oil a brick shaped mold and press the sauce into it in layers, set in a cold place to harden. When firm, dip mold quickly into hot water, turn sauce on a platter or flat dish and let stand in a cold place until the outside is again hardened. Cut in slices with hot knife and lay a slice on each serving of pudding.

Saffron may be used to color yellow, green and other colors may be used, and strawberry flavoring instead of rose sometimes. Maple hard sauce might be used for one layer.

Hard Sauce of Cooking Oil

• ¼–½ cup oil
• 1 cup sugar
• salt
• 1 white of egg
• flavoring

Beat oil sugar and salt together until light and creamy; add flavoring and stiffly-beaten white of egg, set in cool place to harden.

Soft or melted cocoanut butter may be used the same.

Plain Lemon Sauce

• 1 cup water
• ¾–1 cup sugar flavored with oil of lemon
• 2½–3 tablespns. lemon juice
• ¾–1 tablespn. corn starch

Heat sugar and water to boiling, add corn starch blended with cold water, boil, remove from fire, add lemon juice and a trifle of salt.

Lemon Sauce—Egg

• 1 cup water
• ½–? cup sugar flavored with oil of lemon
• ?–1 tablespn. corn starch
• yolk of 1 egg
• 1½–2 tablespns. lemon juice
• a trifle of salt

Boil sugar and water, thicken with corn starch blended with water, boil, add yolk, stir well but do not boil; add lemon juice and salt. One yolk is sufficient for twice the quantity of sauce.

Starchless Lemon Sauce

• ¾ cup sugar flavored with oil of lemon
• yolks of 2 eggs and white of 1
• 2–3 tablespns. lemon juice
• 1 cup water

Beat sugar, eggs and lemon juice together; add hot, not boiling, water gradually, cook stirring in double boiler till creamy. Set at once into cold water. Add a trifle of salt.

Cream Lemon Sauce

Add, beating well, 2–4 tablespns. of cream—sweet or sour, to each cup of liquid in any of the recipes for lemon sauce. When sweet cream is used it may be cooked with the other ingredients.

Orange Sauce

The same as lemon sauce with egg, using 4 tablespns. orange and ½ tablespn. lemon juice with a scant cup of water. Add cream for Cream Orange Sauce.

? Orange Syrup Sauce

Flavor 1 cup of granulated sugar with the lightly scored rind of 4 or 5 oranges, add the juice of the oranges (1 cupful) and let the syrup just boil up; strain and add a trifle of salt. For plum pudding add also ½–1 teaspn. vanilla.

Lemon Raisin Sauce

• 1 cup molasses
• 1 cup hot water
• 2–2½ tablespns. lemon juice, grated rind if desired
• 1 cup chopped seeded raisins
• 2 tablespns. butter
• 1 tablespn. corn starch
• a little milk

Cook raisins 20 m.; drain and measure the water for the sauce. Mix molasses, water and raisins and heat to boiling; stir in corn starch blended with milk; boil up well, add butter and lemon juice and serve.

Raisin Sauce

• ½ cup sugar
• 1 pound seedless raisins

Stew raisins ½ hr. or until tender, add sugar and cook to a thin syrup. Serve over boiled rice with cream. If desired, nut or dairy cream or butter may be added to the sauce.

Fig Sauce

Grind figs fine through food cutter, simmer in small quantity of water ½ hr. or until soft, add a little sugar and simmer again, leave just a little liquid. Nut or dairy cream or butter may be added, or the cereal or dessert may be served with both fig sauce and cream.

Date Sauce

Stew dates 10 m. in small quantity of water, rub through colander; serve rather thick. The date may be flavored delicately with anise.

Cream, with vanilla, lemon, rose or almond flavor, coriander or anise may be added to the date pulp.

Prune Sauce

Rich prune juice is nice with blanc mange, cottage pudding and similar desserts. Stewed prunes may be rubbed through the colander and their juice added for sauce, with or without orange or vanilla flavoring. The thick pulp may be added to whipped cream, a little at a time, beating, for Prune Whipped Cream Sauce.

