Beat hard until you have a soft mass. Stir into this the yolks of four
beaten eggs, a tablespoonful of melted butter and, last of all, the
stiffened whites of six eggs. Pour into a greased pudding-dish and bake
for forty minutes in a steady oven. Serve immediately with a sweet, hot
custard sauce made of the remaining yolks of the eggs.
Boiled rice with milk and egg
Wash a cupful of rice and cook in an abundance of boiling water
slightly salted until tender, but not pasty. Drain off every drop of
the water, shaking the rice in a colander. Return the cereal to the
fire in a double boiler and stir into it a quart of boiling milk, into
which three beaten eggs have been gradually whipped. Cook gently for
a few minutes, or until much of the milk has been absorbed. Eat with
sugar and cream.
Banana soufflé
Peel and chop very fine five bananas. Into a pint of whipped cream stir
five well-beaten eggs, then stir in quickly the banana pulp. Turn into
a soufflé-dish, bake in a quick oven until brown and light, and serve
immediately with sugar and cream.
Chocolate soufflé
(Contributed)
Cook together in a saucepan a tablespoonful of butter and two of flour,
and as these thicken stir into them six tablespoonfuls of sweet milk.
Beat thick and smooth, then pour upon the yolks of three eggs that have
been beaten light with two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Whip hard, adding
four tablespoonfuls of grated sweetened chocolate, until the mixture
is lukewarm; put on the ice to cool, covering it to keep a crust from
forming on top. When cold add the stiffened whites of the eggs, fold
these in lightly and bake in a quick oven. Serve at once with sweetened
whipped cream.
FRITTERS
In making fritters an essential to their success is that the fat in
which they are fried be very deep and boiling hot. Always test it
by dropping into it a small spoonful of batter. If this do not rise
quickly to the surface, swell rapidly, and acquire a light brown
hue, your fat is too cool. Let it stand over the hottest part of the
range for a few minutes and again test it. When it is at the right
temperature fry your fritters quickly, dropping in the batter by the
spoonful. When done, remove the fritters with a perforated spoon, and
lay them in a heated colander lined with brown paper. Transfer to a hot
platter covered with a folded napkin and serve at once.
Fritters à la créme
Stir a pinch of soda into a pint of milk and heat in a double boiler.
Wet two tablespoonfuls of corn-starch with cold milk, and when
dissolved turn it into the hot milk. Stir until thick; remove from the
fire, and beat into it a tablespoonful of melted butter, three beaten
eggs and a teaspoonful of vanilla. Pour into a square pan and set aside
until very cold. Cut the mixture into small triangles, dip into batter,
and fry to a golden brown. Remove the fritters very carefully from the
fat, as they are tender and break easily. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Apple fritters
Beat the yolks and whites of five eggs separately. Into the yolks stir
three generous cupfuls of sweet milk, a pinch of salt and three scant
cupfuls of flour, sifted with a teaspoonful of baking-powder. Beat
for a minute, add the stiffened whites and, when these are blended, a
cupful of peeled and thinly-sliced apples. When the fritters are done
and transferred to a hot dish, sprinkle them liberally with powdered
sugar to which a little cinnamon has been added.
Orange fritters
Make a plain fritter batter with two eggs, a cupful of milk, half a
teaspoonful of salt and sufficient flour to make a batter that will
pour from the spoon, or coat whatever fruit is put into it. Peel the
oranges and separate into sections, taking out the seeds. Dip these
sections into the batter, covering well, and slide carefully into hot
cottolene or other fat, browning, first on one side, then on the other.
They can be served with sauce, or simply dusted with powdered sugar. If
served as a dessert, use a sauce.
Apricot fritters
Peel and slice fourteen firm apricots and lay them in cold water while
you make a batter of the following ingredients: Four eggs, beaten
light, a half-pint of milk, a pinch of salt, and a heaping cupful of
flour sifted twice with a teaspoonful of baking-powder.
