PART THE FIRST. PASTRY
PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
IN making pastry or cakes, it is best to begin by weighing out the ingredients, sifting the flour, pounding and sifting the sugar and spice, washing the butter, and preparing the fruit.
Sugar can be powdered by pounding it in a large mortar, or by rolling it on a paste-board with a rolling-pin. It should be made very fine and always sifted.
All sorts of spice should be pounded in a mortar, except nutmeg, which it is better to grate. If spice is wanted in large quantities, it may be ground in a mill.
The butter should always be fresh and very good. Wash it in cold water before you use it, and then make it up with your hands into hard lumps, squeezing the water well out.
It the butter and sugar are to be stirred together, always do that before the eggs are beaten, as (unless they are kept too warm) the butter and sugar will not be injured by standing awhile. For stirring them, nothing is so convenient as a round hickory stick about a foot and a half long, and somewhat flattened at one end.
The eggs should not be beaten till after all the other ingredients are ready, as they will fall very soon. If the whites and yolks are to be beaten separately, do the whites first, as they will stand longer.
Eggs should be beaten in a broad shallow pan, spreading wide at the top. Butter and sugar should be stirred in a deep pan with straight sides.
Break every egg by itself, in a saucer, before you put it into the pan, that in case there should be any bad ones, they may not spoil the others.
Eggs are beaten most expeditiously with rods. A small quantity of white of egg may be beaten with a knife, or a three-pronged fork.
There can be no positive rules as to the exact time of baking each article. Skill in baking is the result of practice, attention, and experience. Much, of course, depends on the state of the fire, and on the size of the things to be baked, and something on the thickness of the pans or dishes.
If you bake in a stove, put some bricks in the oven part to set the pans or plates on, and to temper the heat at the bottom. Large sheets of iron, without sides, will be found very useful for small cakes, and to put under the pans or plates.
puff paste.- Half a pound and two ounces of sifted flour.
- Half a pound of the best fresh butter--washed.
- A little cold water.
This will make puff-paste for two Puddings, or for one soup-plate Pie, or for four small Shells.
Weigh half a pound and two ounces of flour, and sift it through a hair-sieve into a large deep dish. Take out about one fourth of the flour, and lay it aside on one corner of your pasteboard, to roll and sprinkle with.
Wash, in cold water, half a pound of the best fresh butter. Squeeze it hard with your hands, and make it up into a round lump. Divide it in four equal parts; lay them on one side of your pasteboard, and have ready a glass of cold water.
Cut one of the four pieces of butter into the pan of flour. Cut it as small as possible. Wet it gradually with a very little water (too much water will make it tough) and mix it well with the point of a large case-knife. Do not touch it with your hands. When the dough gets into a lump, sprinkle on the middle of the board some of the flour that you laid aside, and lay the dough upon it, turning it out of the pan with the knife.
Rub the rolling-pin with flour, and sprinkle a little on the lump of paste. Roll it out thin, quickly, and evenly, pressing on the rolling-pin very lightly. Then take the second of the four pieces of butter, and, with the point of your knife, stick it in little bits at equal distances all over the sheet of paste.
Sprinkle on some flour, and fold up the dough. Flour the paste-board and rolling-pin again; throw a little flour on the paste and roll it out a second time. Stick the third piece of butter all over it in little bits. Throw on some flour, fold up the paste, sprinkle a little more flour on the dough, and on the rolling-pin, and roll it out a third time, always pressing on it lightly. Stick it over with the fourth and last piece of butter. Throw on a little more flour, fold up the paste and then roll it out in a large round sheet. Cut off the sides, so as to make the sheet of a square form, and lay the slips of dough upon the square sheet. Fold it up with the small pieces of trimmings, in the inside. Score or notch it a little with the knife; lay it on a plate and set it away in a cool place, but not where it can freeze, as that will make it heavy.
Having made the paste, prepare and mix your pudding or pie. When the mixture is finished, bring out your paste, flour the board and rolling-pin, and roll it out with a short quick stroke, and pressing the rolling-pin rather harder than while you were putting the butter in. If the paste rises in blisters, it will be light, unless spoiled in baking.
Then cut the sheet in half, fold up each piece and roll them out once more, separately, in round sheets the size of your plate. Press on rather harder, but not too hard. Roll the sheets thinnest in the middle and thickest at the edges. If intended for puddings, lay them in buttered soup-plates, and trim them evenly round the edges. If the edges do not appear thick enough, you may take the trimmings, put them all together, roll them out, and having cut them in slips the breadth of the rim of the plate, lay them all round to make the paste thicker at the edges, joining them nicely and evenly, as every patch or crack will appear distinctly when baked. Notch the rim handsomely with a very sharp knife. Fill the dish with the mixture of the pudding, and bake it in a moderate oven. The paste should be of a light brown colour. If the oven is too slow, it will be soft and clammy; if too quick, it will not have time to rise as high as it ought to do.
In making the best puff-paste, try to avoid using more flour to sprinkle and roll with, than the small portion which you have laid aside for that purpose at the beginning. If you make the dough too soft at first, by using too much water, it will be sticky, and require more flour, and will eventually be tough when baked. Do not put your hands to it, as their warmth will injure it. Use the knife instead. Always roll from you rather than to you, and press lightly on the rolling-pin, except at the last.
It is difficult to make puff-paste in the summer, unless in a cellar, or very cool room, and on a marble table. The butter should, if possible, be washed the night before, and kept covered with ice till you use it next day. The water should have ice in it, and the butter should be iced as it sets on the paste-board. After the paste is mixed, it should be put in a covered dish, and set in cold water till you are ready to give it the last rolling.
With all these precautions to prevent its being heavy, it will not rise as well, or be in any respect as good as in cold weather.
The handsomest way of ornamenting the edge of a pie or pudding is to cut the rim in large square notches, and then fold over triangularly one corner of every notch.
COMMON PASTE FOR PIES.- A pound and a half of sifted flour.
- Three quarters of a pound of butter--washed.
This will make one large pie or two small ones.
Sift the flour into a pan. Cut the butter into two equal parts. Cut one half of the butter into the flour, and cut it up as small as possible. Mix it well with the flour, wetting it gradually with a little cold water.
Spread some flour on your paste-board, take the lump of paste out of the pan, flour your rolling-pin, and roll out the paste into a large sheet. Then stick it over with the remaining half of the butter in small pieces, and laid at equal distances. Throw on a little flour, fold up the sheet of paste, flour it slightly, and roll it out again. Then fold it up, and cut it in half or in four, according to the size of your pies. Roll it out into round sheets the size of your pie-plates, pressing rather harder on the rolling-pin.
Butter your pie-plates, lay on your under crust, and trim the edge. Fill the dish with the ingredients of which the pie is composed, and lay on the lid, in which you must prick some holes, or cut a small slit in the top. Crimp the edges with a sharp knife.
Heap up the ingredients so that the pie will be highest in the middle.
Some think it makes common paste more crisp and light, to beat it hard on both sides with the rolling-pin, after you give it the first rolling, when all the butter is in.
If the butter is very fresh, you may mix with the flour a salt-spoonful of salt.
MINCE PIES.- One pound and a half of boiled beef's heart, or fresh tongue--chopped when cold.
- Two pounds of beef suet, chopped fine.
- Four pounds of pippin apples, chopped.
- Two pounds of raisins, stoned and chopped.
- Two pounds of currants, picked, washed, and dried.
- Two pounds of powdered sugar.
- One quart of white wine.
- One quart of brandy.
- One wine-glass of rose-water.
- Two grated nutmegs.
