Chapter XX: =Entremets (Sweets)= (2)

When the custard is cooked, as already explained, strain it, either through a strainer, into a _bain-marie_, if it is to be served hot, or through a sieve into a large, enamelled basin, where it should be frequently stirred to be kept smooth while cooling.

Custard prepared in this way forms the base of all ice-creams, of which I shall speak later on. It may serve as an adjunct to all cold or hot sweets which allow of a sauce. When, while it is still lukewarm, it is combined with its weight of best butter, it constitutes the delicious butter cream, which is the richest and most delicate of the pastry-cook’s confections.

Finally, if eight melted gelatine leaves per quart of cooled milk be added to it, and it be mixed with twice its volume of whipped cream, it represents the preparation for “Cream Bavarois” and “Russian Charlottes.”

_Recipe B._—Melt six oz. of sugar in one quart of milk; boil, and pour the mixture, little by little, over twelve egg-yolks, whisking the latter briskly the while. When this custard is to be moulded, or is intended for a Cabinet Pudding, or some other similar preparation, which must be ultimately poached, strain it as soon as it is mixed, without cooking it.

If, on the other hand, it be intended for an accompaniment, or for the preparation of butter creams or ices, cook it as directed in Recipe A.

2398—DISHED ENGLISH CUSTARD (To Accompany Cold or Hot Stewed Fruit)

For this purpose English custard is made from only ten egg-yolks per quart of milk. Serve it in shallow silver or porcelain dishes; sprinkle its surface copiously with icing sugar, and criss-cross it with a red-hot iron.

2399—FRANGIPAN CREAM

As in the case of English custard, Frangipan custard varies in the quantities of its ingredients in accordance with its purpose and the taste of its consumers. The recipe given below is an average one, which the reader will be able to modify, in regard to consistence, by increasing or decreasing the amount of flour.

Mix one-half lb. of powdered sugar, two oz. of flour, two whole eggs, and the yolks of five in a basin. Pour one pint of boiling milk over this paste, stirring it briskly the while; add a grain of salt and the selected aromatic essence, and set the saucepan on the fire, that the Frangipan may cook. Do not cease stirring this cream while it is cooking, for it easily burns.

Let it boil a few minutes; pour it into a bowl, and combine three oz. of fresh butter and two tablespoonfuls of dry, crushed macaroons with it. When the whole is well mixed, smooth the surface of the custard with a well-buttered spoon, so that no crust may form while the cooling progresses.

2400—FRANGIPAN FOR FRIED CREAM

Proceed as above, but so apportion the quantities as to obtain a very firm cream. The quantities should be as follows:—Six oz. of flour, six oz. of sugar, ten egg-yolks, four whole eggs, one quart of milk, and one oz. of butter.

When this cream is cooked, spread it in a layer one inch thick on a buttered tray or on a marble slab; carefully butter its surface, and let it cool before using it.

=Cold Custards=

2401—PASTRY CREAM

Mix one lb. of powdered sugar with four oz. of flour and twelve egg-yolks, and dilute with one quart of boiling milk. Cook this cream, stirring it continually the while; and, as soon as it boils, add to it a few drops of orange-flower water and four gelatine leaves, softened in cold water. Boil the cream a few minutes; take it off the fire, and, while stirring it briskly, carefully combine with it twelve egg-whites, beaten to a stiff froth.

N.B.—Some operators call this St. Honoré cream (for, as a matter of fact, it serves chiefly in the garnishing of sweets bearing that name), and give the name of Pastry cream to the same preparation minus the egg-whites and the gelatine. I prefer to abide by the principle given above, and to consider the cream without whisked egg-whites merely as a Frangipan, with which it has many points in common.

Pastry cream may be flavoured according to fancy. The addition of the gelatine is not necessary when the cream is to be served immediately, or when it only has a moment or two to wait. But it is indispensable to prevent the decomposition of the preparation, especially in hot weather, if it have to wait at all.

2402—WHIPPED OR CHANTILLY CREAM

Nothing could be simpler or more exquisite than this preparation, which is obtained by whipping the best cream (kept fresh for twenty-four hours in ice) over ice. The cream speedily increases in volume and becomes frothy. The operation should then be stopped, lest the cream turn to butter, and there should be immediately added to the former four oz. of powdered sugar (part of which should be the vanilla kind) per quart, and then the preparation should be placed in the cool until required.

N.B.—The addition of a little dissolved or powdered tragacanth gum to the cream allows of a more frothy cream being obtained, but the result is neither as fresh nor as perfect in taste when it is not combined with a sweet or ice preparation.

=Various Preparations for Entremets=

2403—PREPARATIONS FOR PANCAKES AND PANNEQUETS

_Preparation A._—Put into a basin one lb. of sifted flour, six oz. of powdered sugar, and a pinch of table-salt. Dilute with ten eggs and one quart of milk, added by degrees. Flavour with one heaped tablespoonful of orange, lemon or vanilla sugar, which should form part of the total weight of sugar prescribed; or with one-eighth pint of some liqueur such as brandy, kirsch, rum, &c., which should form part of the total moistening.

_Preparation B._—Dilute one lb. of flour, three and one-half oz. of powdered sugar and a pinch of salt, with nine eggs and a half-pint of cream. Add one-eighth pint of brandy, two and a half-oz. of melted butter and one and a half-pints of milk. Pass the whole through a fine strainer, and finish it with one-eighth pint of _orgeat_ syrup (or almond milk) and three oz. of finely-crushed macaroons.

_Preparation C._—Dilute one lb. of flour, three and a half oz. of powdered sugar and a pinch of table salt in nine eggs. Stir the mixture well; add to it a half-pint of raw cream and one pint of milk. Finish with a half-pint of whipped cream, and flavour as fancy may suggest.

_Preparation D._—Dilute one lb. of flour, three and a half oz. of powdered sugar and a pinch of salt, in five eggs and the yolks of three. Add one and three-quarter pints of milk and five egg-whites whisked to a stiff froth.

Flavour according to fancy.

2404—RICE PREPARATION FOR ENTREMETS

Wash one lb. of Carolina or Patna rice; cover it with plenty of cold water; boil, and drain it the moment it has boiled. Wash it once more in lukewarm water; drain it, and set it to cook with two pints of boiled milk, two-thirds lb. of sugar, a pinch of salt and three oz. of butter.

