Chapter M: E. James: ‘How to Decorate our Ceilings, Walls, and Floors.’ (29)

_Strawberry Chartreuse._--Take 1 qt. calvesfoot jelly, well flavoured with lemon peel alone. Take a quantity of fine strawberries freed from stalks, and cut in half length-wise. Warm the jelly sufficiently to pour out. Have 2 plain moulds, one about 1¼ in. more in diameter than the other; pour a very little jelly at the bottom of the larger mould, and place in it a layer of strawberries, cover them with more jelly, but only put enough to get a smooth surface; lay this on ice to set. When it is quite firm, put the small mould inside the large one, taking care to place it exactly in the middle, so that the vacant space between the two moulds be of the same width. In this vacant space dispose strawberries prepared as above, filling up the interstices as you go on with jelly until the whole of the space is filled up. Place the mould upon ice; whip 1 pint cream to a froth, dissolve ½ oz. isinglass in a little water, mix it with rather more than a cupful of strawberry juice sweetened to taste and obtained by mashing the fruit and pressing it through a tammy. Add this to the whipped cream a little at a time. When the cream is ready and the jelly set, remove the inner mould by pouring warm water into it, and fill up the inner space of the chartreuse with the cream. Set it on ice for an hour, turn out, and serve.

_Strawberry Cream._--Take 3 pints ripe strawberries, and crush each one separately. Put them in a basin with 4 oz. powdered loaf sugar, stir until the sugar is melted, and well mixed with the pulped strawberries, then put them in a trifle dish. Now put 1 qt. cream in a saucepan on a stove, and when at boiling point stir in 2 oz. arrowroot mixed with a little cold new milk. Let this boil for 1 minute, then set it aside until sufficiently cool not to risk breaking your dish, when pour it over the pulped strawberries, and put the dish in a cool place until the cream is cold and set. Just before serving cover the cream with the whites of 6 eggs, beaten to a solid froth. If colour is liked, a portion of the white of egg may be coloured with a few drops of prepared cochineal, and put in the centre of the dish. Raspberries are very good served in this way.

_Strawberry Shortcake._--1 qt. flour, 5 oz. lard, 1 even teaspoonful soda, 2 teaspoonfuls cream of tartar, a pinch of salt. Mix the salt and cream of tartar with the flour, pass it through a sieve, then rub the lard with the flour, add the soda dissolved in enough milk to form a soft dough; divide it into 4 parts, roll one part out, cover a straight-sided Vienna cake tin with it, roll out another piece and lay it upon the first, cut the edges off evenly. Repeat this with the remaining two pieces and another tin. Bake quickly. When done lift the upper piece of crust from each cake., butter the inner surfaces and place between the two crusts a layer 1 in. thick of fresh berries slightly mashed and sweetened. Cover the top with fresh berries, sift a little sugar over them and serve at once. It is eaten in slices with rich cream poured over it. A pretty way to make them is to cut the dough with a tart-cutter 3½ in. in diameter; bake two pieces, one on top of the other, place strawberries between, as above, and serve one little cake to each person with cream round it.

_Strawberry Tartlets._--Make some short paste with 2 oz. sugar, 2 oz. butter, the yolks of 4 eggs, a little water, a pinch of salt, and sufficient flour; work it lightly, and roll it out to the thickness of ⅛ in. Line some patty-pans with it, fill them with uncooked rice to keep their shape, and bake them in a moderate oven till done. Remove the stalks from some strawberries, add some syrup made with sugar and a little brandy or sherry. Empty the tartlets of the rice, fill each with the strawberries. Put them in the oven to get warm, and serve.

_Suet Pudding._--(_a_) ½ lb. flour, ½ lb. beef suet chopped fine, 1 teaspoonful salt. Mix with sufficient milk or water to keep them together; boil 2½ hours in a basin or a cloth. (_b_) 1 lb. beef suet chopped fine, 6 large spoonfuls flour, 1 teaspoonful grated ginger, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1½ pint milk, and 4 eggs. Boil 3 hours in a basin, or 2½ hours in a cloth, (_c_) 1½ pint milk mixed with 1 lb. flour, add 2 eggs, 4 large spoonfuls beef suet chopped fine, ½ lb. currants or raisins stoned, 1 teaspoonful grated ginger, the juice of a lemon (or the rind of one grated), a very little salt and brown sugar to taste. Butter a pie dish, fill with the mixture, bake 1½ hour, turn it out, and serve with powdered sugar over and wine sauce round.

_Swiss Pastry._--Weigh 3 or more eggs in the shell, and take their weight in powdered sugar, in dried flour, and in fresh butter. Put the butter in a basin, and set it over another containing hot water to remain until melted; then stir in the sugar by degrees, using a wooden spoon. When well mixed gradually add the flour, and also a pinch of salt, stirring all the time. When the flour is all in, break in one of the eggs without beating it, merely removing the speck, and then adding the egg, both yolk and white; whisk the batter well; then add another egg in the same way, again whisk, and so on till all the eggs are in. Continue the whisking until the batter looks light. Have ready a shallow tin with a rim to it, which must be lined with paper plentifully buttered; pour in the mixture directly it is ready, and put it at once into the oven to bake until firm and slightly brown. The pastry should not be more than 1 in. thick. A very clean Yorkshire pudding tin may be used to bake it in, or a good-sized cutlet pan is as good as anything. When cold, cut it into any fancy shapes, splitting the cake and putting strawberry or apricot jam between; cut into fingers, which maybe iced over the top, some pink and some white--they make a very pretty dish. For making into a set shape, hollow oval cutters are the best, in graduated sizes. Put the largest piece at the bottom of either a glass or silver dish, spread a layer of strawberry or raspberry jam on it, then the next size, and so on till the smallest piece at the top is also covered with jam. Make a border round of apricot jam, and fill up the hollow with whipped cream. A very slight sprinkling of finely chopped pistachio nuts may be strewn over the top of the cream by way of ornament if desired.