- Half an ounce of cinnamon }
- A quarter of an ounce of cloves } powdered
- A quarter of an ounce of mace }
- A tea-spoonful of salt.
- Two large oranges.
- Half a pound of citron, cut in slips.
Parboil a beef's heart, or a fresh tongue. After you have taken off the skin and fat, weigh a pound and a half. When it is cold, chop it very fine. Take the inside of the suet; weigh two pounds, and chop it as fine as possible. Mix the meat and suet together, adding the salt. Pare, core, and chop the apples, and then stone and chop the raisins. Having prepared the currants, add them to the other fruit, and mix the fruit with the meat and suet. Put in the sugar and spice, and the grated peel and juice of the oranges. Wet the whole with the rose water and liquor, and mix all well together.
Make the paste, allowing for each pie, half a pound of butter and three quarters of a pound of sifted flour. Make it in the same manner as puff-paste, but it will not be quite so rich. Lay a sheet of paste all over a soup-plate. Fill it with mince-meat, laying slips of citron on the top. Roll out a sheet of paste, for the lid of the pie. Put it on, and crimp the edges with a knife. Prick holes in the lid.
Bake the pies half an hour in a brisk oven.
Keep your mince meat in a jar tightly covered. Set it in a dry, cool place, and occasionally add more brandy to it.
Instead of the heart or tongue, you may, if you choose, use part of a round of fresh beef.
PLUM PUDDING.- One pound of raisins, stoned and cut in half.
- One pound of currants, picked, washed and dried.
- One pound of beef suet chopped fine.
- One pound of grated stale bread, or, half a pound of flour and half a pound of bread.
- Eight eggs.
- A quarter of a pound of sugar.
- A glass of brandy.
- A pint of milk.
- A glass of wine.
- Two nutmegs, grated.
- A table-spoonful of mixed cinnamon and mace.
- A salt-spoonful of salt.
You must prepare all your ingredients the day before (except beating the eggs) that in the morning you may have nothing to do but to mix them, as the pudding will require six hours to boil.
Beat the eggs very light, then put to them half the milk and beat both together. Stir in gradually the flour and grated bread. Next add the sugar by degrees. Then the suet and fruit alternately. The fruit must be well sprinkled with flour, lest it sink to the bottom. Stir very hard. Then add the spice and liquor, and lastly the remainder of the milk. Stir the whole mixture very well together. If it is not thick enough, add a little more grated bread or flour. If there is too much bread or flour, the pudding will be hard and heavy.
Dip your pudding-cloth, in boiling water, shake it out and sprinkle it slightly with flour. Lay it in a pan and pour the mixture into the cloth. Tie it up carefully, allowing room for the pudding to swell.
Boil it six hours, and turn it carefully out of the cloth.
Before you send it to table, have ready some blanched sweet almonds cut in slips, or some slips of citron, or both. Stick them all over the outside of the pudding.
Eat it with wine, or with a sauce made of drawn butter, wine and nutmeg.
The pudding will be improved if you add to the other ingredients, the grated rind of a large lemon or orange.
handwritten inscriptionLemon Pudding
1/2 lb butter & Sugar 5 Eggs & 2 Lemons
LEMON PUDDING.- One small lemon, with a smooth thin rind.
- Three eggs.
- A quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar.
- A quarter of a pound of fresh butter--washed.
- A table-spoonful of white wine and brandy, mixed.
- A tea-spoonful of rose-water.
- Five ounces of sifted flour, and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter for the paste.
Grate the yellow part of the rind of a small fresh lemon. Then cut the lemon in half, and squeeze the juice into the plate that contains the grated rind, carefully taking out all the seeds. Mix the juice and rind together.
The following handwritten inscription appears on the bottom of page 15 in the original text.6 Lemons will make 8 Puddings
Put a quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar into a deep earthen pan, and cut up in it a quarter of a pound of the best fresh butter. If the weather is very cold, set the pan near the fire, for a few minutes, to soften the butter, but do not allow it to melt or it will be heavy. Stir the butter and sugar together, with a stick or wooden spoon, till it is perfectly light and of the consistence of cream.
Put the eggs in a shallow broad pan, and beat them with an egg-beater or rods, till they are quite smooth, and as thick as a boiled custard. Then stir the eggs, gradually, into the pan of butter and sugar. Add the liquor and rose water by degrees, and then stir in, gradually, the juice and grated rind of the lemon. Stir the whole very hard, after all the ingredients are in.
Have ready a puff-paste made of five ounces of sifted flour, and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter. The paste must be made with as little water as possible. Roll it out in a circular sheet, thin in the centre, and thicker towards the edges, and just large enough to cover the bottom, sides, and edges of a soup-plate. Butter the soup-plate very well, and lay the paste in it, making it neat and even round the broad edge of the plate. With a sharp knife, trim off the superfluous dough, and notch the edges. Put in the mixture with a spoon, and bake the pudding about half an hour, in a moderate oven. It should be baked of a very light brown. If the oven is too hot, the paste will not have time to rise well. If too cold, it will be clammy. When the pudding is cool, grate loaf-sugar over it.
Before using lemons for any purpose, always roll them awhile with your hand on a table. This will cause them to yield a larger quantity of juice.
ORANGE PUDDING.- One large orange, of a deep colour, and smooth thin rind.
- One lime.
- A quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar.
- A quarter of a pound of fresh butter.
- Three eggs.
- A table-spoonful of mixed wine and brandy.
- A tea-spoonful of rose-water.
Grate the yellow rind of the orange and lime, and squeeze the juice into a saucer or soup-plate, taking out all the seeds.
Stir the butter and sugar to a cream.
Beat the eggs as light as possible, and then stir them by degrees into the pan of butter and sugar. Add, gradually, the liquor and rose-water, and then by degrees, the orange and lime. Stir all well together.
Have ready a sheet of puff-paste made of five ounces of sifted flour, and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter. Lay the paste in a buttered soup-plate. Trim and notch the edges, and then put in the mixture. Bake it about half an hour, in a moderate oven. Grate loaf-sugar over it, before you send it to table.
COCOA-NUT PUDDING.- A quarter of a pound of cocoa-nut, grated.
- A quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar.
- Three ounces and a half of fresh butter.
- The whites only of six eggs.
- A table-spoonful of wine and brandy mixed.
- Half a tea-spoonful of rose-water.
Break up a cocoa-nut, and take the thin brown skin carefully off, with a knife. Wash all the pieces in cold water, and then wipe them dry, with a clean towel. Weigh a quarter of a pound of cocoa-nut, and grate it very fine, into a soup-plate.
Stir the butter and sugar to a cream, and add the liquor and rose-water gradually to them.
Beat the whites only, of six eggs, till they stand alone on the rods; and then stir the beaten white of egg, gradually, into the butter and sugar. Afterwards, sprinkle in, by degrees, the grated cocoa-nut, stirring hard all the time. Then stir all very well at the last.
Have ready a puff-paste, sufficient to cover the bottom, sides, and edges of a soup-plate. Put in the mixture, and bake it in a moderate oven, about half an hour.
Grate loaf-sugar over it, when cool.
ALMOND PUDDING.- Half a pound of sweet almonds, which will be reduced to a quarter of a pound, when shelled and blanched.
- An ounce of blanched bitter almonds or peach-kernels.
- The whites only, of six eggs.
- A quarter of a pound of butter.
- A quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar.
- A table-spoonful of mixed brandy, wine, and rose-water.