Flavour with a stick of vanilla or a few strips of orange or lemon rind, strung together with cotton. When the liquor begins to boil, cover the saucepan; place it in the oven, and let it cook gently for twenty or twenty-five minutes, without once touching the rice the while.

On withdrawing it from the oven, thicken it with the yolks of sixteen eggs, which should be mixed with it by means of a fork in such wise as not to break the rice grains, which ought to remain whole.

N.B.—In some cases, the milk and the sugar may be replaced (for the cooking process) by an equal amount of syrup at 12° (Saccharometer).

2405—SOUFFLÉ PREPARATIONS

Soufflé preparations are of two kinds:—

(1) Those prepared with cream, which if necessary may serve for all _soufflés_; (2) those with a fruit-purée base, which allow of a more pronounced flavour for fruit _soufflés_ than if these were prepared with cream.

_Cream-soufflé Preparation for Four People._—Boil one-sixth pint of milk with one oz. of sugar; add a tablespoonful of flour diluted in a little cold milk; cook for two minutes, and finish, away from the fire, with a piece of butter the size of a walnut, and two egg-yolks with three whites whisked to a stiff froth.

_Soufflé Preparation for a Big Party._—Thoroughly mix half-lb. of flour, half-lb. of sugar, four eggs and the yolks of three, in a saucepan. Dilute with one quart of boiling milk; add a stick of vanilla; boil, and cook for two minutes, stirring incessantly the while.

Finish, away from the fire, with four oz. of butter, five egg-yolks, and twelve whites, whisked to a very stiff froth.

_Soufflé Preparation with a Fruit Base._—Take one lb. of sugar cooked to the _small-crack_ stage; add thereto one lb. of the pulp or purée of the fruit under treatment, and ten egg-whites, beaten to a stiff froth.

Proceed thus: Having cooked the sugar to the extent stated above, add to it the fruit pulp. If the latter reduces the sugar a stage or two, cook it afresh in order to return it to the _small-crack_ stage; and, when this is reached, pour it over the whites.

_Dishing and Cooking of Soufflés._—Whatever the soufflés may consist of, dish them in a timbale, or in a special false-bottomed dish, buttered and sugared inside. Cook in a somewhat moderate oven, that the heat may reach the centre of the soufflé by degrees.

Two minutes before withdrawing the soufflé from the oven, sprinkle it with icing sugar, which, when it becomes caramel upon the surface of the soufflé, constitutes the glazing.

The decoration of soufflés is optional, and, in any case, should not be overdone.

=Hot Sauces for Entremets=

2406—ENGLISH SAUCE

See the Custard recipe (No. 2397).

2407—CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Dissolve half-lb. of grated chocolate in two-thirds pint of water. Add a tablespoonful of vanilla sugar; cook gently for twenty-five minutes, and complete at the last moment with three tablespoonfuls of cream and a piece of best butter, the size of a walnut.

2408—SABAYON

Mix one lb. of powdered sugar with twelve egg-yolks, in a basin, until the mixture has whitened slightly. Dilute with one quart of dry, white wine; pour the whole in a narrow _bain-marie_, which should be placed in a receptacle containing boiling water, and whisk it until it is four times its former size, and is firm and frothy.

N.B.—Sabayon may also be made with milk instead of white wine, and it may be flavoured according to fancy.

2409—FRUIT SAUCE

Apricots, red-currants, greengages and mirabelle plums are the best fruits for sweet sauces. Other fruits, such as peaches, William pears, apples, &c., may also be used in the form of light purées or cullises.

2410—APRICOT SAUCE

Rub some very ripe or stewed apricots through a sieve, and thin the purée with the required quantity of syrup at 28° (Saccharom.). Boil, skimming carefully the while; take off the fire when the sauce veneers the withdrawn spoon, and flavour according to fancy.

If this sauce is to be used with crusts, a little best butter may be added to it.

2411—RED-CURRANT SAUCE

Melt some red-currant jelly and flavour it with kirsch.

This sauce may be slightly thickened with arrowroot.

2412—SAUCE ORANGE

Rub some orange marmalade through a sieve; add thereto one-third of its bulk of apricot sauce, and flavour with curaçao.

2413—HAZEL-NUT SAUCE

Flavour some English custard with an infusion of grilled hazel-nuts, and add two tablespoonfuls of moulded filbert _pralin_ per quart of custard.

2414—GREENGAGE OR MIRABELLE SAUCE

Proceed as for apricot sauce and flavour with kirsch.

2415—CHERRY SAUCE

Take the syrup of some stewed cherries, add an equal quantity of red-currant jelly, and flavour with kirsch.

2416—RASPBERRY SAUCE

Take the required quantity of melted raspberry jelly; thicken it slightly with arrowroot, and flavour with kirsch.

2417—STRAWBERRY SAUCE

Proceed as for No. 2416.

2418—THICKENED SYRUPS

These accompaniments of sweets, which are commonly used in Germany, have this in their favour, that they are economical; but they should be used in moderation. To make them, take some syrup at 15°, thickened with arrowroot, coloured according to the purpose for which it is required, and flavoured with some liqueur or essence at the last moment.

It is with this kind of sauce that flawns and all other sorts of tartlets are coated in northern countries.

HOT SWEETS

=Fritters=

The numerous fritter recipes for sweets may all be grouped into five leading classes, viz.:—

(1) Fruit fritters.
(2) Custard fritters.
(3) Viennese fritters.
(4) Souffléd fritters.
(5) Sundry other fritters which are more or less like the four former
ones without entirely resembling them.

2419—_Class 1._ FRESH FRUIT AND FLOWER FRITTERS

Subject to the treatment undergone by them, fruits for fritters are of two kinds: firm fruits, such as apples and pears, and aqueous fruits, such as strawberries, &c.

2420—FRITTERS OF FRUIT WITH FIRM PULPS _Ex._ APRICOT FRITTERS

Select some apricots that are not over-ripe; cut them in two; sprinkle them with sugar, and set them to macerate for an hour in kirsch, brandy, or rum, subject to the consumers’ tastes. A few minutes before serving, dry the halved apricots, dip them in batter (No. 234), and fry them in hot fat. Drain them on a napkin; set the fritters on a tray; cover them with icing sugar, and glaze them in a hot oven or at the salamander. Dish them on a napkin, and serve them at once.

N.B.—Proceed in precisely the same way for Apple, Pear, Peach, or Banana fritters.