_Swiss Pudding._--Take the yolks of 7 eggs, ½ oz. isinglass, beat them well, add 1 pint good milk and sugar to taste. Put this in a mould, and boil the pudding ¾ hour exactly. Let it stand in the mould till cold. The sauce for this pudding is made with ¼ pint white wine, ¼ lb. sugar, with the juice and the rind of a lemon pared very thin. Boil this till it becomes like a syrup. When cold, pour it round the pudding, but not till it is ready to be sent to table, then put a few strips of orange marmalade or apricot jam on the top and round the pudding.

_Swiss Roll._--Take the weight of 3 or 4 eggs in their shells of finely powdered sugar, and the same weight of butter and flour. Melt the butter, add the sugar and the yolks of the eggs (freed from the speck); beat the mixture well, add the beaten-up whites of half the eggs, then half the flour, the rest of the whites (also beaten up), and of the flour. When quite smooth spread it out about ½ in. thick over a well-buttered tin, and bake for 15-20 minutes in a moderate oven, spread it all over equally with jam, roll it up, and put it into the oven again for a short time, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve cold; if liked, with custard over it.

_Tansy Pudding._--Boil 1 qt. milk with a little lemon peel and 2 laurel leaves, strain it over a ¼ lb. Naples biscuit; beat up the yolks of 8 and the whites of 4 eggs with 1 spoonful rose-water; put 1 handful tansy leaves and 2 handfuls spinach in a mortar, pound them and squeeze the juice through a cloth; grate in half a nutmeg, put in ½ lb. fine sugar with ½ lb. butter melted. Mix the ingredients all together, put it over a slow fire, and keep it stirring till it is thick, then take it off and set it away to cool, and stir in a glass of brandy. Put a puff paste round the edge of the dish, pour in the ingredients, put a little candied sweetmeats over it, and bake it ¾ hour in a moderate oven.

_Tapioca Cream._--Take equal quantities pearl tapioca and raw cream, boil the tapioca thoroughly, whip the cream till it drops thickly from the spoon; mix the two together, flavour with lemon or vanilla essence, and sweeten to taste, serve cold in a glass dish. This is excellent, eaten with either preserved peaches, pears, &c., or stewed fruit.

_Tapioca Pudding._--Boil ¼ lb. tapioca with 1 pint milk sweetened to taste, and flavoured with either lemon peel, vanilla, or orange-flower water according to taste; pour the mixture into a buttered pie dish, and bake for ½ hour. If preferred with eggs, the boiled tapioca should be allowed to cool, and then 2 eggs well beaten up may be added before baking; but this kind of pudding is more wholesome, especially for children, without eggs, if made with plenty of milk.

_Tapioca Snow._--Take 3 tablespoonfuls tapioca, and put in a stewpan with a piece of butter the size of a hazel nut and 1 pint milk; let it boil until transparent. Whip 2 yolks of eggs for 10 minutes, and put into it. Turn out into a dish, then whip the whites of the eggs to a strong froth with a pinch of salt, and when they are well frothed, add 3 oz. not too finely pounded sugar. If liked, flavour the tapioca.

_Tapioca Soufflé._--Soak 1 tablespoonful tapioca in water for 2 hours, set it to boil, adding powdered loaf sugar to taste, and milk till the mixture is of the consistency of porridge; flavour it with grated lemon peel, work in when cold the yolks of 3 and the whites of 4 or 5 eggs whisked to a stiff froth; then pour quickly into a soufflé mould, and bake till it has well risen; serve immediately.

_Tipsy Puddings._--Beat up for about 10 minutes 4 eggs, freed from the speck, with 4 oz. powdered loaf sugar; then gradually incorporate with them 4 oz. finest pastry flour. Warm some dariole moulds and prepare them as follows; Put some liquefied fresh butter in the mould, turn it round in all directions so as to get it evenly buttered, pour off superfluous butter, and before it has time to cool put some glacé sugar (loaf sugar very finely sifted) into it, turn it over so as to get a coating of sugar all over, then tap the mould gently on the table so as to get rid of all the sugar that does not adhere to the butter. When all the moulds are thus prepared fill them evenly with the composition, and bake for 20-25 minutes in a slow oven. Turn out the puddings, trimming the tops if necessary. Melt 3 tablespoonfuls powdered loaf sugar in ½ tumbler old rum; dispose the puddings on a dish, and with a spoon pour the sweetened rum over each in turn. Strew some minced pistachio nuts over the top of the puddings, placing a preserved cherry on each, and serve cold.

_Treacle Pie._--Line a pie dish with thin paste, cover with treacle as for roly-poly pudding, and continue alternate layers of paste and treacle till the dish is full, finishing with paste; bake in a moderate oven.

_Treacle Pudding._-½ lb. flour, 1 oz. suet (finely chopped), ¼ lb. treacle, pinch salt, 1 teaspoonful ginger, 1 teaspoonful baking powder. Mix, cover with greased paper, and steam 3 hours, taking care that it never stops cooking. The baking powder is home made. The pudding should be like sponge cake.