Shell half a pound of sweet almonds, and pour scalding water over them, which will make the skins peel off. As they get cool, pour more boiling water, till the almonds are all blanched. Blanch also the bitter almonds. As you blanch the almonds, throw them into a bowl of cold water. Then take them out, one by one, wipe them dry in a clean towel, and lay them on a plate. Pound them one at a time to a fine paste, in a marble mortar, adding, as you pound them, a few drops of rose-water to prevent their oiling. Pound the bitter and sweet almonds alternately, that they may be well mixed. They must be made perfectly fine and smooth, and are the better for being prepared the day before they are wanted for the pudding.
Stir the butter and sugar to a cream, and add to it, gradually, the liquor.
Beat the whites of six eggs till they stand alone. Stir the almonds and white of eggs, alternately, into the butter and sugar; and then stir the whole well together.
Have ready a puff-paste sufficient for a soup-plate. Butter the plate, lay on the paste, trim and notch it. Then put in the mixture.
Bake it about half an hour in a moderate oven.
Grate loaf-sugar over it.
A CHEESECAKE.- Four eggs.
- A gill of milk.
- A quarter of a pound of butter.
- A quarter of a pound of powdered sugar.
- Two ounces of grated bread.
- A table-spoonful of mixed brandy and wine.
- A tea-spoonful of rose-water.
- A tea-spoonful of mace, cinnamon, and nutmeg, mixed.
- A quarter of a pound of currants.
Pick the currants very clean. Wash them through a colander, wipe them in a towel, and then dry them on a dish before the fire.
When dry take out a few to scatter over the top of the cheesecake, lay them aside, and sprinkle the remainder of the currants with the flour.
Stir the butter and sugar to a cream. Grate the bread, and prepare the spice. Beat the eggs very light.
Boil the milk. When it comes to a boil, add to it half the beaten egg, and boil both together till it becomes a curd, stirring it frequently with a knife. Then throw the grated bread on the curd, and stir all together. Then take the milk, egg, and bread off the fire, and stir it, gradually, into the butter and sugar. Next, stir in the remaining half of the egg.
Add, by degrees, the liquor and spice.
Lastly, stir in, gradually, the currants.
Have ready a puff-paste, which should be made before you prepare the cheesecake, as the mixture will become heavy by standing. Before you put it into the oven, scatter the remainder of the currants over the top.
Bake it half an hour in rather a quick oven.
Do not sugar the top.
You may bake it either in a soup-plate, or in two small tin patty-pans, which, for cheesecakes, should be of a square shape. If baked in square patty-pans leave at each side a flap of paste in the shape of a half-circle. Cut long slits in these flaps and turn them over, so that they will rest on the top of the mixture.
You can, if you choose, add to the currants a few raisins stoned, and cut in half.
SWEET POTATO PUDDING.- A quarter of a pound of boiled sweet potato.
- Three eggs. A quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar.
- A quarter of a pound of fresh butter.
- A glass of mixed wine and brandy.
- A half-glass of rose-water.
- A tea spoonful of mixed spice, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon.
Pound the spice, allowing a smaller proportion of mace than of nutmeg and cinnamon.
Boil and peal some sweet potatoes, and when they are cold, weigh a quarter of a pound. Mash the sweet potato very smooth, and rub it through a sieve. Stir the sugar and butter to a cream.
Beat the eggs very light, and stir them into the butter and sugar, alternately with the sweet potato. Add by degrees the liquor, rose-water and spice. Stir all very hard together.
Spread puff-paste on a soup-plate. Put in the mixture, and bake it about half an hour in a moderate oven.
Grate sugar over it.
PUMPKIN PUDDING.- Half a pound of stewed pumpkin.
- Three eggs.
- A quarter of a pound of fresh butter, or a pint of cream.
- A quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar.
- Half a glass of wine and brandy mixed.
- Half a glass of rose-water.
- A tea-spoonful of mixed spice, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon.
Stew some pumpkin with as little water as possible. Drain it in a colander, and press it till dry. When cold, weigh half a pound, and pass it through a sieve. Prepare the spice. Stir together the sugar, and butter, to cream, till they are perfectly light. Add to them, gradually, the spice and liquor.
Beat three eggs very light, and stir them into the butter and sugar alternately with the pumpkin.
Cover a soup-plate with puff-paste, and put in the mixture. Bake it in a moderate oven about half an hour.
Grate sugar over it when cool.
Instead of the butter, you may boil a pint of milk or cream, and when cold, stir into it in turn the sugar, eggs, and pumpkin.
GOOSEBERRY PUDDING.- A pint of stewed gooseberries, with all their juice.
- A quarter of a pound of powdered sugar.
- Two ounces of fresh butter.
- Two ounces of grated bread.
- Three eggs.
Stew the gooseberries till quite soft. When they are cold, mash them fine with the back of a spoon, and stir into them two ounces of sugar. Take two ounces more of sugar, and stir it to a cream with two ounces of butter.
Grate very fine as much stale bread as will weigh two ounces.
Beat three eggs, and stir them into the butter and sugar, in turn with the gooseberries and bread.
Lay puff-paste in a soup plate. Put in the mixture, and bake it half an hour.
Do not grate sugar over it.
BAKED APPLE PUDDING.- A pint of stewed apples.
- Half a pint of cream, or two ounces of butter.
- A quarter of a pound of powdered sugar.
- A nutmeg grated.
- A table spoonful of rose-water.
- A tea-spoonful of grated lemon-peel.
Stew your apple in as little water as possible, and not long enough for the pieces to break and lose their shape. Put them in a colander to drain, and mash them with the back of a spoon. If stewed, too long, and in too much water, they will lose their flavour. When cold, mix with them the nutmeg, rose-water, and lemon-peel, and two ounces of sugar. Stir the other two ounces of sugar, with the butter or cream, and then mix it gradually with the apple.
Bake it in puff-paste, in a soup-dish, about half an hour in a moderate oven.
Do not sugar the top.
FRUIT PIES. Fruit pies for family use, are generally made with common paste, allowing three quarters of a pound of butter to a pound and a half of flour.
Peaches and plums for pies, should be cut in half, and the stones taken out. Cherries also should be stoned, and red cherries only should be used for pies.
Apples should be cut into very thin slices, and are much improved by a little lemon peel. Sweet apples are not good for pies, as they are very insipid when baked, and seldom get thoroughly done. If green apples are used, they should first be stewed in as little water as possible, and made very sweet.
Apples, stewed previous to baking, should not be done till they break, but only till they are tender. They should then be drained in a colander, and chopped fine with a knife or the edge of a spoon.
In making pies of juicy fruit, it is a good way to set a small tea-cup on the bottom crust, and lay the fruit all round it. The juice will collect under the cup, and not run out at the edges or top of the pie. The fruit should be mixed with a sufficient quantity of sugar, and piled up in the middle, so as to make the pie highest in the centre. The upper crust should be pricked with a fork, or have a slit cut in the middle. The edges should be nicely crimped with a knife.
Dried peaches, dried apples, and cranberries should be stewed with a very little water, and allowed to get quite cold before they are put into the pie. If stewed fruit is put in warm, it will make the paste heavy.
If your pies are made in the form of shells, or without lids, the fruit should always be stewed first, or it will not be sufficiently done, as the shells (which should be of puff paste) must not bake so long as covered pies.
Shells intended for sweetmeats, must be baked empty, and the fruit put into them before they go to table.
Fruit pies with lids, should have loaf-sugar grated over them. If they have been baked the day before, they should be warmed in the stove, or near the fire, before they are sent to table, to soften the crust, and make them taste fresh.
Raspberry and apple-pies are much improved by taking off the lid, and pouring in a little cream just before they go to table. Replace the lid very carefully.
OYSTER PIE.- A hundred large fresh oysters, or more if small.
- The yolks of six eggs boiled hard.