2421—AQUEOUS-FRUIT FRITTERS _Ex._ STRAWBERRY FRITTERS

Select some large, somewhat firm strawberries; sugar them copiously; sprinkle them with kirsch, and let them macerate on ice for thirty minutes.

It is most essential that the strawberries be well sugared before macerating, because the heat of the fat sours them while the fritters are being fried, and they consequently become tart.

A few minutes before serving, drain the strawberries, dip them in batter (No. 234), and plunge them into very hot fat. Drain them, dish them on lace paper, and sprinkle them with icing sugar, by means of a dredger.

N.B.—The procedure is the same for Raspberry, Red-currant, Cherry, Orange, and Tangerine fritters. For the last-named, it is better to quarter them and peel them raw, than to slice them.

2422—FLOWER FRITTERS. _Ex._ ACACIA-FLOWER FRITTERS

Select some blown acacia flowers; besprinkle them with sugar and liqueur brandy, and leave them to macerate for thirty minutes.

Dip them in batter (No. 234); plunge them into plenty of hot fat; drain them; sprinkle them with best sugar and dish them on a napkin.

N.B.—Proceed as above for Elder-flower, Lily, and Vegetable-marrow-flower fritters; but in the case of the last two, the quartered corollæ, alone, are used.

2423—CUSTARD FRITTERS OR FRIED CREAM

Custard fritters may be prepared in the three following totally different ways.

_1st Method._—Cut up preparation No. 2400 with a round, square, or lozenge-shaped fancy cutter, as taste may dictate. Treat the resulting pieces of custard twice _à l’anglaise_, using very fine and fresh bread-crumbs for the purpose. Press upon the bread-crumbs with the blade of a knife that they may adhere properly, and fry the pieces of cream in very hot fat. On taking the fritters out of the fat sprinkle them with icing sugar, and dish them on a napkin.

N.B.—Instead of treating these fritters _à l’anglaise_, they may be dipped into batter and treated as directed in the case of Apricot fritters.

_2nd Method._—Prepare a custard as for a “crème renversée” (No. 2639), using only whole eggs, that it may be firm; and poach it in a utensil of a shape which will facilitate the cutting-up of the preparation. When the latter is quite cool, cut it up as fancy may suggest; dip the pieces in batter (No. 234) and plunge them in plenty of hot fat. Drain them on a piece of linen; sprinkle them with icing sugar; glaze them in a fierce oven, and dish them on a napkin.

_3rd Method._—Prepare some common-shaped meringues, and keep them very dry.

When they have cooled, open them slightly on top, and, through the hole in each, fill them either with a Bavarois preparation, with some kind of ice-cream, or with a fruit _salpicon_ thickened with stewed apricots or plums. Close the holes with the pieces that were cut out, and place the meringues in the refrigerator for an hour.

When about to serve them, quickly treat them _à l’anglaise_; set them (opened side uppermost) in a frying-basket, and dip them for a few seconds in smoking fat. Withdraw them as soon as their crusts have acquired a golden colour; sprinkle them with icing sugar; dish them on a napkin, and serve them immediately.

2424—VIENNESE FRITTERS

Quantities for the paste of Viennese fritters: one lb. of flour; six oz. of butter; half oz. of yeast; five eggs; half oz. of salt; two-third oz. of sugar; and one-sixth pint of milk. This paste is prepared exactly like Brioche paste (No. 2368).

In any case, as it has to be worked with the rolling-pin, always keep it a little firm.

2425—HOT VIENNESE FRITTERS

Roll out a piece of the paste given above to a thickness of one-fifth inch.

Spread upon it, at regular intervals, small quantities (about the size of a large walnut) either of stewed fruit or jam. Moisten slightly; cover with a second layer of paste, of the same size and thickness as the former; press upon it with the back of a round cutter, so as to ensure the joining of the two layers of paste, and then stamp the whole out with an even cutter two and a half inches in diameter.

Set the fritters on a tray covered with a flour-dusted piece of linen; let the paste ferment for thirty minutes, and then fry them in plenty of hot fat. Drain them; sprinkle them with icing sugar and dish them on a napkin.

N.B.—These fritters may be accompanied by frothy sauces, flavoured with vanilla, lemon, orange, coffee, or kirsch, &c., the type of which is the Sabayon with cream.

2426—COLD VIENNESE FRITTERS

Roll out a piece of the paste prescribed, which should be kept somewhat soft, and stamp it out with a round cutter two and a half inches in diameter. Set half of these roundels of paste on buttered sheets of paper, lying on trays; garnish them either with stewed fruit or jam; slightly moisten their edges; cover them with the remaining roundels of paste, and let the paste ferment for thirty minutes.

A few minutes before serving, grasp the ends of the sheets of paper; plunge the fritters into plenty of hot fat, and withdraw the sheets of paper as soon as the fritters fall from them.

Drain them as soon as they begin to colour; and plunge them immediately into a light, hot syrup, flavoured as fancy may dictate. Withdraw them as soon as they are beginning to be saturated, and serve them cold.

N.B.—In the case of either of these two methods of serving Viennese fritters, the latter, which are served under the name of “fritters à la Dauphine,” may be garnished with fruit _salpicons_ or cream preparations.

=Souffléd Fritters=

2427—ORDINARY SOUFFLÉD FRITTERS

Put one pint of water, three and a half oz. of butter, a pinch of salt and two pinches of sugar into a saucepan. Boil; take the utensil off the fire in order to add two-thirds lb. of sifted flour, and mix up the whole. Then dry this paste as directed for pâte à choux (No. 2373); and finish it, away from the fire, with seven eggs, added one by one.

Flavour according to taste.

Take this paste in portions, the size of small walnuts; put these portions in moderately hot fat, and gradually increase the heat of the latter, so as to ensure the rising of the paste.

When the fritters are quite dry outside, drain them; dish them on a napkin, and sprinkle them with icing sugar.

2428—SOUFFLÉD FRITTERS “EN SURPRISE”

Prepare the fritters exactly like the preceding ones. When taking them out of the fat, open them slightly and garnish them, by means of the piping-bag, either with stewed fruit, jam, a very fine, thickened _salpicon_ of fruit, or some kind of cream, especially frangipan or pastry cream.