_Trifle._--Place in a glass dish a layer of macaroons and ratafias, moisten them with 1 glass sherry and ½ glass brandy; put a layer of apricot jam or quince jelly over this. Make a plain custard, and when cold pour it over the jam or jelly. Take 1½ pint rich cream, ¼ lb. sifted sugar, the juice of 1 lemon, the grated peel of ½ lemon, 2 tablespoonfuls noyeau, and 1 of white wine; whisk the whole well together, and as the froth rises lay it on a sieve in a cool place. Cover the custard with the whipped cream. Ornament with crystallized fruit and strips of angelica.

_Tutti Fruiti._--Soak 4 penny sponge cakes in 1 wineglassful orange or raisin wine, and put over them a layer of jam. Make a custard with the yolks of 3 eggs, and pour over the whole. Make a stiff whip of the whites, and arrange this over the custard. Scatter all over the top two pennyworth of hundreds-and-thousands, and arrange some very thin strips of candied peel in a pattern on the top of the whip, and serve.

_Vanilla Cream._--Boil a stick of vanilla in 1½ pint milk, with sugar to taste. Beat up the yolks of 8 eggs, pour the flavoured milk on them, and keep on stirring in a bain-marie until the custard thickens. Melt 9 sheets best French gelatine in a little milk, add this to the custard. Whisk to a froth ½ pint cream, mix quickly with the custard, put into a mould, place it in a cold place or on ice to set, and at the time of serving dip the mould in hot water, and turn out the cream.

_Vanilla Soufflé._--Put into a saucepan a piece of fresh butter the size of a walnut, 1 large tablespoonful flour, a small pinch of salt, and stir in gradually ½ pint milk; add powdered loaf sugar to taste, and stir on the fire till the mixture thickens and boils. When nearly cold work into it the yolks of 4 eggs, and as much vanilla essence as will flavour it strongly, and then, quickly and thoroughly, the whites of 6 eggs whisked to a stiff froth; pour the mixture into a tin large enough to allow room for rising, strew a little finely powdered sugar over it, and place the tin at once into a quick oven. It will take 15-20 minutes to cook, and as soon as the soufflé has well risen, and the top has taken a good colour, it is ready, and must be served immediately in the tin, a little finely powdered sugar being sprinkled on the top.

_Venus Pudding._--Take a quart mould, butter it well, and ornament it with candied ginger; make a rich custard with the yolks of 12 and the whites of 6 eggs, 1 pint cream, and loaf sugar to taste, then dissolve 1 oz. isinglass in sufficient milk to fill up the mould; when cold add a glass of rum or sherry; pour the mixture into the mould, and place it on ice to set. Before adding the isinglass put aside a little of the custard for sauce, add some ginger syrup to this, and serve cold with the pudding.

_Victoria Pudding._--This requires care in its preparation, and should be made the day before it is wanted. Make a custard with 4 eggs, 1 pint milk, and ¾ oz. isinglass, flavouring it with vanilla and brandy. The vanilla should be cut into small pieces, tied up in a muslin bag, and boiled in the milk; the brandy should be added when cold; a very small quantity of the latter is sufficient. Let the custard get quite cold, when it will become thick and lumpy. Dip a jelly-mould into cold water, and with a spoon arrange the custard in the design at the bottom of the mould, carefully filling all the holes. Slice some penny sponge cakes in halves, dip them in sherry or Marsala, and then place them in layers in the centre of the mould, with preserves (either strawberry or raspberry) between each layer, filling up in the meanwhile the space between the cake and the mould with custard, so that when turned out the custard appears as a crust around it. It should remain in the mould for at least 12 hours to stiffen. Turn it out on a dish and garnish with strawberry jelly.

_Waffles._--1 qt. sour milk, 4 eggs, 3 oz. butter, ½ teaspoonful salt, 2 teaspoonfuls soda, flour enough to make a thick batter. Bake and serve hot.

_Wigs._--Take ¼ peck of fine flour, ½ lb. butter rubbed in fine, ½ lb. sugar, ½ nutmeg, ½ race of ginger, 3 eggs, beat well, and put to ½ pint yeast and 3 spoonfuls sack; make a hole in the flour, and pour in, with as much milk just warm as will make it into a light paste. Let it stand before the fire, to rise, ½ hour; then make it into 1½ doz. wigs, brush them over with egg, and put into the oven. Bake ½ hour in a quick oven.

_Wine Jelly._--2 oz. gelatine, ¾ lb. loaf sugar, 3 lemons, ½ pint sherry, 1 wineglassful brandy, whites of 4 eggs, 1½ pint water. Put the water, gelatine, sugar, and the rinds of the lemons, peeled very thinly, into a pan. Stir till the gelatine and sugar have dissolved, and boil; then add the strained lemon juice, wine, and the whites of eggs, whipped with a little cold water. Bring slowly to the boil, and throw in a little cold water 3 times to check the boiling and throw off the scum. Allow to simmer ¼ hour, then strain through a cloth or jelly bag (which has been rinsed out in hot water) 2 or 3 times until clear, then add brandy. When the jelly is beginning to set, pour into a wet mould.

_Wine Roll._--Soak a penny roll in raisin wine till it has quite absorbed all the liquid. Sprinkle it thickly with “hundreds-and-thousands,” and pour round it a rich custard. Jam may be previously spread over the roll (before soaking) if liked.