Remove the apricots from the water, and pat them dry between the folds
of a clean dish towel. Beat the batter hard, stir into it the fruit
and fry at once. Sprinkle with sugar while hot, and serve with a lemon
sauce. Canned apricots may be used for this purpose, every drop of
juice being removed.
Peach fritters
Peel and slice a dozen peaches, and stir them into a batter made by
beating together three whipped eggs, a cupful of rich milk, a pinch of
salt and a cupful of prepared flour. Drop this mixture by the spoonful
into deep, boiling fat. When the fritters are of a golden-brown color,
drain in a colander and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve very hot.
Rhubarb fritters
Scrape the stalks of the rhubarb, cut into quarter-inch lengths; stew
in sugar and water for ten minutes; drain and set aside to get cold.
Make a batter of a half-pint of milk, three eggs, beaten light, and a
cupful of prepared flour. Beat hard and stir into this batter a cupful
of the rhubarb. Drop by the spoonful into deep, boiling cottolene or
other fat, and fry to a bright brown. Serve with lemon sauce.
Banana fritters (No. 1)
Whip three eggs very light and beat into them a cupful of milk
and a cupful of flour that has been sifted with a teaspoonful of
baking-powder and a saltspoonful of salt. Cut six bananas into small
bits, stir these into the batter, and drop by the spoonful into deep,
boiling cottolene or other fat. When golden brown, drain in a colander
lined with tissue-paper. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve hot.
Banana fritters (No. 2)
Peel and cut bananas lengthwise into thick slices. Squeeze over them a
few drops of lemon juice, then turn over and squeeze juice on the under
side. Dry between soft cloths, and dip into fritter batter, coating
each slice thoroughly. Fry in deep, boiling cottolene or other fat to a
light brown.
Swiss fritters
Slice stale bread nearly an inch thick, cut round with a cake-cutter,
and fry quickly in deep hot cottolene or other fat. Drop each round, as
soon as done, into boiling water for one second, to remove superfluous
grease. Spread the fritters, as fast as they are fried and dipped,
with powdered sugar, wet up with lemon juice. Cover and keep hot until
needed.
Almond roulettes
Make a paste of twenty-five blanched and chopped almonds, a pint of
fine bread-crumbs, a teaspoonful of extract of bitter almonds, the
whipped whites of two eggs and a heaping teaspoonful of cornstarch.
Form into balls, and set these in the ice-box for an hour. Make a
batter of a cupful of lukewarm water, a pinch of salt, the frothed
white of an egg, and a cupful of prepared flour. Take the balls of
nut-paste from the ice-chest, dip each ball in the batter, rolling it
about until thoroughly coated, and fry in boiling butter. Serve with a
cream sauce.
Sweet potato fritters
Boil, skin, and dry in an open oven. Mash while warm, and rub through
a colander, or a vegetable press. Stir into a pint of potatoes a
cupful of milk, a tablespoonful of butter, a little salt and two
tablespoonfuls of sugar; finally, the yolks of two beaten eggs. With
floured hands shape into flat cakes, dip into the frothed whites, then
in cracker-crumbs, repeating the process. Leave upon ice two hours and
fry in deep, boiling cottolene or other fat to a golden brown.
Eat with lemon sauce.
PANCAKES AND DUMPLINGS
Risen pancakes
Make a sponge of a quart of flour, a half-cake of compressed yeast
dissolved in a little water, and a teaspoonful of salt. Set to rise
all night; in the morning beat in three well-whipped eggs and a
tablespoonful of melted butter. Bake on a soapstone griddle.
Jersey pancakes
Four heaping tablespoonfuls of flour, mixed with sufficient milk
to make a good batter. Add the beaten yolks of four eggs, and salt
to taste; lastly, add the well-beaten whites of the eggs. Melt a
tablespoonful of butter in a frying-pan, pour in batter until the
bottom of the pan is thinly covered. Bake brown on both sides. When
done, fold like an omelet, strewing sugar seasoned with powdered
cinnamon between the folds.