- A large slice of stale-bread, grated.
- A tea-spoonful of salt.
- A table-spoonful of pepper.
- A table-spoonful of mixed spice, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon.
Take a large round dish, butter it and spread a rich paste over the sides, and round the edge, but not at the bottom.
Salt oysters will not do for pies. They should be fresh, and as large and fine as possible.
Drain off part of the liquor from the oysters. Put them into a pan, and season them with pepper, salt and spice. Stir them well with the seasoning. Have ready the yolks of eggs, chopped fine, and the grated bread. Pour the oysters (with as much of their liquor as you please) into the dish that has the paste in it. Strew over them the chopped egg and grated bread.
Roll out the lid of the pie, and put it on, crimping the edges handsomely.
Take a small sheet of paste, cut it into a square and roll it up. Cut it with a sharp knife into the form of a double tulip.
Make a slit in the centre of the upper crust, and stick the tulip in it.
Cut out eight large leaves of paste, and lay them on the lid.
Bake the pie in a quick oven.
If you think the oysters will be too much done by baking them in the crust, you can substitute for them pieces of bread, to keep up the lid of the pie.
Put the oysters with their liquor and the seasoning, chopped egg, grated bread, &c. into a pan. Cover them closely, and let them just come to a boil, taking them off the fire, and stirring them frequently.
When the crust is baked, take the lid neatly off (loosening it round the edge with a knife) take out the pieces of bread, and put in the oysters. Lay the lid on again very carefully.
For oyster patties, the oysters are prepared in the same manner.
They may be chopped if you choose. They must be put in small shells of puff-paste.
BEEF-STEAK PIE. Butter a deep dish, and spread a sheet of paste all over the bottom, sides, and edge.
Cut away from your beef-steak all the bone, fat, gristle, and skin. Cut the lean in small thin pieces, about as large, generally, as the palm of your hand. Beat the meat well with the rolling-pin, to make it juicy and tender. If you put in the fat, it will make the gravy too greasy and strong, as it cannot be skimmed.
Put a layer of meat over the bottom-crust of your dish, and season it to your taste, with pepper, salt, and, if you choose, a little nutmeg. A small quantity of mushroom ketchup is an improvement; so, also, is a little minced onion.
Have ready some cold boiled potatoes sliced thin. Spread over the meat, a layer of potatoes, and a small piece of butter; then another layer of meat, seasoned, and then a layer of potatoes, and so on till the dish is full and heaped up in the middle, having a layer of meat on the top. Pour in a little water.
Cover the pie with a sheet of paste, and trim the edges. Notch it handsomely with a knife; and, if you choose, make a tulip of paste, and stick it in the middle of the lid, and lay leaves of paste round it.
Fresh oysters will greatly improve a beef-steak pie. So also will mushrooms.
Any meat pie may be made in a similar manner.
INDIAN PUDDING.- A pound of beef-suet, chopped very fine.
- A pint of molasses.
- A pint of rich milk.
- Four eggs.
- A large tea-spoonful of powdered nutmeg and cinnamon.
- A little grated or chipped lemon-peel.
- Indian meal sufficient to make a thick batter.
Warm the milk and molasses, and stir them together. Beat the eggs, and stir them gradually into the milk and molasses, in turn with the suet and indian meal. Add the spice and lemon-peel and stir all very hard together. Take care not to put too much indian meal, or the pudding will be heavy and solid.
Dip the cloth in boiling water. Shake it out, and flour it slightly. Pour the mixture into it, and tie it up, leaving room for the pudding to swell.
Boil it three hours. Serve it up hot, and eat it with sauce made of drawn butter, wine and nutmeg.
When cold, it is good cut in slices and fried.
BATTER PUDDING.- Six eggs.
- Eight table-spoonfuls of sifted flour.
- One quart of milk.
- A salt-spoonful of salt.
Stir the flour, gradually, into the milk, carefully dissolving all the lumps. Beat the eggs very light, and add them by degrees to the milk and flour. Put in the salt, and stir the whole well together.
Take a very thick pudding-cloth. Dip it in boiling water, and flour it. Pour into it the mixture and tie it up, leaving room for it to swell. Boil it hard, one hour, and keep it in the pot, till it is time to send it to table. Serve it up with wine-sauce.
A square cloth, which when tied up will make the pudding of a round form, is better than a bag.
Apple Batter Pudding is made by pouring the batter over a dish of pippins, pared, cored, and sweetened, either whole or cut in pieces. Bake it, and eat it with butter and sugar.
BREAD PUDDING.- A quarter of a pound of grated stale bread.
- A quart of milk, boiled with two or three sticks of cinnamon, slightly broken.
- Eight eggs.
- A quarter of a pound of sugar.
- A little grated lemon-peel.
Boil the milk with the cinnamon, strain it, and set it away till quite cold.
Grate as much crumb of stale bread as will weigh a quarter of a pound. Beat the eggs, and when the milk is cold, stir them into it in turn with the bread and sugar. Add the lemon-peel, and if you choose, a table spoonful of rose-water.
Bake it in a buttered dish, and grate nutmeg over it when done. Do not send it to table hot. Baked puddings should never be eaten till they have become cold, or at least cool.
RICE PUDDING.- A quarter of a pound of rice.
- A quarter of a pound of butter.
- A quarter of a pound of sugar.
- A pint and a half of milk, or cream and milk.
- Six eggs.
- A tea-spoonful of mixed spice, mace, nutmeg and cinnamon.
- A half wine-glass of rose-water.
Wash the rice. Boil it till very soft. Drain it, and set it away to get cold. Put the butter and sugar together in a pan, and stir them till very light. Add to them the spice and rose-water. Beat the eggs very light, and stir them, gradually, into the milk. Then stir the eggs and milk into the butter and sugar, alternately with the rice.
Bake it and grate nutmeg over the top.
Currants or raisins, floured, and stirred in at the last, will greatly improve it.
It should be eaten cold, or quite cool.
BOSTON PUDDING. Make a good common paste with a pound and a half of flour, and three quarters of a pound of butter.[*](r1) When you roll it out the last time, cut off the edges, till you get the sheet of paste of an even square shape.
Have ready some fruit sweetened to your taste. If cranberries, gooseberries, dried peaches, or damsons, they should be stewed, and made very sweet. If apples, they should be stewed in a very little water, drained, and seasoned with nutmeg, rose-water and lemon. If currants, raspberries, or blackberries, they should be mashed with sugar, and put into the pudding raw.
Spread the fruit very thick, all over the sheet of paste, (which must not be rolled out too thin.) When it is covered all over with the fruit, roll it up, and close the dough at both ends, and down the last side. Tie the pudding in a cloth and boil it.
Eat it with sugar. It must not be taken out of the pot till just before it is brought to table.
* Or three quarters of a pound of beef suet, chopped very fine. Mix the suet at once with the flour, knead it with cold water into a stiff dough, and then roll it out into a large thin sheet. Fold it up and roll it again.
FRITTERS.- Seven eggs.
- Half a pint of milk.
- A salt-spoonful of salt.
- Sufficient flour to make a thick batter.
Beat the eggs well and stir them gradually into the milk. Add the salt, and stir in flour enough to make a thick batter.
Fry them in lard, and serve them up hot.
Eat them with wine and sugar.
They are improved by stirring in a table-spoonful of yeast.
These are excellent with the addition of cold stewed apple, stirred into the mixture, in which case use less flour.
FINE CUSTARDS.- A quart of milk or cream.
- The yolks only, of sixteen eggs.
- Six ounces of powdered white sugar.
- Half an ounce of cinnamon, broken in small pieces.