_Winter Cream._-½ oz. gelatine, 1 pint new milk, 1 pint cream, 2 yolks eggs, ½ pot apricots, ½ pot strawberry jam (pound pots), juice of 1 lemon, a few drops of ratafia essence, a few drops of cochineal. Soak the gelatine in a little of the milk; when it has absorbed the milk, put it into a clean copper stewpan with the rest of the milk and the cream; set on the fire, keeping it stirred with a wooden spoon; when it is nearly boiling stir into it the well-beaten yolks of 2 eggs, but be sure it does not boil, or the cream will be curdled. Now take from the fire and pour into a large basin; mix with it thoroughly the jam, which has been rubbed through a hair sieve, adding the ratafia and the lemon juice, also a little cochineal to give it a brighter colour. When the cream begins to set, whisk it a few minutes, and put into a mould, and set away in a cool place. In a few hours it will be ready to serve. (E. A. Robbins.)

_Yorkshire Pudding._--5 tablespoonfuls flour, pinch of salt, 1 pint new milk, 2 eggs. Put flour and salt into a bowl, add slowly the milk to make a smooth batter, then add the eggs, previously well beaten. Fat should be put into the tin and allowed to come to boil, the batter is then to be poured in and baked 20 minutes in a hot oven. Can be finished under the joint if desired.

=Confectionery.=--The following recipes comprise the few kinds which are adopted for home manufacture.

_Almond Hardbake._--Mix 1½ lb. moist sugar with ¾ pint water, put the mixture into an earthenware pipkin, and let it boil until it is brittle. Blanch 2½ oz. sweet almonds, split them in halves lengthwise through the broadest part of the almond, and add them and 3 oz. butter to the boiled sugar; let it continue to boil until it hardens. Try by letting a little bit of the hardbake fall into cold water; if it hardens immediately, it is done. Oil a flat dish, and pour the hardbake on it to set.

_Barley Sugar._--Dissolve and boil 1½ lb. loaf sugar in ½ pint water and the white of ½ egg; when it is at candy height, add a teaspoonful of strained lemon juice, and boil it quickly till it recovers its former state; pour it over a marble slab, and when it becomes stiff cut it in strips and twist it.

_Chestnuts, Candied._--Remove the outer skin from some large chestnuts, rejecting any one of them which is not perfectly sound; throw them into a tinned pan full of boiling water, and let them boil just long enough to allow of the second skin being removed. Having done this, put them into another similar pan full of boiling water, and as soon as they are done (they should be tender, but rather underdone) drain the water from them, and put them into a basin full of lukewarm water, with the juice of 1 or 2 lemons squeezed in it. When the water is perfectly cold take out the chestnuts very carefully, and dry them; put them into a basin, and cover them with clarified sugar boiling hot, prepared as follows: Take 6 lb. pounded sugar and put it into a sugar boiler--an untinned copper vessel--with 1 qt. water. Beat up the whites of 3 eggs with 1 pint water, and add this to the rest. Set the pan on the fire, and keep stirring the sugar; when it rises add a little cold water, and repeat this every time the sugar rises until 1 pint water has been so expended, and by that time the sugar will no longer rise, and a dark scum will have gathered on the top. Remove the scum carefully, and strain the syrup through a wetted napkin. Put the syrup back into the boiler--having previously scoured it quite clean--and boil until on taking some between thumb and finger and drawing them apart the sugar will form a thread. The next day put the chestnuts with the syrup into the sugar boiler, and let them boil for 5 minutes, then put them by in the syrup to remain another day. The third day strain off the syrup, boil it till on being raised on the skimmer, and blown through it will form into bubbles; pour this over the chestnuts. On the following day prepare some syrup as above, and boil it till a small modicum dropped into cold water will harden, and can be made into a ball; drain the chestnuts from the former syrup, dip them carefully one by one in the fresh syrup, and put them on a wire sieve in a warm place to dry. When dry they are ready.

_Chocolate Creams._--(_a_) Mix 2 oz. Bermuda arrowroot smoothly with 1½ gill cold water; add 12 oz. pulverised sugar, and boil rapidly 8-10 minutes, stirring continually. Remove it from the fire, and stir till a little cool; flavour with vanilla or rose; continue stirring till it creams, then roll into little balls. Melt some chocolate over steam (add no water), and when the cream balls are cold roll them in it one by one, and lay on a buttered slab to cool. The creams may be varied by dividing the cream into 3 parts, adding grated coconut to one, chopped almonds to another, and pistachios to the third.

(_b_) Grate 8 oz. vanilla chocolate; put into a stewpan, with 8 oz. sugar, 8 yolks of eggs, 1 pint cream. Stir the whole over the fire until the preparation begins to thicken, allowing the yolks to sufficiently set without curdling; strain the cream through a clean napkin, placed over a fine hair sieve, then pass it again through a tammy cloth with pressure into a basin, then clarify 1 oz. best cut isinglass, or gelatine; mix the whole well together, and pour it into a mould embedded in rough ice.

(_c_) Put 1 lb. loaf sugar in a stewpan; pour upon it as much milk or thin cream as the sugar will absorb. Dissolve it over the fire, and boil slowly until it will candy when dropped into cold water. Neither stir it, nor allow it to stick to the pan; take it off and stir it until you can cream it with a spoon. Add a tablespoonful of extract of vanilla, and beat it till cool enough to handle. Then fashion it into balls the size of a filbert; lay these aside on buttered paper. Put ½ lb. unsweetened pure chocolate in a tin plate over a kettle of boiling water, and when it is dissolved dip the bonbons into it and lay them out on buttered paper to cool. If the sugar grains like sand instead of creaming, it has been boiled too long, and it will be necessary to begin anew with other sugar.