Italian pancakes
Make a batter of a cupful of milk, three eggs beaten light, a
saltspoonful of salt, two teaspoonfuls of salad oil, two teaspoonfuls
of sugar and a half cupful of white flour. Beat hard and set aside for
an hour. Put a little butter in a frying-pan, and when very hot pour in
enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan. When brown on one side,
turn and brown on the other. Spread with jelly; roll and sprinkle with
powdered sugar.
Jelly pancakes
Make a batter of five beaten eggs, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter,
three cupfuls of milk, and _about_ a quart of prepared flour. Mix well
and fry in a large frying-pan in which a little butter has been melted.
The batter should cover the entire bottom of the pan. When brown on
one side, turn. When done, spread with fruit jelly, and roll up as you
would a sheet of music. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and send at once
to the table.
Cherry dumplings
Into a pint of prepared flour chop a heaping tablespoonful of butter,
stir in a cupful of milk and work into a dough. Roll into a sheet, and
cut into squares about four inches across. In the center of each square
put a great spoonful of stoned and sugared cherries, pinch the four
corners of the pastry together in the middle over the cherries and lay
the dumplings, joined sides down, in a floured baking-pan. Bake and eat
hot with a hard sauce.
Raspberry dumplings
Make a dough of a quart of flour sifted with a half teaspoonful of salt
and two teaspoonfuls of baking-powder, two tablespoonfuls of butter
chopped into bits, and a pint of milk.
Roll this dough out and cut into pieces about five inches square. In
the middle of each of these squares put a heaping tablespoonful of
black raspberries, sprinkle liberally with sugar, and turn over upon
them the four corners of the dough square, pinching them together in
the middle. Put in the oven and bake for half an hour.
Apple dumplings
Sift an even quart of flour twice with one and a half teaspoonfuls
of baking-powder, and half a teaspoonful of salt. Chop into this a
tablespoonful of cottolene or other fat and one of butter. Mix into
a soft dough with two cupfuls of milk; roll out into a sheet a scant
half-inch thick, and cut into squares about five inches each way. Lay
in the center of each a large tart apple, pared and cored. Fill the
space left by coring with sugar, fold the corners together, enveloping
the apple, tie up in cheese-cloth squares, dipped into hot water, and
well floured on the inside. Have ready a pot of boiling water. Drop in
the dumplings and cook fast one hour. Dip each for one second in cold
water to loosen the cloth, turn out upon a hot dish and eat with hard
sauce.
Peach dumplings
Make as you would apple dumplings, substituting for the cored apple
a stoned peach, the cavity filled with sugar, then the halves neatly
fitted together. They are very good.
Suet dumplings
Rub a cupful of white suet free from strings, and powder it fine. Rub
and chop it into two cupfuls of fine crumbs. Sift a teaspoonful of
baking-powder three times with four tablespoonfuls of flour, and work
into the crumbs and suet. Add a teaspoonful of salt. Beat three eggs
very light and stir into a cupful and a half of milk. With this wet
crumbs and flour into a rather stiff dough. Make into dumplings with
floured hands; tie up in cheese-cloth dipped in hot water and floured
on the inside, leaving plenty of room to swell, and boil one hour.
Eat with liquid sauce.
Cornmeal dumplings
Scald a quart of milk, stir in three cupfuls of Indian meal, or enough
to make a stiff dough; cook for five minutes, stirring often from the
bottom. Take from the fire; beat in one-half cupful of powdered suet
with a teaspoonful of salt, and let it get perfectly cold. Then add
three eggs beaten light with two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and, lastly,
a tablespoonful of flour sifted three times with half a teaspoonful
of baking-powder. Make out into balls the size of an egg with floured
hands, envelop in cheese-cloth squares, prepared as directed in
preceding recipes. The dumplings will double their size in boiling, so
make allowances in tying them up.