=Various Fritters=

2429—PINEAPPLE FRITTERS “A LA FAVORITE”

Cut the pineapple into roundels, one-third inch thick; cut each roundel in two; sprinkle the half-discs with sugar and kirsch, and let them macerate for thirty minutes. Then dry them and dip them into a very thick and almost cold frangipan cream, combined with chopped pistachios. Set the cream-coated roundels on a tray, and let them cool completely.

A little while before serving, detach the roundels from the tray; dip them in somewhat thin batter, and fry them in plenty of hot fat.

Drain them; sprinkle them with icing sugar; glaze them in a fierce oven, and dish them on a napkin.

2430—FRITTERS “A LA BOURGEOISE”

Cut a stale brioche crown into slices, one-third inch thick, and dip these into fresh, sugared cream, flavoured according to fancy. Drain them; dry them slightly; dip them into thin batter, and fry them in very hot fat.

Drain them; sprinkle them with sugar, and dish them on a napkin.

2431—SYLVANA FRITTERS

Hollow out some small round brioches, preserving the crusts for covers, and dip them in some thin, sugared and flavoured fresh cream. Then garnish them with a small fruit _salpicon_ with kirsch; cover this with the reserved covers; dip them into thin batter, and fry them in plenty of hot fat.

Drain them; dish them on a napkin, and sprinkle them with icing sugar.

2432—FRITTERS “A LA GRAND-MÈRE”

Spread upon a moistened tray a layer half inch thick of very reduced, stewed fruit. Cut it up according to fancy; dip the pieces in batter (No. 234), and fry them in plenty of hot fat.

On withdrawing the fritters from the fat, sprinkle them with icing sugar and set them to glaze in a fierce oven.

2433—REGINA FRITTERS

Shape some lady’s-finger biscuits (preparation No. 2378) into large half-balls, one and a half inch in diameter; bake these in a moderate oven and cool them. Then hollow out these half-balls; garnish them with apricot or some other jam; join them in couples, and dip them so as to thoroughly soak them in some fresh cream flavoured with maraschino.

Drain them; treat them _à l’anglaise_ with very fine bread-crumbs, and fry them in plenty of hot fat.

Drain them; dish them on a napkin, and sprinkle them with icing sugar.

2434—MINION FRITTERS

Proceed as above, but substitute for biscuit half-balls soft macaroons, saturated with kirsch syrup. For the rest of the operation, follow the procedure of No. 2433.

2435—FRITTERS A LA SUZON

Make a preparation of “rice for entremets,” and spread it in a thin layer upon a tray, to cool. Divide it up into discs three and a half inches in diameter; garnish the centre of these with a very stiff fruit _salpicon_; roll the discs into balls, so as to enclose the _salpicon_; dip these balls into thin batter, and fry them in plenty of hot fat.

Drain them; dish them on a napkin, and sprinkle them with icing sugar.

=Charlottes=

2436—APPLE CHARLOTTE

Copiously butter a quart Charlotte-mould. Garnish its bottom with heart-shaped _croûtons_ of bread-crumb, slightly overlapping one another; and garnish its sides with rectangles of bread of exactly the same height as the mould, and also slightly overlapping one another. The _croûtons_ and the rectangles should be one-eighth inch thick, and ought to have been dipped in melted butter before taking their place in the mould.

Meanwhile, quarter twelve fine russet apples; peel, slice, and cook them in a sautépan with one oz. of butter, two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, and half the rind of a lemon and a little cinnamon—both tied into a faggot.

When the apples are cooked, and reduced to a thick purée, remove the faggot of aromatics and add three tablespoonfuls of stewed apricots.

Fill up the mould with this preparation, and remember to shape the latter in a projecting dome above the mould; for it settles in cooking.

Bake in a good, moderate oven for from thirty to thirty-five minutes.

2437—CHARLOTTE DE POMMES, EMILE GIRET

Prepare the Charlotte as directed above, but in a shallow mould.

When it is moulded on the dish, completely cover it with an even coat, half inch thick, of very firm “pastry cream” (No. 2401), and take care not to spoil the shape of the Charlotte.

Sprinkle the cream copiously with icing sugar; then, with a red-hot iron, criss-cross the Charlotte regularly all round; pressing the iron upon the sugar-sprinkled cream.

Surround the base of the Charlotte with a row of beads made by means of the piping-bag, from the same cream as that already used.

2438—VARIOUS CHARLOTTES

Charlottes may be made with pears, peaches, apricots, &c., after the same procedure as that directed under No. 2436. The most important point to be remembered in their preparation is that the stewed fruit used should be very stiff; otherwise it so softens the shell of bread that the Charlotte collapses as soon as it is turned out.

It is no less important that the mould should be as full as possible of the preparation used; for, as already explained, the latter settles in the cooking process.

2439—CRÈME A LA RÉGENCE

Saturate half a pound of “Biscuits à la Cuiller” with Maraschino-Kirsch, and then dip them into a quart of boiled milk. Rub them through a silk sieve, and add eight eggs, ten egg-yolks, two-thirds pound of powdered sugar and a small pinch of table salt. Pour the whole into a shallow, Charlotte mould, and set to poach in a _bain-marie_ for about thirty-five minutes.

Let the mould rest for a few minutes; turn out its contents on a dish and surround the base of the cream with a crown of stewed half-apricots, each garnished with a preserved cherry. Coat the whole with an apricot syrup, flavoured with Kirsch and Maraschino.

2440—CRÈME MERINGUÉE

Prepare some “Crème à la Régence” as above, and poach it in a buttered deep border-mould. Poach in a _bain-marie_; turn out on a dish, and garnish the middle of the border with Italian meringue (No. 2383), combined with a _salpicon_ of preserved fruit, macerated in Kirsch.

Decorate the border by means of a piping-bag, fitted with a grooved pipe and filled with plain, Italian meringue, without the fruit; and set to brown in a moderate oven.

Serve an orange-flavoured, English custard separately.

2441—VILLAGE CUSTARD

Saturate five ounces of dry biscuits with Kirsch and Anisette, and set them in a deep dish in layers, alternated with coatings of stewed, seasonable fruit, such as pears, apples, etc.

Cover the whole with the following preparation: one-half pound of powdered sugar mixed with eight eggs and the yolks of four, and diluted with one and three-quarter pints of milk. Poach in a _bain-marie_, in the oven.

2442—CUSTARD PUDDING

Custard pudding is a form of the English custard mentioned under No. 2397.