_Coconut Candy._--Place in an earthen pipkin 1 lb. best loaf sugar cut as for table, with a breakfastcupful of cold spring water. Let it remain until the sugar is dissolved, and then set it on a clear fire to boil for about 5 minutes, or rather more. As the scum rises carefully skim it away until the sugar looks quite white and thick, and then stir into it ¼ lb. grated coconut, taking care that it is a nice fresh one. Again set it on the fire, and with a wooden spoon stir it continuously until it rises quite up in the pipkin, then at once spread it out on well-dried sheets of writing-paper, which should be warmed before the fire before putting the coconut upon them; the paste should be rather more than ½ in. thick. Let it remain in this way until nearly but not quite cold, when the paper must be removed, and it can then be cut up into small squares. Let it get thoroughly dry before storing it in tin boxes for use. It is an improvement to give it a slightly pink colour by adding a few drops of cochineal to the sugar just before putting in the coconut. Some people grate this, and spread it out to dry for a day or two before it is used for candy.

_Marzipan._--(_a_) ½ lb. almonds, ¾ lb. sugar, the white of an egg, and the juice of half a lemon. The whole to be well pounded together till it acquires the consistency of a soft dough.

(_b_) Blanch, and then pound very fine 1 lb. sweet and a few bitter almonds, adding a few spoonfuls of rosewater; put the almond paste in a stewpan with 1 lb. powdered sugar, and stir over the fire till a smooth paste is obtained, which will not stick to the finger when touched. Turn it out on to a pasteboard well strewn with powdered sugar; roll out the paste, divide it into cakes of any shape you like, and put them on sheets of paper on the baking sheet well sprinkled with sugar; bake in a slow oven until of a pale yellow colour.

_Popcorn Candy._--Put into an iron kettle 1 tablespoonful butter, 3 tablespoonfuls water, and 1 cup white sugar; boil until ready to candy, then throw in 3 qt. nicely popped corn; stir vigorously until the sugar is evenly distributed over the corn; take the kettle from the fire, and stir until it cools a little, and in this way you may have each kernel separate and all coated with the sugar. Of course, it must have your undivided attention from the first to prevent scorching. Almonds, walnuts, or, in fact, any nuts are delicious prepared in this way.

_Toffee._--(_a_) Take 1 breakfastcupful rich cream (if slightly sour it would be just as good, or better), 1 breakfastcupful pounded white sugar, pour the above into a very clean copper saucepan, and boil slowly over a clear but not too hot fire. The mixture will first become quite liquid, and will afterwards gradually thicken; when almost done pour in 1 dessertspoonful essence of vanilla and 1 of whisky. When the mixture becomes very frothy, and leaves the sides of the pan clean, pour it out as quickly as possible on to a flat buttered dish. It should set at once, cut it into squares; before it is cold it should be quite smooth, and of a creamy white; it should be “short,” without being at all crisp or crumbly. The only difficulty is to know the exact moment to take it off the fire. This can only be learned by practice.

(_b_) Put 3 oz. butter into a brass preserving pan, and, as soon as it is melted, add 1 lb. brown sugar. Keep these stirred gently over a moderate fire for 15 minutes, or until a little of it, dropped into cold water, breaks clean between the teeth without sticking to them. When it is boiled to this point it must be poured out immediately, or it will burn. The grated rind of a lemon, or a small teaspoonful of powdered ginger added when half done, very much improves the taste.

(_c_) 1 lb. treacle or golden syrup, 1 lb. moist whity-brown or Demerara (this is best) sugar, ½ lb. fresh butter. Mix the treacle and sugar well together in a large china-lined saucepan, and add the butter broken into small pieces. Place the saucepan on a clear fire, and stir slowly until all be incorporated. After this stop stirring, or the toffee will “sugar”; boil about ½ hour, and be careful not to let it burn. The juice of ½ lemon added is a great improvement. Have a buttered tin ready to pour the toffee on, and when nearly done put a little into cold water to taste if it be done enough.

(_d_) Put ¼ lb. butter into a saucepan over a clear fire, and when it is melted add to it 1 lb. brown sugar; boil for 15 minutes. Have ready some almonds (1½ oz.) blanched and halved, and a little very finely grated lemon peel. Add these to the mixture, boil and stir until when dropped into cold water it hardens directly; then immediately pour it on to well-buttered dishes or on to marble slabs. The almonds may be added after the toffee is put on to the dishes. Also, ½ lb. treacle and ½ lb. sugar may be substituted for the 1 lb. sugar. When nearly cold, it should be marked with the back of a knife.

_Rahat Lukum._--Make a syrup with 3 lb. best sugar and 3 pints water; clear it with the whites of 3 eggs and the juice of a lemon. Dissolve 6 oz. purest wheat starch in ¾ pint cold water, strain it, and add it to the clear syrup when it is boiling; reduce the whole by boiling to ⅔. It should be very thick and stringy. Flavour the paste with attar of roses or any sweet essence. Have ready a large dish well covered with almond oil; empty the paste on the dish when it is cool, spread it about 1 in. thick, then have ready another dish covered with finely-powdered sugar, and when the paste is quite cold turn it over very carefully upon the sugared dish. Absorb the oil with silver paper or blotting paper; cut the paste into pieces 2-3 in. square; powder them with sugar, and keep them very dry. A finer rahat is made with rose or cherry syrup, with blanched almonds stirred in before the paste thickens. This recipe was obtained at Athens from a Sciote lady. The ladies of Scios are considered the most skilful confectioners in the Levant.