Boil one hour hard. Dip into cold water for a second, turn out and eat
with hard sauce.
Orange dumplings
Chop a tablespoonful of butter into two cupfuls of flour which
has been twice sifted with one teaspoonful of baking-powder and a
quarter-teaspoonful of salt. Mix with a cupful of milk to a soft dough,
and roll this into a sheet a half-inch thick; cut into squares; lay
in each a peeled, sliced and seeded orange, and sprinkle thickly with
sugar. Envelop in cheese-cloth squares as already directed, and proceed
as with other fruit dumplings.
SOME PUDDING SAUCES
Cream sauce
Work two tablespoonfuls of butter into a half cupful of sugar, then
the beaten yolks of two eggs and a cupful of rich cream, to which a
pinch of soda has been added. Cook altogether, stirring constantly in a
double boiler, until like thick cream and very smooth; add a generous
wineglassful of sherry, and serve. This is a delicious pudding sauce.
Chocolate sauce
Boil together a half cupful of sugar and a cupful of water for five
minutes; stir in four tablespoonfuls of chocolate dissolved in a
gill of milk, and a tablespoonful of arrowroot dissolved in four
tablespoonfuls of cold water. Boil for five minutes longer, stirring
steadily, add a teaspoonful of vanilla and a dash of cinnamon, and
serve.
Hard sauce
Work two tablespoonfuls of butter and a cupful of powdered sugar to a
white cream, then beat in the juice of a lemon and a pinch of nutmeg.
Set in a cold place until needed.
Canned fruit sauce
Heat with additional sugar, one large cupful of any kind of fruit juice
or syrup left from canning. If fresh fruit juice is used, more sugar
will be needed than for the syrup. About one-half cupful of sugar to
each cupful of juice is an average amount. Mix one teaspoonful of
cornstarch with the sugar, or wet it with the liquid if syrup is used,
also one tablespoonful of butter. Boil all together for five minutes.
Meringue sauce
Rub to a light cream one-half cupful of butter with one cupful of
powdered sugar. When light and almost snow white, add gradually two
tablespoonfuls of fruit juice or syrup, and, just before serving,
one-fourth of a cupful of boiling water, and the white of an egg beaten
to a froth.
Lemon sauce
Cook for fifteen minutes one cupful of sugar with three tablespoonfuls
of boiling water, a half teaspoonful of grated lemon peel, and the
strained juice of a lemon.
Take from the fire, and pour gradually upon the beaten yolks of three
eggs. Set in boiling water and stir until the eggs are “set,” but not
until they begin to harden.
Caramel sauce
Put a cupful of sugar into a saucepan and stir over the fire, until
melted and light brown. Add one cupful of boiling water and let it
simmer gently for ten minutes. When cool stir in a teaspoonful of
vanilla.
Jelly sauce
Put into a saucepan over the fire one cupful of boiling water, one-half
cupful of jelly, two tablespoonfuls of sugar and two tablespoonfuls of
butter. When melted stir into it a teaspoonful of cornstarch dissolved
in one-half cupful of cold water, and let it come to a boil. Keep warm
over hot water until ready to use.
Foamy sauce
To the beaten whites of two eggs add one cupful of sugar. Beat
thoroughly and add one cupful of boiling milk. When cool add one
teaspoonful of vanilla.
Maraschino sauce
Put into a saucepan three-fourths of a cupful of boiling water
and one-third of a cupful of sugar. Add one-fourth of a cupful of
Maraschino cherries cut in halves, one-half cupful of Maraschino syrup
and one-half tablespoonful of butter. When this comes to a boil, stir
in slowly two teaspoonfuls of cornstarch dissolved in a little cold
water. Boil for five minutes.
Vanilla sauce
Add one well-beaten egg to one-half pint of milk. Sweeten to taste.
Pour the mixture into a double boiler and cook over water until it
begins to thicken; take from the fire and add one teaspoonful of
vanilla. Serve hot.