- A large handful of peach-leaves or half an ounce of peach kernels or bitter almonds, broken in pieces.
- A table-spoonful of rose-water.
- A nutmeg.
Boil in the milk the cinnamon, and the peach-leaves, or peach-kernels. When it has boiled, set it away to get cold. As soon as it is cold, strain it through a sieve, to clear it from the cinnamon, peach-leaves, &c. and stir into it gradually, the sugar, spice, and rose-water.
Beat the yolks of sixteen eggs very light, and stir them by degrees into the milk, which must be quite cold or the eggs will make it curdle. Put the custards into cups, and set them in a baking pan, half filled with water. When baked, grate some nutmeg over each and ice them. Make the icing of the whites of eight eggs, a large tea-spoonful of powdered loaf sugar, and six drops of essence of lemon, beaten all together till it stands alone. Pile up some of the icing on the top of each custard, heaping it high. Put a spot of red nonpareils on the middle of the pile of icing.
If the weather be damp, or the eggs not new-laid, more than eight whites will be required for the icing.
PLAIN CUSTARDS.- A quart of rich milk.
- Eight eggs.
- A quarter of a pound of powdered sugar.
- A handful of peach-leaves, or half an ounce of peach-kernels, broken in pieces.
- A nutmeg.
Boil the peach-leaves or kernels in the milk, and set it away to cool. When cold, strain out the leaves or kernels, and stir in the sugar. Beat the eggs very light, and stir them gradually into the milk when it is quite cold. Bake it in cups, or in a large white dish.
When cool, grate nutmeg over the top.
RICE CUSTARDS.- Half a pound of rice.
- Half a pound of raisins or currants.
- Eight yolks of eggs or six whole eggs.
- Six ounces of powdered sugar.
- A quart of rich milk.
- A handful of peach-leaves, or half an ounce of peach-kernels, broken in pieces.
- Half an ounce of cinnamon, broken in pieces.
Boil the rice with the raisins or currants, which must first be floured. Butter some cups or a mould, and when the rice is quite soft, drain it, and put it into them. Set it away to get cold.
Beat the eggs well. Boil the milk with the cinnamon and peach-leaves, or kernels. As soon as it has come to a boil, take it off and strain it through a sieve. Then set it again on the fire, stir into it alternately, the egg and sugar, taking it off frequently and stirring it hard, lest it become a curd. Take care not to boil it too long, or it will be lumpy and lose its flavour. When done, set it away to cool. Turn out the rice from the cups or mould, into a deep dish. Pour some of the boiled custard over it, and send up the remainder of the custard in a sauce-boat.
You may, if you choose, ornament the lumps of rice, (after the custard is poured round them) by making a stiff froth of white of egg (beaten till it stands alone) and a few drops of essence of lemon, with a very little powdered loaf-sugar. Heap the froth on the top of each lump of rice.
COLD CUSTARDS.- A quart of new milk, and a half a pint of cream, mixed.
- A quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar.
- A large glass of white wine, in which an inch of washed rennet has been soaked.
- A nutmeg.
Mix together the milk, cream, and sugar. Stir the wine into it, and pour the mixture into your custard-cups. Set them in a warm place near the fire, till they become a firm curd. Then set them on ice, or in a very cold place. Grate nutmeg over them.
CURDS AND WHEY. Take a small piece of rennet about two inches square. Wash it very clean in cold water, to get all the salt off, and wipe it dry. Put it in a tea-cup, and pour on it just enough of lukewarm water to cover it.Let it set all night, or for several hours. Then take out the rennet, and stir the water in which it was soaked, into a quart of milk, which should be in a broad dish.
Set the milk in a warm place, till it becomes a firm curd. As soon as the curd is completely made, set it in a cool place, or on ice (if in summer) for two or three hours before you want to use it.
Eat it with wine, sugar, and nutmeg.
The whey, drained from the curd, is an excellent drink for invalids.
A TRIFLE.- A quart of cream.
- A quarter of a pound of loaf sugar, powdered.
- Half a pint of white wine }
- Half a gill of brandy } mixed.
- Eight maccaroons, or more if you choose.
- Four small sponge-cakes or Naples biscuit.
- Two ounces of blanched sweet almonds, pounded in a mortar.
- One ounce of blanched bitter almonds or peach-kernels.
- The juice and grated peel of two lemons.
- A nutmeg, grated.
- A glass of noyau.
- A pint of rich baked custard, made of the yolks of eggs.
Pound the sweet and bitter almonds to a smooth paste, adding a little rose-water as you pound them.
Grate the yellow peels of the lemons, and squeeze the juice into a saucer.
Break the sponge cake and maccaroons into small pieces, mix them with the almonds, and lay them in the bottom of a large glass bowl. Grate a nutmeg over them, and the juice and peel of the lemons. Add the wine and brandy, and let the mixture remain untouched, till the cakes are dissolved in the liquor. Then stir it a little.
Mix the cream and sugar with a glass of noyau, and beat it with a whisk or rods, till it stands alone.
As the froth rises, take it off with a spoon, and lay it on a sieve (with a large dish under it) to drain. The cream, that drains into the dish, must be poured back into the pan with the rest, and beaten over again. When the cream is finished, set it in a cool place.
When the custard is cold, pour it into the glass bowl upon the dissolved cakes, &c. and when the cream is ready, fill up the bowl with it, heaping it high in the middle. You may ornament it with nonpareils.
If you choose, you can put in, between the custard and the frothed cream, a layer of fruit jelly, or small fruit preserved.
WHIPT CREAM.- A quart of cream.
- The whites of four eggs.
- Half a pint of white wine.
- A quarter of a pound of powdered loaf-sugar.
- Ten drops of strong essence of lemon, or two lemons cut in thin slices, or the juice of a large lemon.
Mix together, in a broad pan, all the ingredients, unless you use slices of lemon, and then they must be laid at intervals among the froth, as you heap it in the bowl.
With a whisk or rods, beat the cream to a strong froth. Have beside your pan a sieve (bottom upwards) with a large dish under it. As the froth rises, take it lightly off with a spoon, and lay it on the sieve to drain. When the top of the sieve is full, transfer the froth to a large glass or china bowl. Continue to do this till the bowl is full.
The cream which has dropped through the sieve into the dish, must be poured into the pan, and beaten over again. When all the cream is converted into froth, pile it up in the bowl, making it highest in the middle.
If you choose, you may ornament it with red and green nonpareils.
If you put it in glasses, lay a little jelly in the bottom of each glass, and pile the cream on it.
Keep it in a cool place till you want to use it.
FLOATING ISLAND.- Six whites of eggs.
- Six large table-spoonfuls of jelly.
- A pint of cream.
Put the jelly and white of egg into a pan, and beat it together with a whisk, till it becomes a stiff froth and stands alone.
Have ready the cream, in a broad shallow dish. Just before you send it to table, pile up the froth in the centre of the cream.
ICE CREAM.- A quart of rich cream.
- Half a pound of powdered loaf sugar.
- The juice of two large lemons, or a pint of strawberries or raspberries.
Put the cream into a broad pan. Then stir in the sugar by degrees, and when all is well mixed, strain it through a sieve.
Put it into a tin that has a close cover, and set it in a tub. Fill the tub with ice broken into very small pieces, and strew among the ice a large quantity of salt, taking care that none of the salt gets into the cream. Scrape the cream down with a spoon as it freezes round the edges of the tin. While the cream is freezing, stir in gradually the lemon-juice, or the juice of a pint of mashed strawberries or raspberries. When it is all frozen, dip the tin in lukewarm water; take out the cream, and fill your glasses; but not till a few minutes before you want to use it, as it will very soon melt.