Peach Sauce

Mix ¼ cup sugar and a level tablespn. corn starch. Pour on gradually 1 cup boiling water; boil 5 m., stirring; add 1 tablespn. lemon juice, 1 of butter and a cup of peaches which have been pared, mashed and rubbed through a fine sieve; bring just to boiling point and serve.

Nice with cottage pudding and popovers. Canned or dried peaches may be used with the thin juice of the peach instead of water; then no additional sugar will be required.

Pineapple Sauce

Beat whites of 2 eggs, add powdered sugar till creamy; then add 3 tablespns. cream and 1 cup grated pineapple; serve with Irish moss or gelatine blanc mange.

Cranberry Sauce

Boil ½–¾ cup sugar and ½ cup water 5 m., add 1 cup cranberry juice and boil again. Thicken with 1 teaspn. corn starch, add a few drops lemon extract and 1 teaspn. melted butter. Strawberry or rose extract may be used instead of lemon.

Fruit Sabayon Sauce

• ½ cup grape, black raspberry or other fruit juice
• ¼–½ cup sugar
• 1 teaspn. lemon juice
• 1 egg
• ?–½ cup sugar

Heat juice, the first sugar and lemon juice nearly to boiling; pour, stirring, over egg (in double boiler) which has been beaten with the last sugar. Cook, stirring, a moment or two, to just thicken but not to curdle the egg; serve hot or beat until cold. ¼ cup cream—whipped, may be added.

? Jelly Meringue Sauce

Beat white of egg stiff, then beat in gradually any desired jelly. 1–1½ tablespn. powdered sugar may be added to the egg before the jelly, and 2 tablespns. cream, plain or whipped. This sauce will keep on ice for several hours.

Cream, White, and Foamy White Sauces

• 1½ cup water
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup cream
• 1 tablespn. flour
• 1 teaspn. vanilla
• salt

Mix flour and sugar, pour boiling water over stirring, boil up well, add cream and a trifle of salt, remove from fire and stir in vanilla. For pineapple sago or tapioca, flavor sauce delicately with rose.

White—Use milk in place of water. Serve plain, or flavor with orange, almond or lemon, and vanilla.

2 tablespns. of butter or the yolk of an egg may be used with a half cup more of milk instead of the ½ cup of cream.

Foamy White—Pour hot white sauce slowly, stirring, over whites of 2 eggs, stiffly-beaten with half the sugar.

Cocoanut Sauce

Steep, not boil, 2 tablespns. cocoanut in 1 pt. of milk for 20 m., strain and use milk in white or foamy white sauce.

Banana Cream Sauce

Heat cream and sugar nearly to boiling in double boiler. Remove from fire, add fine diced bananas and serve at once. A little vanilla may be added. Serve over popovers, molded farina, rice or plain tapioca pudding.

Cold Cream Sauce

• 1 egg
• ½ cup sugar, granulated or powdered
• ½ cup cream
• ? cup milk
• ½ teaspn. vanilla

Put ingredients all together and beat until thick as whipped cream.

Whipped Cream Sauce

• 1 cup cream
• ½ cup sugar
• ½–1 teaspn. vanilla
• white of 1 egg

Whip cream until quite stiff, add sugar and vanilla, finish whipping, chop in stiffly-beaten white of egg. May beat fresh fruit or fruit jelly into white before adding to cream.

Strawberry Cream Sauce

• ½ pt. cream
• ½ cup sugar
• 1½ cup mashed strawberries
• white of 1 egg

Whip cream, add half the sugar, berries, and white of egg stiffly-beaten with remainder of sugar.

Creamy Sauce of Cooking Oil

• ½ cup cooking oil
• ¼ cup cream
• ½ cup sugar flavored with oil of lemon
• 2–2½ tablespns. lemon juice

Beat the oil and sugar to a thick cream; when very light add cream a little at a time, stir over boiling water if necessary to make the sauce smooth and creamy, add lemon and serve.

Lemon Cream Sauce—Sour Cream

• 1 pt. sour cream
• 2½ tablespns. lemon juice
• ¾–1 cup sugar flavored with oil of lemon

Beat all together until very light.