The difference between the two is that for the former whole eggs are used instead of the yolks alone, and that it is prepared according to the second method only. The average quantities for the preparation are:

Six eggs and six ounces of sugar per quart of milk. The custard is cooked in pie-dishes in a _bain-marie_, which should be placed in the oven or in a steamer.

According as to whether the custard be required milky or thick, the number of eggs is either lessened or increased. In regard to the sugar, the guide should be the consumers’ tastes. If necessary, it may be suppressed altogether, and saccharine or glycerine may be used in its stead, as is customary for diabetic patients.

Custard is generally flavoured with vanilla, but any other flavour suited to sweets may be used with it.

=Pancakes.= (See preparations No. 2403.)

2443—CONVENT PANCAKES

Pour into a buttered and hot omelet-pan some preparation A, sprinkle thereon some William pears, cut into small dice; cover the latter with some more preparation A; toss the pancake in order to turn it; sprinkle it with powdered sugar, dish it on a napkin and serve it burning-hot.

2444—GEORGETTE PANCAKES

Proceed as for Convent pancakes, but substitute for pear-dice some very thin slices of pine-apple, macerated in Maraschino.

2445—GIL-BLAS PANCAKES

Make the following preparation: work three ounces of best butter in a bowl until it acquires the consistence of a pomade. Mix therewith three ounces of powdered sugar, three tablespoonfuls of liqueur brandy, a piece of butter the size of a filbert, and a few drops of lemon juice.

Make the pancakes with preparation C; spread the prepared butter upon them; fold each pancake twice, and dish them on a napkin.

2446—PANCAKES A LA NORMANDE

Proceed as for Convent Pancakes, but for the pear dice substitute fine slices of apple, previously _sautéd_ in butter.

2447—PANCAKES A LA PARISIENNE

These are made from preparation B, and are ungarnished.

2448—PANCAKES A LA PAYSANNE

Make these from preparation B (the _orgeat_ syrup and the macaroons being suppressed), and flavour with orange-flower water.

2449—PANCAKES A LA RUSSE

Add to preparation C, a quarter of its volume of broken biscuits saturated with kümmel and liqueur brandy, and make the pancakes in the usual way.

2450—SUZETTE PANCAKES

Make these from preparation A, flavoured with curaçao and tangerine juice. Coat them, like Gil-Blas pancakes, with softened butter, flavoured with curaçao and tangerine juice.

=Croquettes.=

2451—CHESTNUT CROQUETTES

Peel the chestnuts after one of the ways directed (No. 2172), and cook them in a thin syrup, flavoured with vanilla. Reserve one small, whole chestnut for each croquette. Rub the remainder through a sieve; dry the purée over a fierce fire, and thicken it with five egg-yolks and one and a half oz. of butter per lb. of purée. Let it cool.

Then divide the preparation up into portions the size of pigeons’ eggs, and roll these portions into balls, with a chestnut in the centre of each.

Treat them _à l’anglaise_ with some very fine bread-crumbs; fry them in some very hot fat, and dish them on a napkin.

Serve a vanilla-flavoured apricot sauce, separately.

2452—RICE CROQUETTES

Make a preparation as directed under No. 2404. Divide it up into two-oz. portions, moulded to the shape of such fruit as pears apples, apricots, etc.; treat these _à l’anglaise_, like the chestnut croquettes, and fry them in the same way.

Serve an apricot sauce or a vanilla-flavoured Sabayon separately.

2453—VARIOUS CROQUETTES

Croquettes may also be made from tapioca, semolina, vermicelli or fresh noodles, etc., in which case the procedure is that of the Rice Croquettes.

The preparation may be combined with currants and sultanas, and the croquettes are served with any suitable sauce.

=Crusts.=

2454—CROÛTE AUX FRUITS

Cut some slices one-fifth inch thick from a stale Savarin which has not been moistened with syrup, and allow two for each person. Set these slices on a tray; sprinkle them with icing sugar, and put them in the oven so as to dry and glaze them at the same time. Arrange them in a circle round a cushion of fried bread-crumbs, and between each lay a slice of pine-apple of exactly the same size as the slices.

Upon this crown of crusts, set some quartered apples and some stewed pears. The pears may be stewed in a pinkish syrup, which, by varying the colours, makes the croûte more sightly.

Decorate with preserved cherries, lozenges of angelica, quartered yellow and green _chinois_, etc. Fix a small, turned and white or pink pear on the top of the cushion, by means of a _hatelet_, and coat with an apricot sauce, flavoured with Kirsch.

2455—CROÛTE A LA LYONNAISE

Prepare the crusts as described above, and coat them with a smooth chestnut purée, flavoured with vanilla; then, cover them with an apricot purée, cooked to the _small-thread_ stage; sprinkle with finely-splintered and slightly-browned almonds, and dish in a circle.

Garnish the middle of the circle with chestnuts cooked in syrup, and pipped Malaga raisins, currants, and sultanas (washed and swelled in tepid water); the whole cohered with an apricot purée thinned with a few tablespoonsful of Malaga wine.

2456—CROÛTE AU MADÈRE

Dish the glazed crusts in a circle as already described. Pour into their midst a garnish consisting of equal parts of pipped, Malaga raisins, currants, and sultanas, swelled in tepid water and moistened with a Madeira-flavoured, apricot syrup.

2457—CROÛTE A LA MARÉCHALE

Cut from a stale _mousseline_ brioche, some triangles of the same thickness as the ordinary crusts. Coat them with _pralin_ (No. 2352), and then set them on a tray; sprinkle them with sugar glaze, and dry the _pralin_ in a moderate oven.

Stick a fried-bread-crumb cushion, four inches high, on a dish, and surround it with a _salpicon_ of pineapple, raisins, cherries, and sugared orange-rind, cohered with some stiff stewed apples, combined with a little apricot purée. Set the _pralin_-coated triangles upright alongside of the _salpicon_, and surround them with a border of half-pears, stewed in syrup, half their quantity being white and the other pink.

On the top of the cushion, set a small pear, cooked in pink syrup, which fix with a small _hatelet_, surround the border of half-pears with a thread of apricot purée, flavoured slightly with vanilla, and serve a sauceboat of the same purée separately.

2458—CROÛTE A LA NORMANDE

Prepare the crusts as indicated under No. 2454, coat them with very stiffly stewed apples, and dish them in a circle.