You may heighten the colour of the red fruit, by a little cochineal.
If you wish to have it in moulds, put the cream into them as soon as it has frozen in the tin. Set the moulds in a tub of ice and salt. Just before you want to use the cream, take the moulds out of the tub, wipe or wash the salt carefully from the outside, dip the moulds in lukewarm water, and turn out the cream.
You may flavour a quart of ice-cream with two ounces of sweet almonds and one ounce of bitter almonds, blanched and beaten in a mortar with a little rose-water to a smooth paste. Stir in the almonds gradually while the cream is freezing.
ANOTHER KIND OF ICE-CREAM.- A pint and a half of rich cream.
- A quart and a half-pint of morning's milk.
- One pound of loaf sugar.
- Two eggs.
- One table-spoonful of flour.
- Two lemons.
- Or half a Vanilla bean, split into small pieces.
- Or two ounces of sweet almonds and one ounce of bitter almonds, blanched and split into pieces.
Take half of the milk and put in the ingredient that is to flavour it, either the vanilla, the almonds, or the grated rind of the lemons. Boil it, stirring in gradually the sugar.
Having beaten the eggs well, add to them two table-spoonfuls of cold milk, and pour them into the boiling milk. Let them simmer two or three minutes, stirring them all the time. Then take the mixture off the fire and strain it through book-muslin into a pan. Add the cream and the remainder of the milk, and put the whole into the tin freezer, which must be set in a tub filled with ice, among which must be scattered a great deal of salt.
Squeeze the juice from the two lemons and stir it into the cream, by degrees, while it is freezing.
When it is all frozen, turn it out, first dipping the tin for a moment in warm water.
If you wish to flavour it with strawberry or raspberry juice, that, like the lemon-juice, must be stirred gradually in while the cream is freezing.
In places where cream is not abundant, this receipt (though inferior in richness) will be found more economical than the preceding one. It is, however, less easy and expeditious.
CALF'S-FEET JELLY.- Eight calf's feet.
- Three quarts of water.
- A pint of white wine.
- Three lemons.
- The whites of six eggs.
- Half an ounce of cinnamon.
- Half a pound of loaf-sugar, broken into lumps.
Endeavour to procure calf's-feet, that have been nicely singed, but not skinned, as the skin being left on, makes the jelly much firmer.
The day before you want to use the jelly, boil the eight calf's-feet in three quarts of water, till the meat drops from the bone. When sufficiently done, put it into a cullender or sieve, and let the liquid drain from the meat, into a broad pan or dish. Skim off the fat. Let the jelly stand till next day, and then carefully scrape off the sediment from the bottom. It will be a firm jelly, if too much water has not been used, and if it has bolted long enough. If it is not firm at first, it will not become so afterwards when boiled with the other ingredients. There should on no account be more than three quarts of water.
Early next morning, put the jelly into a tin kettle, or covered tin pan; set it on the fire, and melt it a little. Take it off, and season it with the cinnamon slightly broken, a pint of madeira wine, three lemons cut in thin slices, and a half a pound of loaf-sugar, broken up.
If you wish it high-coloured, add two table-spoonfuls of French brandy. Mix all well together. Beat, slightly, the whites of six eggs (saving the egg-shell) and stir the whites into the jelly. Break up the egg-shells into very small pieces, and throw them in also. Stir the whole very well together.
Set it on the fire, and boil it hard five minutes, but do not stir it, as that will prevent its clearing. Have ready a large white flannel bag, the top wide, and the bottom tapering to a point.
Tie the bag to the backs of two chairs, or to the legs of a table, and set a white dish or a mould under it.
After the jelly has boiled five minutes, pour it hot into the bag, and let it drip through into the dish. Do not squeeze the bag, as that will make the jelly dull and cloudy.
If it is not clear the first time it passes through the bag, empty out all the ingredients, wash the bag, suspend it again, put another white dish under it, pour the jelly back into the bag, and let it drip through again. Repeat this six or eight times, or till it is clear, putting a clean dish under it every time. If it does not drip freely, move the bag into a warmer place.
When the jelly has all dripped through the bag, and is clear, set it in a cool place to congeal. It will sometimes congeal immediately, and sometimes not for several hours, particularly if the weather is warm and damp. If the weather is very cold you must take care not to let it freeze. When it is quite firm, which perhaps it will not be till evening, fill your glasses with it, piling it up very high. If you make it in a mould, you must either set the mould under the bag while it is dripping, or pour it from the dish into the mould while it is liquid. When it is perfectly congealed, dip the mould for an instant in boiling water to loosen the jelly. Turn it out on a glass dish.
This quantity of ingredients will make a quart of jelly when finished. In cool weather it may be made a day or two before it is wanted.
You may increase the seasoning, (that is, the wine, lemon, and cinnamon,) according to your taste, but less than the above proportion will not be sufficient to flavour the jelly.
Ice jelly is made in the same manner, only not so stiff. Four calves-feet will be sufficient. Freeze it as you would ice-cream, and serve it up in glasses.
BLANCMANGE.- Four calf's-feet
- A pint and a half of thick cream.
- Half a pound of loaf-sugar, broken up.
- A glass of wine.
- Half a glass of rose-water.
- A tea-spoonful of mace, beaten and sifted.
Get four calf's-feet; if possible some that have been singed, and not skinned. Scrape, and clean them well, and boil them in three quarts of water till all the meat drops off the bone. Drain the liquid through a colander or sieve, and skim it well. Let it stand till next morning to congeal. Then clean it well from the sediment, and put it into a tin or bell-metal kettle. Stir into it, the cream, sugar, and mace. Boil it hard for five minutes, stirring it several times. Then strain it through a linen cloth or napkin into a large bowl, and add the wine and rose-water.
Set it in a cool place for three or four hours, stirring it very frequently with a spoon, to prevent the cream from separating from the jelly. The more it is stirred the better. Stir it till it is cool.
Wash your moulds, wipe them dry, and then wet them with cold water. When the blancmange becomes very thick, (that is, in three or four hours, if the weather is not too damp) put it into your moulds.
When it has set in them till it is quite firm, loosen it carefully all round with a knife, and turn it out on glass or china plates.
If you wish to make it with almonds, take an ounce of blanched bitter almonds, and two ounces of sweet. Beat them in a mortar to a fine paste, pouring in occasionally a little rose-water. When the mixture is ready to boil, add the almonds to it gradually, stirring them well in. Or you may stir them in, while it is cooling in the bowl.
If it inclines to stick to the moulds, set them an instant in hot water. It will then turn out easily.
If you choose to make it without calf's feet, you can substitute an ounce of the best and clearest isinglass (or, if in summer, an ounce and a quarter) boiled with the other ingredients. If made with isinglass, you must use two ounces of sweet, and an ounce of bitter almonds, with the addition of the grated rind of a large lemon, and a large stick of cinnamon, broken up, a glass of wine, and half a glass of rose-water. These ingredients must be all mixed together, with a quart of cream, and boiled hard for five minutes. The mixture must then be strained through a napkin, into a large bowl. Set it in a cool place, and stir it frequently till nearly cold. It must then be put into the moulds.
You may substitute for the almonds, half a gill of noyau, in which case, omit the wine.
PART THE SECOND.
CAKES.
GENERAL DIRECTIONS.
In making cakes it is particularly necessary that the eggs should be well beaten. They are not sufficiently light till the surface looks smooth and level, and till they get so thick as to be of the consistence of boiled custard.
White of egg should always be beaten till it becomes a heap of stiff froth, without any liquid at the bottom; and till it hangs from the rods or fork without dropping.