Sauce Antique—Sour Cream

• 1 cup sour cream
• ¼–? cup sugar
• a few drops almond extract
• ½ teaspn. vanilla

Beat cream and sugar together until light and add flavoring.

Egg Cream or Emergency Sauce

• 2 eggs
• ? cup sugar
• 1 tablespn. cream
• ½ teaspn. vanilla or a few drops lemon extract or 1 or 2 drops of rose

Beat whites stiff with a trifle of salt, add sugar, beat until smooth; chop in lightly, yolks, cream and flavoring. Do not let stand. Nice for plum and other puddings.

Orange Egg Cream Sauce

• 2 eggs
• ? cup sugar
• 4 tablespns. orange juice
• ¼ cup cream

Beat whites of eggs stiff, add orange flavored sugar, or use grated rind of orange, beat; then chop in yolks, orange juice and whipped cream.

Nice for fig, apple tapioca and other puddings.

Almond Cream Sauce

• 2 tablespns. almond butter
• 3–4 tablespns. sugar
• 1¼–1½ cup boiling water
• salt
• 1 tablespn. orange flower water or a few drops of almond extract
• with or without ? teaspn. vanilla

Blend butter, sugar and salt; add water slowly, boil up well, remove from fire and add flavoring. Serve hot or cold. 1 teaspn. flour and a little more water may be used.

Grape and Almond Sauce

• 2 level tablespns. almond butter
• ? cup rich grape juice
• 2 tablespns. sugar
• 2 tablespns. lemon juice
• ½ cup water

Blend almond butter and water, add sugar, bring to boiling point, remove from fire and add lemon and grape juice.

The sauce may be made thinner.

Almond Whipped Cream

Rub 2 tablespns. almond butter smooth with 3 tablespns. water and chop lightly into the white of an egg that has been beaten to a stiff froth with 1 tablespn. of sugar.

Almond Cream for Puddings or Cereals

• 2 teaspns. flour
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespns. almond butter
• little salt
• ¾ cup distilled water

Heat 1 cup of water to boiling and thicken with the flour blended with cold water; rub almond butter smooth with salt and distilled water; add the thickened water, beat well, serve cold.

Custard Sauce

• 1 pt. milk
• yolk of 3 eggs
• 2–3 tablespns. sugar
• ½ teaspn. vanilla, or a few drops of almond extract

Cook all together in inner cup of double boiler until mixture will coat the back of a spoon. Remove at once from fire and set in pan of cold water.

For plum pudding, the custard may be flavored with orange and vanilla.

Maple Syrup Sauce

Boil ½ cup maple syrup with ¼ cup water (or if syrup is thin, ¾ cup syrup and no water) until it threads. Add gradually, beating, the stiffly-beaten whites of 2 eggs and ½ cup cream.

For some desserts, add 1 teaspn. lemon juice.

Maple Sugar Sauce

½ lb. of grated maple sugar, 1 cup milk or thin cream, salt. Simmer together a few minutes, stirring often.

Molasses Sauces

Cream—1 cup molasses, ½ cup cream. Whip cream, heat molasses and pour over it, beating. Serve at once.

Butter—1 cup molasses, ¼ cup butter, boil 5 m.

Lemon Juice—

• 1 cup molasses
• 1 tablespn. lemon juice
• 1 tablespn. butter
• salt

Boil 10 m.

Molasses sauces are nice with rice, bread and puff omelets and steamed or cottage puddings.

? Plain Pudding Sauce

Rub to a cream ¼ cup butter (1 tablespn. would do) and 1 cup brown or granulated sugar; add 1 tablespn. flour, pour on gradually 1¼ cup boiling water; boil 5 m., stirring; flavor with vanilla, or add 1 tablespn. lemon juice.

Rose Sauce

Boil to a thin syrup 1 pt. of water and 1½ cup of sugar, add a very little salt, a trifle of red fruit color and 1–3 drops of extract of rose with or without 1 or 2 tablespns. of lemon juice.

Serve with snow pudding or blanc mange.

For Red Sauce, slice a rich red beet into the water, let stand 15–20 m. in a hot place without boiling, strain, add sugar and at the last, lemon or vanilla flavoring or both, with lemon juice.