Garnish their midst with stewed apples, prepared as for a Charlotte, and upon the apples set a pyramid of quartered, white and pink apples, cooked in syrup. Cover with reduced apple syrup, thickened with a little very smooth stewed apples flavoured with Kirsch or old rum.

2459—CROÛTE A LA PARISIENNE

Coat the crusts with _pralin_, as explained under No. 2457, and dish them in a circle. In their midst set some thin slices of pine-apple, the ends of which should rest upon the circle of crusts; in the middle, pour a garnish of various fruits, cohered with an apricot purée, flavoured with Madeira, and coat the circle of crusts with apricot syrup flavoured with Madeira.

2460—CROÛTE AUX ABRICOTS AU MARASQUIN

Cook some Savarin paste in buttered tartlet moulds. When these tartlets are cooked, hollow them out at the top, taking care to leave a somewhat thick border all round.

Coat them inside with _pralin_ (No. 2352), and dry them in a moderate oven. Then garnish the centre of the tartlets with frangipan cream, combined with filbert _pralin_. Upon this cream set a stoned apricot poached in Maraschino.

Surround the apricot with small, candied half-cherries, alternated with lozenges of angelica. Serve an apricot sauce, flavoured with Maraschino, separately.

2461—CROÛTE VICTORIA

Prepare a crust after No. 2456, and garnish the centre with candied cherries and glazed chestnuts. Serve an apricot sauce, flavoured with rum, separately.

OMELETS.

Sweet omelets may be divided into four distinct classes, which are:—

1. Liqueur omelets.
2. Jam omelets.
3. Souffléd omelets.
4. Surprise omelets.

=Omelets with Liqueur.=

2462—_Example_: OMELET WITH RUM

Season the omelet with sugar and a little salt, and cook it in the usual way. Set it on a long dish, sprinkle it with sugar and heated rum, and set a light to it on bringing it to the table.

=Jam Omelets.=

2463—_Example_: APRICOT OMELET

Season the omelet as above, and, when about to roll it up, garnish it inside with two tablespoonfuls of apricot jam per six eggs. Set on a long dish; sprinkle with icing sugar, and either criss-cross the surface with a red-hot iron or glaze the omelet at the salamander.

2464—XMAS OMELET

Beat the eggs with salt and sugar and add, per six eggs: two tablespoonfuls of cream, a pinch of orange or lemon rind, and one tablespoonful of rum. When about to roll up the omelet, garnish it copiously with mincemeat, set it on a long dish; sprinkle it with heated rum, and set it alight at the table.

=Souffléd Omelets.=

2465—_Example_: SOUFFLÉD OMELET WITH VANILLA

Mix eight oz. of sugar and eight egg-yolks in a basin, until the mixture has whitened slightly, and draws up in ribbons when the spatula is pulled out of it. Add ten egg-whites, beaten to a very stiff froth, and mix the two preparations gently; cutting and raising the whole with the spoon.

Set this preparation on a long, buttered and sugar-dusted dish, in the shape of an oval mound, and take care to put some of it aside in a piping-bag.

Smooth it all round with the blade of a knife; decorate according to fancy with the contents of the piping-bag, and cook in a good, moderate oven, for as long as the size of the omelet requires.

Two minutes before withdrawing it from the oven, sprinkle it with icing sugar, that the latter, when melted, may cover the omelet with a brilliant coat.

Flavour according to fancy, with vanilla, orange or lemon rind, rum, Kirsch, &c.; but remember to add the selected flavour to the preparation before the egg-whites are added to it.

=Surprise Omelets.=

2466—_Example_: NORWEGIAN OMELET

Place an oval cushion one and one half in. thick of _Génoise_ upon a long dish, and let the cushion be as long as the desired omelet. Upon this cushion set a pyramid of ice-cream with fruit. Cover the ice-cream with ordinary meringue (No. 2382); smooth it with a knife, making it of an even thickness of two-thirds of an inch in so doing; decorate it, by means of the piping-bag, with the same meringue, and set in a very hot oven, that the meringue may cook and colour quickly, without the heat reaching the ice inside.

2467—SURPRISE OMELET MYLORD

Proceed as directed above; but garnish the cushion of _Génoise_ with coats of vanilla ice-cream, alternated with coats of stewed pears. Cover with meringue and cook in the same way.

2468—CHINESE SURPRISE OMELET

The procedure is the same, but the vanilla ice-cream is replaced by tangerine ice. On taking the omelet out of the oven, surround it with tangerines glazed with sugar, cooked to the _large-crack_ stage.

2469—SURPRISE OMELET WITH CHERRIES

Garnish the cushion of _Génoise_ with red-currant ice, flavoured with raspberries and mixed with equal quantities of cherry ice and half-sugared cherries, macerated in Kirsch.

Finish it like the Norwegian Omelet.

On taking it out of the oven, surround the omelet with drained cherries, preserved in brandy, and sprinkle it with heated Kirsch, to which set a light at the table.

2470—SURPRISE OMELET MILADY: also called MILADY PEACH

This is a surprise omelet, garnished with very firm raspberry ice, in which are incrusted a circle of fine peaches, poached in vanilla.

The whole is then covered with Italian meringue, flavoured with Maraschino, and laid in suchwise that those portions of the peaches which project from the glaze remain bare.

Decorate the surface of the omelet with the same meringue; sprinkle it with icing sugar, and set it to a glaze quickly.

2471—SURPRISE OMELET “A LA NAPOLITAINE” otherwise “BOMBE VESUVE”

Garnish the cushion of _Génoise_ with coats of vanilla and strawberry ice, alternated with layers of broken candied-chestnut. Cover the whole with Italian meringue prepared with Kirsch, which keep flat and somewhat thick towards the centre. On top, set a _barquette_ of a size in proportion to the omelet, made by means of the piping-bag with ordinary meringue and baked in the oven without colouration. Decorate with Italian meringue, covering the _barquette_ in so doing, and quickly brown the omelet in the oven. When about to serve, garnish the omelet with Jubilee cherries (No. 2566), which set alight at the last moment.

2472—SURPRISE OMELET ELIZABETH

Garnish the cushion of _Génoise_ with vanilla ice and crystallised-violets.

Cover it with meringue; decorate its surface with crystallised-violets, and treat the omelet as in No. 2466.

When about to serve it, cover the omelet with a veil of spun sugar.