Eggs become light soonest when new-laid, and when beaten near the fire or in warm dry weather.
Butter and sugar should be stirred till it looks like thick cream, and till it stands up in the pan.
It should be kept cool. If too warm, it will make the cakes heavy.
Large cakes should be baked in tin or earthen pans, with straight sides, that are as nearly perpendicular as possible. They cut into handsomer slices, and if they are to be iced, it will be found very inconvenient to put on the icing, if the cake slopes in towards the bottom.
Before you ice a cake dredge it all over with flour, and then wipe the flour off. This will enable you to spread on the icing more evenly.
Before you cut an ice cake, cut the icing by itself with a small sharp penknife. The large knife with which you divide the cake, will crack and break the icing.
Large Gingerbread, as it burns very easily, may be baked in an earthen pan. So also may Black Cake or Pound Cake. Tin pans or moulds, with a hollow tube in the middle, are best for cakes.
If large cakes are baked in tin pans, the bottom and sides should be covered with sheets of paper, before the mixture is put in. The paper must be well buttered.
Sponge cakes, and Almond cakes should be baked in pans that are as thin as possible.
If the cakes should get burnt, scrape them with a knife or grater, as soon as they are cool.
Always be careful to butter your pans well. Should the cakes stick, they cannot be got out without breaking.
For queen-cakes, &c. the small tins of a round or oval shape are most convenient. Fill them but little more than half.
After the mixture is completed, set it in a cool place till all the cakes are baked.
In rolling out cakes made of dough, use as little flour as possible. When you lay them in the pans, do not place them too close together, lest they run into each other.
When you are cutting them out, dip the cutter frequently in flour, to prevent its sticking.
QUEEN CAKE.- One pound of powdered white sugar.
- One pound of fresh butter--washed.
- Fourteen ounces of sifted flour.
- Ten eggs.
- One wine-glass of wine and brandy, mixed.
- Half a glass of rose-water, or twelve drops of essence of lemon.
- One tea-spoonful of mace and cinnamon, mixed.
- One nutmeg, beaten or grated.
Pound the spice to a fine powder, in a marble mortar, and sift it well.
Put the sugar into a deep earthen pan, and cut the butter into it. Stir them together, till very light.
Beat the eggs in a broad shallow pan, till they are perfectly smooth and thick.
Stir into the butter and sugar a little of the beaten egg, and then a little flour, and so on alternately, a little egg and a little flour, till the whole is in; continuing all the time to beat the eggs, and stirring the mixture very hard. Add by degrees, the spice, and then the liquor, a little at a time. Finally, put in the rose-water, or essence of lemon.[*](r2) Stir the whole very hard at the last.
Take about two dozen little tins, or more, if you have room for them in the oven. Rub them very well with fresh butter. With a spoon, put some of the mixture in each tin, but do not fill them to the top as the cakes will rise high in baking. Bake them in a quick oven, about a quarter of an hour. When they are done, they will shrink a little from the sides of the tins.
Before you fill your tins again, scrape them well with a knife, and wash or wipe them clean.
If the cakes are scorched by too hot a fire, do not scrape off the burnt parts till they have grown cold.
* In buting essence or oil of lemon, endeavour to get that which is white, it being much the strongest and best. When it looks greenish, it is generally very weak, so that when used, a double or treble quantity is necessary.
Make an icing with the whites of three eggs, beaten till it stands alone, and twenty-four tea-spoonfuls of the best loaf-sugar, powdered, and beaten gradually into the white of egg. Flavour it with a tea-spoonful of rose-water or eight drops of essence of lemon, stirred in at the last. Spread it evenly with a broad knife, over the top of each queen-cake, ornamenting them, (while the icing is quite wet) with red and green nonpareils, or fine sugar-sand, dropped on, carefully, with the thumb and finger.
When the cakes are iced, set them in a warm place to dry; but not too near the fire, as that will cause the icing to crack.[*](r2)
POUND CAKE.- One pound of flour, sifted.
- One pound of white sugar, powdered and sifted.
- One pound of fresh butter.
- Ten eggs.
- Half a glass of wine }
- Half a glass of brandy } Mixed
- Half a glass of rose-water }
- Twelve drops of essence of lemon.
- A table-spoonful of mixed mace and cinnamon.
- A nutmeg, powdered.
Pound the spice and sift it. There should be twice as much cinnamon as mace. Mix the cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg together.
Sift the flour in a broad pan, or wooden bowl. Sift the powdered sugar into a large deep pan, and cut the butter into it, in small pieces. If the weather is very cold, and the butter hard, set the pan near the fire for a few minutes; but if the butter is too warm, the cake will be heavy. Stir the butter and sugar together, with a wooden stick, till they are very light, and white, and look like cream.
Beat the eggs in a broad shallow pan with a wood egg-beater or whisk. They must be beaten till they are thick and smooth, and of the consistence of boiled custard.
Pour the liquor and rose-water, gradually, into the butter and sugar, stirring all the time. Add, by degrees, the essence of lemon and spice.
Stir the egg and flour alternately into the butter and sugar, a handful of flour, and about two spoonfuls of the egg (which you must continue to beat all the time,) and when all is in, stir the whole mixture very hard, for near ten minutes.
Butter a large tin pan, or a cake mould with an open tube rising from the middle. Put the mixture into it as evenly as possible. Bake it in a moderate oven, for two, or three, or four hours, in proportion to its thickness, and to the heat of the fire.
When you think it is nearly done, thrust a twig or wooden skewer into it, down to the bottom. If the stick come out clean and dry, the cake is almost baked. When quite done, it will shrink from the sides of the pan, and cease making a noise. Then withdraw the coals (if baked in a dutch oven), take off the lid, and let the cake remain in the oven to cool gradually.
You may ice it either warm or cold. Before you put the icing on a large cake, dredge the cake all over with flour, and then wipe the flour off; this will make the icing stick on better--If you have sufficient time, the appearance of the cake will be much improved by icing it twice. Put on the first icing soon after the cake is taken out of the oven, and the second the next day when the first is perfectly dry. While the last icing is wet, ornament it with coloured sugar-sand or nonpareils.
The following footnote appears on the bottom of page 48 in the original text.*You may colour icing of a fine pink, by mixing with it a few drops of liquid cochineal; which is prepared by boiling very slowly in an earthen or china vessel twenty grains of cochineal powder, twenty grains of cream of tartar, and twenty grains of powdered alum, all dissolved in a gill of soft water, and boiled till reduced to one half. Strain it and cork it up in a small phial. Pink icing should be ornamented with white nonpareils.
BLACK CAKE, OR PLUM CAKE.- One pound of flour sifted.
- One pound of fresh butter.
- One pound of powdered white sugar.
- Twelve eggs.
- Two pounds of the best raisins.
- Two pounds of currants.
- Two table-spoonfuls of mixed spice, mace and cinnamon.
- Two nutmegs powdered.
- A large glass of wine }
- A large glass of brandy } mixed together
- Half a glass of rose-water }
- A pound of citron.
Pick the currants very clean, and wash them, draining them through a colendar. Wipe them in a towel. Spread them out on a large dish, and set them near the fire, or in the hot sun, to dry, placing the dish in a slanting position. Having stoned the raisins, cut them in half, and, when all are done, sprinkle them well with sifted flour, to prevent their sinking to the bottom of the cake. When the currants are dry, sprinkle them also with flour.
Pound the spice, allowing twice as much cinnamon as mace. Sift it, and mix the mace, nutmeg, and cinnamon together. Mix also the liquor and rose-water in a tumbler or cup. Cut the citron in slips. Sift the flour into a broad dish. Sift the sugar into a deep earthen pan, and cut the butter into it. Warm it near the fire, if the weather is too cold for it to mix easily. Stir the butter and sugar to a cream.