=Ices.=--The following general remarks on ices are condensed from a series of papers on the subject by Mary Hooper, in the _Queen_.

Freezing-powders.--Ice, in combination with salt, is the best material for making ices; but when travelling, or in remote districts where ice is difficult to procure, freezing powders are of the greatest service, and those of the best makers are perfectly satisfactory in their action. Indeed, there is no doubt freezing powders would be more largely used than they are at present, were it not that they are more expensive than ice. For cooling water and other liquids, and for refrigerating food in the sick chamber, where it is sometimes impossible either to keep or manage ice for this purpose, freezing powders are invaluable. They are useful also when a very rapid and strong freezing mixture is required, being used instead of salt with the ice. It is desirable in choosing a freezing machine to ascertain if it is as well adapted for the use of powders as of ice, as some of them lined with metal would be corroded by the action of the former.

Keeping and Choosing Ice.--It is often necessary--in cases of sickness, for instance, in the houses of the poor--to keep a small quantity of ice without a refrigerator. This is best done by wrapping the ice first in paper--newspaper answers as well as any other--and then covering it up in woollen or other cloths; place the ice thus wrapped as much as possible out of draughts. Each time the ice is opened, dry paper should be supplied; the sheets will last for some time, and can be dried as often as desired. There is a great difference in the quality of ice. Rough English ice, from being frozen at a low temperature, is brittle, and melts rapidly; and that taken from ponds is utterly unfit for drinking purposes, for there is abundant proof that the poisonous properties of such water, and the living organisms it contains, are not destroyed by its having been frozen. Much of the foreign ice sold in this country as Wenham Lake, is uncleanly, and a necessary rule to observe in the choice of ice for the table is that it is perfectly clear and crystal-like, and of a smooth and shining surface. In all cases, after being broken up, ice should be rinsed before being sent to the table. A proper awl for breaking ice into small pieces costs but a few pence, and should always be kept at hand; otherwise, to their great injury, forks and knives, with a hammer, and other unsuitable implements, are substituted. When not in use, the point of the awl should be stuck into a cork, both to prevent its being broken or causing injury to inadvertent people.

Freezing-machines.--The only way to avoid failure in the domestic manufacture of ices is to have one of the small patented machines, which, besides being certain in action, require but 3-4 lb. ice to freeze as many quarts of ices.

The principle which guides all freezing operations is--first, to have the vessel which contains the material to be frozen embedded in the freezing mixture, ice and salt, and then so rapidly and skilfully to rotate it that ice soon begins to be made at the sides. This is then scraped to the middle, and the whole thoroughly mixed, so as to ensure an equal freezing throughout the mass. This process is continued until a satisfactory result is obtained, when the ices will be left in the freezing mixture to harden and ripen. The cost of the necessary apparatus--namely, a pail, which should have a hole, stopped with a cork, near the bottom, in order that water may be drawn off as the ice melts, a pewter freezing pot, and spatula--for freezing in the primitive manner, will be at least equal to that of a patent machine for making ices. There are a large number of these competing for public favour, each one possessing some special feature of merit. In the choice of such a machine it should be ascertained that it is simple in action, not liable to get out of order, of good seasoned wood and the best workmanship, and that ices are made in it rapidly, and with but a small quantity of freezing material. The tendency in most perpendicular machines is to freeze too hard at the bottom and too lightly at the top. This defect is remedied by the Patent Horizontal Revolving Freezer (Kent, 199 High Holborn), and the arrangement by which the ices are turned from the sides of the freezing pot to the middle is perfectly satisfactory. In one of these small freezers so small a quantity as 1 pint to 3 qt. can be frozen with 3 lb. ice in as many minutes. The tubs being closed at the end, and perfectly air-tight, prevents the waste of ice by the action of the atmosphere, and thus secures a uniformity and intensity of cold within the freezer, tending to produce very perfect, light, and smooth ices.

For whatever method ice is required for freezing, it is necessary both that it should be broken small, that is in pieces about the size of small walnuts, and be thoroughly mixed with the salt. The easiest way of breaking ice is to put it in a sack and crush it with a wooden mallet. This done, well rolled salt of strong good quality should be mixed with the ice, in the proportion of 1 lb. salt to 2-3 lb. ice. It is safe to say that nearly all the failures in making ices result from the neglect of these simple directions.

The expense of a thermometer for taking the temperature of ices, and a saccharometer for ascertaining the correct amount of sweetness in ices, is but small, and they are real helps to inexperienced confectioners. For instance, if there is any doubt about the ices being sufficiently frozen, if the thermometer registers less than 22°F. you will be sure that the ices will not melt too rapidly on being served. Even in the hottest weather, a well-made ice will not dissolve as soon as taken from the freezer.

As it is only for a short period in the year that the favourite fruits for flavouring ices can be had fresh, it is necessary to make of them syrups or preserves. To make strawberry and the like preserves without sugar is somewhat difficult in domestic practice, though, if the niceties of the process are observed, failure ought not to follow.

Dessert ices are now served in many beautiful forms, to represent flowers, fruit, vegetables, and other tasteful objects. For these special moulds are provided, into which the ices, having been made as before described, are pressed. After being left embedded in ice for more than an hour, the moulds are dipped in lukewarm water to facilitate turning out, and, having been carefully wiped to free them from salt, the moulds are opened, the ices placed on a suitable dish, and they are then rapidly painted with carefully prepared vegetable colours, as the nature of the case may require. These ornamental ices must have considerable care, but any person with ordinary skill, and able to give time and attention to detail, may manage them.