Apricot sauce
(Contributed)
Rub three-fourths of a cupful of apricots through a sieve. Whip
three-fourths of a cupful of heavy cream, sweetened and flavored. When
stiff and dry, add the apricot pulp.
Plain whipped cream
(Contributed)
Add to one cupful of “double” cream, one-half cupful of powdered sugar,
and one teaspoonful of lemon or vanilla. Put in a bowl and set in a
larger bowl of cracked ice. Chill the whip, for everything must be very
cold; whip until stiff and dry, then add the beaten white of one egg.
Strawberry sauce
Boil together for ten minutes three-fourths of a cupful of sugar and
one-half cupful of water. Run through a vegetable press one pint of
strawberries, and when the syrup is cool, add the strawberry pulp and
one-half teaspoonful of vanilla.
Madeira sauce
Put one tablespoonful of butter into a saucepan. Stir into it one
tablespoonful of flour and cook for one minute; add one pint of boiling
water, stirring all the time until it boils. Next, add one-half cupful
of sugar and one tablespoonful of caramel. Let it stand over boiling
water for ten minutes and just before serving add one-fourth of a
cupful of Madeira wine.
Claret sauce
(Contributed)
Make a syrup by boiling one cupful of sugar and one-third of a cup of
water. When cold add one-third of a cupful of claret.
Brandy sauce (liquid)
Work two tablespoonfuls of butter into two cupfuls of powdered sugar,
moistening with boiling water. Beat hard for five minutes, and set
within a saucepan of water at a hard boil. Stir until scalding hot, add
a teaspoonful of cornstarch wet in cold water, cook one minute and
pour in a glass of good brandy. Take at once from the fire.
Wine sauce (liquid)
Make as just directed, but using wine in place of brandy.
COLD PUDDINGS AND CUSTARDS
Besides the ordinary baked and boiled custards, there are many
varieties which are easily prepared, and are delicious, as well as
digestible. The milk of which these are made should always have added
to it a bit of soda the size of a pea to prevent curdling. I shall not
mention this in the following recipes, as I shall take it for granted
that the precaution has been taken.
Boiled cup custards
Heat a quart of milk in a double boiler, but do not bring it quite to
the boil. Beat five eggs light and stir into them half a cupful of
sugar. On this mixture pour the scalding milk very gradually, beating
steadily all the time. Return to the double boiler, and cook, stirring
constantly, until the custard is thick enough to coat the spoon. If
boiled longer than this it will curdle and separate. Remove the custard
from the fire, season with two teaspoonfuls of vanilla and set aside to
cool. When cold, nearly fill glasses or cups with the mixture and heap
with a meringue made by whipping the whites of two eggs stiff with two
tablespoonfuls of sugar.
Baked custard
Proceed exactly as in the preceding recipe until you have poured the
hot milk on the sugar and eggs. At this point flavor the mixture with
two teaspoonfuls of vanilla, and turn it into a pudding-dish. Grate
nutmeg over the top of the custard, set the pudding-dish in an outer
pan of boiling water, and bake in a moderate oven. When the custard is
firm it is done.
Boiled chocolate custards
(Contributed)
Scald a quart of milk in a double boiler, and stir into it a bit of
soda the size of a pea. Beat five eggs light with a half cupful of
powdered sugar, and whip into them five tablespoonfuls of grated
chocolate. Pour the scalding milk upon this mixture, return it to
the fire in a double boiler, and cook, stirring constantly until it
thickens and coats the spoon. Remove from the fire and flavor with a
teaspoonful of vanilla. When cold, pour into custard cups or glasses,
and heap sweetened whipped cream upon the top of each.