2473—SURPRISE OMELET “A L’ISLANDAISE”

Make the cushion of _Génoise_ round instead of oval; set it on a round dish, and garnish it with some sort of ice, which should be shaped like a truncated cone. Cover with meringue; set a small case on the top, made from meringue, as explained under No. 2471, but round instead of oval; conceal all but its inside with meringue, decorating the omelet in so doing, and set to brown quickly.

When about to serve, pour a glassful of heated rum into the meringue case and set it alight.

2474—SYLPHS’ OMELET

Dip a freshly-cooked savarin into a syrup of maraschino, and stick it on a base of dry paste exactly equal in size.

In the centre of the savarin set a cushion of _Génoise_ sufficiently thick to reach half-way up the former.

At the last moment, turn out upon this cushion an iced strawberry _mousse_, made in an iced _madeleine-mould_, the diameter of which should be that of the bore of the savarin. Cover the _mousse_ with a coat of Italian meringue with kirsch, shaping it like a cone of which the base rests upon the top of the savarin.

By means of a piping-bag, fitted with a small pipe, quickly decorate the cone, as also the savarin, with the same meringue; colour it in the oven, and serve it instantly.

2475—VARIOUS SURPRISE OMELETS

With the generic example given this kind of omelets may be indefinitely varied by changing the ice preparation inside.

The superficial appearance remains the same, but every change in the inside garnish should be made known in the title of the dish.

=Pannequets.=

2476—PANNEQUETS WITH JAM

Prepare some very thin pancakes; coat them with some kind of jam, roll them up, trim them aslant at either end, and cut them into two lozenges.

Place these lozenges on a tray, sprinkle them with icing sugar, set them to glaze in a fierce oven, and dish them on a napkin.

2477—PANNEQUETS A LA CRÈME

Coat the pancakes with frangipan cream, and sprinkle the latter with crushed macaroons. For the rest of the procedure follow No. 2476.

2478—PANNEQUETS MERINGUÉS

Coat the pancakes with Italian meringue, flavoured with kirsch and maraschino; roll them up, cut them into lozenges as above, and set them on a tray. Decorate them by means of the piping-bag with the same meringue; sprinkle them with icing sugar, and set them to colour quickly in the oven.

2479—PUDDINGS

English puddings are almost innumerable; but many of them lie more within the pastrycook’s than the cook’s province, and their enumeration here could not serve a very useful purpose. The name Pudding is, moreover, applied to a whole host of preparations which are really nothing more than custards—as, for example, “custard pudding.” If both of the foregoing kinds of puddings be passed over, puddings proper which belong to hot sweets may be divided into eight classes, of which I shall first give the generic recipes, from which all pudding entremets given hereafter are derived. The eight classes are:—

(1) Puddings with cream.
(2) Fruit puddings.
(3) English fruit puddings.
(4) Plum puddings.
(5) French and German bread puddings.
(6) English and French paste puddings.
(7) Rice puddings.
(8) Souffléd puddings.

Puddings allow of various accompanying sauces, which will be given in each recipe. The majority of English puddings may be accompanied by stewed fruit, Melba sauce, or whipped cream “à la Chantilly.”

=Puddings with Cream.=

2480—ALMOND PUDDING

Make a preparation for souffléd pudding (No. 2505), moistened with almond milk. Pour it into copiously-buttered moulds, sprinkled inside with splintered and grilled almonds.

Set to poach in the _bain-marie_. As an accompaniment serve a sabayon prepared with white wine and flavoured with _orgeat_.

2481—ENGLISH ALMOND PUDDING

Mix to the consistence of a pomade four oz. of butter and five oz. of powdered sugar; add eight oz. of finely-chopped almonds, a pinch of table salt, a half table-spoonful of orange-flower water, two eggs, two egg-yolks, and one-sixth pint of cream. Pour this preparation into a buttered pie-dish, and cook in a _bain-marie_ in the oven.

N.B.—English puddings of what kind soever are served in the dishes or basins in which they have cooked.

2482—BISCUIT PUDDING

Crush eight oz. of lady’s-finger biscuits in a saucepan, and moisten them with one pint of boiling milk containing five oz. of sugar. Stir the whole over the fire, and add five oz. of candied fruit, cut into dice and mixed with currants (both products having been macerated in kirsch), three egg-yolks, four oz. of melted butter, and the white of five eggs beaten to a stiff froth.

Set to poach in a _bain-marie_, in a low, even Charlotte mould, or in a pie-dish, and serve an apricot sauce at the same time.

2483—CABINET PUDDING

Garnish a buttered cylinder-mould with lady’s-finger biscuits or slices of buttered biscuit, saturated with some kind of liqueur; arranging them in alternate layers with a _salpicon_ of candied fruit and currants, macerated in liqueur. Here and there spread a little apricot jam.

Fill up the mould, little by little, with preparation No. 2639, flavoured according to fancy. Poach in a _bain-marie_.

Turn out the pudding at the last moment, and coat it with English custard flavoured with vanilla.

2484—FRUIT PUDDING

This pudding requires very careful treatment. The custard which serves as its base is the same as that of Cabinet Pudding, except that it is thickened by seven eggs and seven egg-yolks per quart of milk. This preparation is, moreover, combined with a purée of fruit suited to the pudding.

_Procedure_: Butter a mould; set it in a _bain-marie_, and pour a few table-spoonfuls of the above preparation into it. Let it set, and upon this set custard sprinkle a layer of suitable fruit, sliced. This fruit may be apricots, peaches, pears, etc. Cover the fruit with a fresh coat of custard, but more copiously than in the first case; let this custard set as before; cover it with fruit, and proceed in the same order until the mould is full.

It is, in short, another form of aspic-jelly preparation, but hot instead of cold. If the solidification of the layers of custard were not ensured, the fruit would fall to the bottom of the mould instead of remaining distributed between the layers of custard, and the result would be the collapse of the pudding as soon as it was turned out.

Continue the cooking in the _bain-marie_; let the preparation stand a few minutes before turning it out, and serve at the same time a sauce made from the same fruit as that used for the pudding.

=English Fruit Puddings.=

2485—APPLE PUDDING

Prepare a suet paste from one lb. of flour, ten oz. of finely-chopped suet, quarter of a pint of water and a pinch of salt.

Let the paste rest for an hour, and roll it out to a thickness of one-third of an inch.

With this layer of paste, line a well-buttered dome-mould or large pudding-basin. Garnish with sliced apples mixed with powdered sugar and flavoured with a chopped piece of lemon peel.