In colouring ices before freezing with a pink tinge, it is desirable to avoid cochineal, as it is prepared with a strong acid, which, in coming in contact with the pewter, is apt to turn the cream of a violet shade. Breton’s vegetable colourings, to be had at Italian warehouses, are as pure and good as any which can be made at home, and the vegetable carmine is free from the acid of cochineal. In families where ices are in constant request it is desirable to have simple syrup--that is, sugar boiled to the requisite strength--always ready prepared. The most useful quality of syrup is that registering 30°-36° on the saccharometer. The preparation of this is easy, nevertheless it requires care.

Simple Syrup.--Put 2 lb. finest lump sugar into a copper pan with 1 qt. cold water; stir occasionally until the sugar is dissolved; let it come to the boil, and take off any scum as it rises. Draw the pan to the side of the fire, and let the syrup boil gently until it registers 30°-36°. If the sugar is boiled too fast, it will cause trouble to an inexperienced operator, as it will candy. Should this happen, more water must be added to the sugar, and boiling go on again until the syrup attains the requisite strength. If a small quantity of syrup is made, it must be tested by the saccharometer in a deep mug or jug, as in the boiling pan there will not be depth of liquid for the instrument. If no saccharometer is at hand, an approximate idea of the strength of the syrup can be obtained by letting a drop fall into a glass of cold water; if it retains its shape, the syrup will answer your purpose. If fine lump sugar is used, the syrup, when done as directed, will be perfectly bright, with a slight yellow tinge, and as thick as new honey; no other process of clarification will be needed. This syrup is exceedingly useful for many purposes, and will keep for any length of time.

_Brown Bread Ice._--(_a_) Make a custard of eggs and milk, flavoured with vanilla. Cut up some brown bread into dice, dry it in the oven, and put it hot into the cold custard; freeze; pour iced custard round it in the dish in which it is to be served.

(_b_) To 6 yolks of eggs, well beaten, add gradually 1 pint boiling milk, with ½ lb. sugar boiled in it. Pour this on to some very fine crumbs of brown loaf; beat all together; add ¼ pint cream.

_Cake, Iced._--(_a_) Mix thoroughly ½ lb. flour, ½ lb. ground rice, ½ lb. currants, ¼ lb. sugar, 5 oz. mace and cloves, some mixed peel, a few bitter almonds pounded, some sweet almonds split, 1 teaspoonful carbonate of soda, melt ½ lb. fresh butter in ¾ pint warm milk, add the yolks and whites of 4 eggs beaten separately; pour this by degrees on to the dry ingredients, add a glass of brandy, beat it well; put into a buttered mould, and bake.

(_b_) Beat up the whites of 2 eggs; then add ½ lb. castor sugar and the juice of a lemon or a few drops of orange-flower water. Beat the mixture until it hangs upon the fork in flakes, then spread over the cake, dipping the knife in cold water occasionally. Stand it before the fire, and keep turning the cake constantly, or the sugar will catch and turn brown. As soon as it begins to harden it may be removed. The icing must not be put on until the cake itself is cold, otherwise it will not set. A few drops of cochineal will colour it if desired.

_Cherry Water Ice._--Take out the stones of the cherries, pound them in a mortar in order to get the flavour, and then pass them through a sieve with the fruit. Add syrup, and freeze as strawberry water ice. The flavour of the kernel should come out well in cherry ices, a few drops of home-made extract of almonds (bitter almonds infused in spirit) is therefore an improvement. If the cherries do not give sufficient sharpness, add a little lemon juice.

_Chocolate Ice Cream._--Mix 2 teaspoonfuls Van Houten’s cocoa in a gill of cold milk, stir it into 1 pint cream or custard, add vanilla flavour, and sweeten. Scraped and sifted chocolate, so as to bring it to a fine powder, can be used; but the cocoa named is on all accounts best for this cream.

_Chocolate Icing._--Put into a saucepan ½ lb. powdered loaf sugar, 2 oz. grated chocolate, and about 1 gill water; stir on the fire until the mixture assumes the consistence of a thick, smooth cream. Lay the icing evenly on the cake or pastry, with a palette knife, and put it into the oven for a minute or two to set the icing.

_Coconut Ice._--Put on in a brass or copper pan 4 lb. loaf sugar, with 2 pints of cold water, stir till it comes to the boil, by which time the sugar should be quite dissolved, let it boil to candy light, and draw it to the side. Have a large coconut pared and grated, mix together with the milk, add ¾ of it to the sugar, and stir till it begins to candy. Have a sheet of paper greased and laid upon a stone slab; on it place 4 iron rods so as to form a square, into which pour the tablet. Repeat the above process with 2 lb. sugar and 1 pint cold water, adding a little cochineal to colour it, and the remainder of the grated coconut; when ready, pour it over the first sheet of tablet, which will be set by the time you have done the second; when quite cold, turn it over, draw off the paper, and cut it in stripes 3-4 in. long.

_Coffee Ice Cream._--Make a custard, without any flavour, of 1 pint cream and 4 yolks of eggs. Put into this ¼ lb. freshly-roasted mocha coffee berries; they should, if possible, be used hot. Cover up the stewpan closely with its lid, putting a napkin over to keep in the steam. Let the custard stand for an hour, strain and sweeten, and when cold put it into the freezing pot. Cream thus prepared will not take the colour of the coffee, and when carefully made is very delicate and delicious. Coffee ice cream is also made with a strong infusion of coffee, or Branson’s extract of coffee can be used. To make the infusion, put 2 oz. ground coffee into a French cafetière, and pour over it 1 gill fast-boiling water. When the infusion has all run through boil it up, and pour it over 2 oz. more coffee. Put the infusion thus obtained to 1 pint sweetened cream or custard and freeze.