Beat the eggs as light as possible. Stir them into the butter and sugar, alternately with the flour. Stir very hard. Add gradually the spice and liquor. Stir the raisins and currants alternately into the mixture, taking care that they are well floured. Stir the whole as hard as possible, for ten minutes after the ingredients are in.
Cover the bottom and sides of a large tin or earthen pan, with sheets of white paper well buttered, and put into it some of the mixture. Then spread on it some of the citron, which must not be cut too small. Next put a layer of the mixture, and then a layer of citron, and so on till it is all in, having a layer of the mixture at the top.
This cake is always best baked in a baker's oven, and will require four or five hours, in proportion to its thickness.[*](r4)
Ice it next day.
SPONGE CAKE.- Twelve eggs.
- Ten ounces of sifted flour, dried near the fire.
- A pound of loaf sugar, powdered and sifted.
- Twelve drops of essence of lemon.
- A grated nutmeg.
- A tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon and mace, mixed.
Beat the eggs as light as possible. Eggs for sponge or almond cakes require more beating than for any other purpose. Beat the sugar, by degrees, into the eggs. Beat very hard, and continue to beat some time after the sugar is all in.
No sort of sugar but loaf will make light sponge-cake. Stir in, gradually, the spice and essence of lemon. Then, by degrees, put in the flour, a little at a time, stirring round the mixture very slowly with a knife. If the flour is stirred in too hard, the cake will be tough. It must be done lightly and gently, so that the top of the mixture will be covered with bubbles. As soon as the flour is all in, begin to bake it, as setting will injure it.
Put it in small tins, well buttered, or in one large tin pan. The thinner the pans, the better for sponge-cake. Fill the small tins about half full. Grate loaf-sugar over the top of each, before you set them in the oven.
Sponge-cake requires a very quick oven, particularly at the bottom. It should be baked as fast as possible, or it will be tough and heavy, however light it may have been before it went into the oven. It is of all cakes the most liable to be spoiled in baking. When taken out of the tins, the cakes should be spread on a sieve to cool. If baked in one large cake, it should be iced.
A large cake of twelve eggs, should be baked at least an hour in a quick oven.
For small cakes, ten minutes is generally sufficient. If they get very much out of shape in baking, it is a sign that the oven is too slow.
Some think that sponge-cakes and almond cakes are lighter, when the yolks and whites of the eggs are beaten in separate pans, and mixed gently together before the sugar is beaten into them.
If done separately from the yolks, the whites should be beaten till they stand alone.
The following footnote appear at the bottom of page 51 in the original text.*After this cake is done, it will be the better for withdrawing the fire (if baked in an iron oven) and letting it stay in the oven all night, or till it gets quite cold.
ALMOND CAKE.- Two ounces of blanched bitter almonds, pounded very fine.
- Seven ounces of flour, sifted and dried.
- Ten eggs.
- One pound of loaf-sugar, powdered and sifted.
- Two table-spoonfuls of rose-water.
Take two ounces of shelled bitter almonds or peach-kernels. Scald them in hot water, and as you peel them, throw them into a bowl of cold water, then wipe them dry, and pound them one by one in a mortar, till they are quite fine and smooth.
Break ten eggs, putting the yolks in one pan and the whites in another. Beat them separately as light as possible, the whites first, and then the yolks.
Add the sugar, gradually, to the yolks, beating it in very hard. Then by degrees, beat in the almonds, and then add the rose-water.
Stir half the whites of the eggs into the yolks and sugar. Divide the flour into two equal parts, and stir in one half, slowly and lightly, till it bubbles on the top. Then the other half of the white of egg, and then the remainder of the flour very lightly.
Butter a large square tin pan, or one made of paste-board which will be better. Put in the mixture, and set immediately in a quick oven, which must be rather hotter at the bottom than at the top. Bake it according to the thickness. If you allow the oven to get slack, the cake will be spoiled.
Make an icing with the whites of three eggs, twenty-four tea-spoonfuls of loaf-sugar, and eight drops of essence of lemon.
When the cake is cool, mark it in small squares with a knife. Cover it with icing, and ornament it while wet, with nonpareils dropped on in borders, round each square of the cake. When the icing is dry, cut the cake in squares, cutting through the icing very carefully with a penknife. Or you may cut it in squares first, and then ice and ornament each square separately.
FRENCH ALMOND CAKE.- Six ounces of shelled sweet almonds.
- Three ounces of shelled bitter almonds, or peach-kernels.
- Three ounces of sifted flour, dried near the fire.
- Fourteen eggs.
- One pound of powdered loaf-sugar.
- Twelve drops of essence of lemon.
Blanch the almonds, by scalding them in hot water. Put them in a bowl of cold water, and wipe them dry, when you take them out. Pound them, one at a time, in a mortar, till they are perfectly smooth. Mix the sweet and bitter almonds together. Prepare them, if possible the day before the cake is made.[*](r5)
Put the whites and yolks of the eggs, into separate pans. Beat the whites till they stand alone, and then the yolks till they are very thick.
Put the sugar, gradually, to the yolks, beating it in very hard. Add, by degrees, the almonds, still beating very hard. Then put in the essence of lemon. Next, beat in, gradually, the whites of the eggs, continuing to beat for some time after they are all in. Lastly, stir in the flour, as slowly and lightly, as possible.
Butter a large tin mould or pan. Put the cake in and bake it in a very quick oven, an hour or more according to its thickness.
The oven must on no account be hotter at the top, than at the bottom.
When done, set it on a sieve to cool.
*While pounding the almonds, pour in occasionally a little rose-water. It makes them much lighter.
Ice it, and ornament it with nonpareils.
These almond cakes are generally baked in a turban-shaped mould, and the nonpareils put on, in spots or sprigs.
A pound of almonds in the shells (if the shells are soft and thin,) will generally yield half a pound when shelled. Hard, thick-shelled almonds, seldom yield much more than a quarter of a pound, and should therefore never be bought for cakes or puddings.
Bitter almonds and peach-kernels can always be purchased with the shells off.
Families should always save their peach-kernels, as they can be used in cakes, puddings and custards.
MACCAROONS.- Half a pound of shelled sweet almonds.
- A quarter of a pound of shelled bitter almonds.
- The whites of three eggs.
- Twenty-four large tea-spoonfuls of powdered loaf-sugar.
- A tea-spoonful of rose-water.
- A large tea-spoonful of mixed spice, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon.
Blanch and pound your almonds, beat them very smooth, and mix the sweet and bitter together; do them, if you can, the day before you make the maccaroons. Pound and sift your spice. Beat the whites of three eggs till they stand alone; add to them, very gradually, the powdered sugar, a spoonful at a time, beat it in very hard, and put in, by degrees, the rose-water and spice. Then stir in, gradually, the almonds. The mixture must be like a soft dough; if too thick, it will be heavy; if too thin, it will run out of shape. If you find your almonds not sufficient, prepare a few more, and stir them in. When it is all well mixed and stirred, put some flour in the palm of your hand, and taking up a lump of the mixture with a knife, roll it on your hand with the flour into a small round ball; have ready an iron or tin pan, buttered, and lay the maccaroons in it, as you make them up. Place them about two inches apart, in case of their spreading. Bake them about eight or ten minutes in a moderate oven; they should be baked of a pale brown colour. If too much baked, they will lose their flavour; if too little, they will be heavy. They should rise high in the middle, and crack on the surface. You may, if you choose, put a larger proportion of spice.[*](r6)