Close the mould with a well-sealed-down layer of paste; wrap the mould in a piece of linen, which should be firmly fastened with string; plunge it into a saucepan containing boiling water, and in the case of a quart pudding-basin or mould, let it cook for about three hours.

N.B.—This pudding may be made with other fleshy fruit, as also with certain vegetables such as the pumpkin, etc.

2486—PLUM PUDDING

Put into a basin one lb. of chopped suet; one lb. of bread-crumb; half lb. of flour; half lb. of peeled and chopped apples; half lb. each of Malaga raisins, currants and sultanas; two oz. each of candied orange, lemon and cedrat rinds, cut into small dice; two oz. of ginger; four oz. of chopped almonds; eight oz. of powdered sugar; the juice and the chopped rind of half an orange and half a lemon; one-third oz. of mixed spices, containing a large quantity of cinnamon; three eggs; quarter of a pint of rum or brandy, and one-third of a pint of stout. The fruit should, if possible, have previously macerated in liqueur for a long time.

Thoroughly mix the whole.

Pour the preparation into white earthenware pudding-basins, with projecting rims; press it into them, and then wrap them in a buttered and flour-dusted cloth which tie into a knot on top.

Cook in boiling water or in steam for four hours.

When about to serve, sprinkle the puddings with heated brandy or rum, and set them alight, or accompany them, either with a sabayon with rum, with Brandy Butter (as directed under “Gil-Blas pancakes” but without sugar), or with an English custard thickened with arrowroot.

2487—AMERICAN PUDDING

Put into a basin two and a half oz. of bread-crumb; three oz. of powdered sugar; three oz. of flour; two and a half oz. of marrow and an equal quantity of suet (both chopped); three oz. of candied fruit cut into dice; one egg and three egg-yolks, a pinch of chopped orange or lemon zest; a little nutmeg and cinnamon, and a liqueur-glassful of brandy or rum.

Mix up the whole; pour the preparation into a buttered and dredged mould or basin, and cook in the _bain-marie_.

Serve a sabayon with rum at the same time.

2488—MARROW PUDDING

Melt half a lb. of beef-marrow and two oz. of suet, in a _bain-marie_, and let it get tepid. Then work this grease in a basin with half a lb. of powdered sugar; three oz. of bread-crumbs, dipped in milk and pressed; three whole eggs and eight egg-yolks; half a lb. of candied fruit, cut into dice; three oz. of sultanas and two oz. of pipped, Malaga raisins.

Pour this preparation into an even, deep, buttered and dredged border-mould; and poach in the _bain-marie_.

Serve a sabayon with rum at the same time.

=Bread Puddings.=

2489—ENGLISH BREAD PUDDING

Butter some thin slices of crumb of bread and distribute over them some currants and sultanas, swelled in tepid water and well drained. Set these slices in a pie-dish; cover with preparation No. 2638, and poach in front of the oven.

2490—FRENCH BREAD PUDDING

Soak two-thirds of a lb. of white bread-crumb in one and three-quarter pints of boiled milk, flavoured with vanilla and containing eight oz. of sugar. Rub through a sieve and add: four whole eggs, six egg-yolks, and four egg-whites, beaten to a stiff froth.

Pour this preparation into a deep, buttered border-mould, dusted with bread-crumbs; and poach in _bain-marie_.

As an accompaniment, serve either an English custard, a vanilla-flavoured sabayon, or a fruit sauce.

2491—GERMAN BREAD PUDDING

Soak two-thirds of a lb. of brown bread-crumb in one and three quarter pints of Rhine wine, Moselle or beer, containing half a lb. of moist sugar and a little cinnamon. Rub through a sieve and add four eggs, six egg-yolks, five oz. of melted butter, and the whites of four eggs beaten to a froth. Poach in a _bain-marie_ as in the preceding case. The adjunct to this pudding is invariably a fruit syrup.

2492—SCOTCH BREAD PUDDING

Proceed exactly as for No. 2490, but add five oz. of sliced seasonable fruit. Mould and poach in the same way, and serve a red-currant sauce flavoured with raspberries, as an accompaniment.

=Paste Puddings.=

2493—TAPIOCA

Sprinkle eight oz. of tapioca into one and three-quarter pints of boiling milk, containing four oz. of sugar, a pinch of salt and three oz. of butter.

Cook in the oven for twenty minutes; transfer the preparation to another saucepan, and add to it six egg-yolks, two and a half oz. of butter, and the whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth.

Pour the whole into a well-buttered cylinder-mould, sprinkled with tapioca, and poach in the _bain-marie_ until the preparation seems resilient to the touch. Let the pudding stand for seven or eight minutes before turning it out. Serve an English custard, a sabayon or a fruit sauce as accompaniment.

2494—SAGO PUDDING

Proceed as above, but substitute sago for the tapioca, and sprinkle the inside of the mould with sago. The treatment and adjuncts are the same.

2495—SEMOLINA PUDDING

Proceed as for No. 2493, but use semolina instead of tapioca, and sprinkle the mould with granulated semolina.

2496—VERMICELLI PUDDING

Proceed as for No. 2493, but use vermicelli, and sprinkle the mould with bits of vermicelli, which should not be broken up overmuch.

2497—FRESH-NOODLE PUDDING

Proceed in exactly the same way as for No. 2493.

2498—ENGLISH TAPIOCA, SAGO, AND SEMOLINA PUDDINGS, ETC.

Whatever be the paste used, it should be cooked in very slightly-sugared milk, flavoured according to fancy, and in the quantities given above. Thicken by means of two eggs per pint of the preparation; pour the whole into a buttered pie-dish, and cook in the oven in a _bain-marie_.

N.B.—All English puddings of this class are made in the same way, and, as already stated, are served in the dish in which they have cooked.

2499—BRAZILIAN PUDDING

Make the preparation for tapioca pudding and pour it into a mould, _clothed_ with sugar cooked to the _caramel_ stage.

Poach in a _bain-marie_ and serve plain.

2500—CHEVREUSE PUDDING

This is semolina pudding served with a Sabayon, flavoured with kirsch.

2501—RICE PUDDING

Prepare the rice as directed under No. 2404, and mix with it (per lb. of raw rice) the whites of fifteen eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Mould in buttered moulds sprinkled with raspings.

The cooking and the adjuncts are the same as for Nos. 2493, 2494, etc.

2502—ENGLISH RICE PUDDING