_Ginger Ice Cream._--Make a custard of 1 pint cream and 4 eggs put to it. Cut up in small pieces 2 oz. preserved ginger, add sufficient ground ginger to flavour well, and syrup or sugar to taste. Stir occasionally until cold, and put it into the freezing pot. Care should be taken to use fresh and good ground ginger, as otherwise it is apt to impart a mouldy kind of flavour.

_Lemon Water Ice._--Wash the lemons in cold water in order to ensure cleanliness. Take a few lumps of sugar, and rub them over the peel until you have enough to flavour the ices; probably 2 fine lemons will be sufficient. Put this lemon sugar into 1 qt. cold filtered water, and let it stand 10 minutes, or while the lemons are squeezed. About ½ pint juice is usually needed, with sufficient syrup to register 24° by the saccharometer. Having strained the juice and water flavoured with the lemon sugar, add the syrup, and strain into the freezing pot. When the ices register 22° F., press well down in the pot, and leave them in the freezing mixture for an hour. A little Nelson’s gelatine is useful to give richness and body to water ices; but care must be taken not to use more than the quantity named. Soak and dissolve in boiling water ¼ oz. Nelson’s gelatine, add it to the quart of water to be used for the ices, thoroughly mix it with the other materials, and afterwards strain them.

_Pineapple Ice Cream._--Press the juice from a fine ripe pineapple, add that of a lemon, with syrup or pounded sugar to give the required sweetness. Mix with an equal quantity of rich cream, and strain into the freezing pot. Or, make a custard as follows: boil 1 pint milk, pour it whilst boiling on the yolks of 6 eggs; stir rapidly over the fire until it thickens, taking care not to curdle it. With a little experience a perfect custard may be thickened in this way in less than 7 minutes, a much longer time being required if the milk is not boiled. When cold, add pineapple pulp made as follows: Boil 1 lb. pineapple sliced and peeled, in 1 gill water for 10 minutes, pound the fruit and rub it through a sieve, add syrup or sugar to taste. When cold mix with the custard, and strain into the freezing pot. Lemon juice can be added if necessary.

_Strawberry Ice Cream._--Pick and press through a coarse sieve fine ripe strawberries to make as much juice as you require, then strain through a coarse sieve, and mix with it fine powdered sugar in the proportion of ¼ lb. to each ½ pint of juice. Stir into each ½ pint of the sweetened juice 1½ pint rich cream, and a few drops of pink colouring. Mix all well together and strain into the freezing pot. As the flavour of strawberries varies in different seasons, and they are more acid at one time than another, some judgment in the use of sugar is necessary, and sufficient of it should always be used to bring out the flavour of the fruit. Sometimes it will happen, after freezing has begun, that a little more sweetness is desirable. This is best given by adding a little plain syrup, taking care to mix it well in; for the perfection of ices depends in a great measure on all the materials being well incorporated. For this reason the direction is given to strain into the freezing pot after all is stirred together.

The product from 2 qt. cream, made as above, should be 3-3½ qt. firm ice cream of the highest quality. It is probable, however, that by some machines and the ordinary ice pail so good a result would not be obtained. The horizontal freezer will yield the given quality.

When the fresh fruit juice cannot be procured, preserved juice or preserved strawberries must be substituted. Of these the first is the best; but when there is not a fairly suitable apparatus, or other conditions are unfavourable for its domestic manufacture, it will be best to purchase it. In this case it should be borne in mind that a preparation of the fresh juice is necessarily somewhat expensive, and that a cheap article is generally flavoured with some unwholesome chemical imitation of the true flavour.

_Vanilla Ice Cream._--This favourite ice is easily made. It is needlessly expensive to use the vanilla pod itself. To flavour 1 pint custard a whole pod would have to be boiled in the milk. But, as the bright essence is often wanting in delicacy, and is not unfrequently merely an imitation of vanilla made from deleterious material, it is desirable to have a home-made extract. To make it, cut the pods into very small pieces, put them into a small bottle with 1 tablespoonful brandy to each pod; let them stand for a week or longer, shaking occasionally. Drain the extract into another bottle, and keep well corked. The flavour of the vanilla pod itself will not have been exhausted by taking the extract, and, if boiled in milk, will flavour puddings, creams, custards, &c. Vanilla sugar is made by putting the pods into a closed jar of fine sifted sugar, and allowing them to remain in it for a week or longer. Afterwards the extract can be made. There is a great difference in the quality of vanilla, and when it is deficient in flavour, it has without doubt been deprived of aroma by some such process as that of making vanilla sugar. Vanilla ices require a good custard, made of cream with 4 eggs to the pint, and to be well sweetened. Vanilla extract must be used with reference to its strength, and the flavour of it should be kept delicate. Should it be preferred to use the pod itself for flavouring, it is usual to strain the milk or cream in which it has been boiled in a strainer, coarse enough to allow the seeds to pass through, and thus a distinctive character is given to the ices. Water ices are occasionally flavoured with vanilla, but are not to be recommended. For invalids and delicate persons vanilla is useful, as it is a safe and light stimulant.

=Cheese= (Fromage).--The cookery of cheese is a much-neglected subject in this country, though deserving of study.