Baked chocolate custard
Into a quart of scalding milk stir five tablespoonfuls of grated
chocolate wet with cold milk. Cook for a minute. Have the yolks of
seven eggs and the whites of five (reserving the other whites for a
meringue) beaten light with a cupful of sugar. Pour the scalding milk
and chocolate gradually on the eggs and sugar, and turn into a buttered
pudding-dish set in a pan of boiling water. Bake until firm, then draw
to the door of the oven and spread with a meringue made of the reserved
whites and two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Return to the oven and
bake to a delicate brown. Eat cold with cream.
French tapioca custard
Soak four tablespoonfuls of tapioca in two cupfuls of cold water and
let it stand for four hours; add a quart of scalding milk, and stir
for a minute. Turn all into a double boiler, and bring to the scalding
point, then pour gradually upon the yolks of four eggs beaten light
with a cupful of sugar. Cook again in a double boiler for ten minutes,
by which time the custard should be thick. Set in the ice until very
cold. Now whip the whites of the four eggs stiff, beat them into the
custard, add two teaspoonfuls of vanilla, turn into a glass bowl, and
serve.
Tapioca cocoanut custard
Make as directed in last recipe, but add to the beaten whites at the
last a cupful of finely-grated cocoanut sweetened with powdered sugar.
Floating island
Heat a pint of milk to scalding in a double boiler. Beat the yolks
of three eggs stiff—setting the whites in the ice-box until they are
needed for a meringue. Into the whipped yolks stir three tablespoonfuls
of granulated sugar, and pour the scalding milk gradually upon these.
Return to the fire and cook, stirring all the time, until the custard
is thick enough to coat the spoon. Remove from the fire, and, when the
custard is cool, flavor with a teaspoonful of vanilla and turn into a
glass bowl. Whip the chilled whites to a stiff meringue and beat into
this, a little at a time, three tablespoonfuls of red jelly—catawba
grape or currant. The meringue should be pink in color, and may be
heaped upon the top of the custard in the bowl.
Rice custard
Cream a tablespoonful of butter with two of powdered sugar, and
gradually work in three beaten eggs. Add two cupfuls of milk, and when
you have a smooth mixture, two cupfuls of cold, boiled rice. Beat
until free from lumps, add a pinch of salt, and turn into a greased
pudding-dish. Set in the oven in a pan of boiling water, and bake,
covered, until the custard is set. Uncover and brown. Eat cold with
sugar and cream.
Cocoanut custard
Wet five tablespoonfuls of cornstarch with cold milk, and stir it into
a quart of scalding milk until thick and free of lumps. Whip six eggs
light with a cupful of sugar, and add gradually to the thickened milk.
Cook for five minutes; add, at once, a grated cocoanut, and take from
the fire. Flavor with a teaspoonful of rose-water, and when it begins
to cool, pour into a glass bowl. When cold, eat with sugar and cream.
Orange custard
(Contributed)
Squeeze out and strain the juice of six good oranges. Add a cupful of
sugar and cook slowly for half an hour, skimming often. Take from the
fire and turn into a bowl. When lukewarm, pour gradually, beating all
the time, upon a warm custard made of the yolks of five eggs and two
cupfuls of milk. Put in your egg-whip and beat steadily five minutes.
Turn into a glass bowl, and lay upon the top a meringue made by
whipping the whites of the eggs with five tablespoonfuls of powdered
sugar. Set upon ice until very cold.
Coffee custards
Into a quart of rich custard cooked and still warm stir a pint of very
strong, clear, hot, black coffee. Beat for five minutes until thick and
creamy. Fill glasses or custard cups with it, and heap whipped cream on
top of each. Set in cracked ice until you serve.
Cinnamon custard
(Contributed)
Bring a quart of milk to the boiling point. Add a saltspoon of salt,
a piece of cinnamon stick and three ounces of sugar. Strain, and when
cold mix with two or three well-beaten eggs. Pour into a pudding-dish
and cover the top of the dish with slices of brown bread, buttered on
both sides and cut in triangular pieces. Bake in a slow oven and serve
with hot sauce.
WHIPPED CREAM DISHES