DRY MERINGUES IN THE FORM OF EGGS.--Ten whites of eggs, twelve ounces
of sugar.
Obtain the newest laid eggs, and separate the white from the yolk
very carefully; put the whites into a pan, which must be quite free
from grease; whisk them to a very strong froth, so as it will support
an egg, or even a greater weight; have the sugar pounded and sifted
through a lawn sieve, and mix it as lightly as possible; spread some
pieces of board about an inch thick, then with a table or dessert spoon
drop them on the paper about two inches asunder, dust them with fine
powdered loaf sugar, blow off all that does not adhere, and put them
into a cool oven to bake until they are a nice light brown; if the
oven should be too warm, when the surface gets dry or hardened cover
them with paper; as soon as they are done take them off with a knife;
press the inside or soft part down with the top or the back of a spoon,
place them on sieves, and put them into the stove to dry; when they are
required to be served, fill them with any kind of preserved fruit or
cream, if it is rather acid the better, and put two together.
The quality of the meringues will depend on the eggs being well whipped
to a very strong froth, and also on the quantity of sugar, for if there
is not enough they will eat tough.
ICING FOR WEDDING OR TWELFTH CAKES, ETC.--Pound and sift some
treble-refined sugar through a lawn sieve, and put it into an earthen
pan, which must be quite free from grease; to each pound of sifted
sugar add the whites of three eggs, or sufficient to make it into a
paste of a moderate consistence, then with a wooden spoon or spatula
beat it well, using a little lemon-juice occasionally, and more white
of egg if you find that it will bear it without making it too thin,
until you have a nice light icing, which will hang to the sides of the
pan and spoon; or, if it is dropped from the spoon, it should remain on
the top without speedily losing the form it assumed. A pan of icing,
when well beat and finished, should contain as much again in bulk as it
was at the commencement; use sufficient lemon-juice to give the icing
a slight acid, or it will scale off the cake in large pieces when it
is cut. Many prefer the pyroligneous acid to the lemon-juice, but the
flavor is not so delicate, and it always retains a smell of the acid;
neither did I ever find, as some assert, that it improves the quality
and appearance of the icing; the only advantage derived from it is that
of economy.
ITALIAN MERINGUES.--One pound of sugar, the whites of six eggs. Clarify
the sugar and boil it to the blow; in the meantime whip up the whites
as for the last, take the sugar from the fire and rub it a little
against the sides of the pan to grain it; as soon as it begins to turn
white mix in the whipped eggs, stirring the sugar well from the pan
with the whisk or spatula; lay them off, and bake as dry meringues:
these may be colored by adding the liquid color to the syrup so as to
give the desired tint; and either of them may be flavored by rubbing off
the peel of oranges, lemons, or cedrats on sugar, and scraping it off
as it imbibes the oil; or it may be flavored with vanilla, by cutting
it in small pieces and pounding it with some sugar, or with any liquor
by adding a spoonful or two when you mix the eggs or sugar. They may
also be varied in form, and baked on tin or iron plates instead of
wood, that the bottoms may be quite firm. The tops may be covered
with almonds or pistachios, blanched and cut small or in fillets, or
with currants, or colored sugars; the whole depending on the taste and
ingenuity of the artist.
KISSES.--Twelve ounces of sugar powdered very fine and passed through
a silk sieve, the whites of six eggs beaten to a strong froth; mix and
lay out on paper, as for dry meringues; when baked, place two together.
The size should be about that of pigeons' eggs.
MUSHROOMS.--To make these, take either of the pastes for meringues or
light icing, as for cakes; put some into a bag in the shape of a cone,
with a tin pipe at the end, the same as used for Savoy biscuits; lay
them off in drops the size you wish them to be, on iron plates rubbed
quite clean and dry; bake them as you would meringues, make also a
smaller drop to form the stalk; when they are baked, take them off the
tin and scoop out a little with your finger from the bottom near the
edge, to form the hollow rough surface underneath; then dry them in the
stove; scrape some chocolate and dissolve it in a little warm water,
and rub a little over the rough part underneath; then place the stalk
in the center, fixing it with a little icing, and let the flat part
which was on the tin be placed outermost, to represent where it was cut.
PIPING CAKES, BONBONS, ETC.--This is a method of ornamenting wedding,
twelfth-cakes, and other articles with icing, by means of small pipes
or tubes; these are most generally made with writing-paper folded in
the form of a cone, in the same manner as a grocer makes up his papers
for small lots of sugar, tea, etc. The tube is filled with icing, made
as for cakes, the base of the cone, or the place where it was filled,
is turned down to prevent the sides opening, and the escape of the
icing; the point is then cut off with a sharp knife or scissors, so as
to make a hole sufficiently large to form the icing, when squeezed or
pressed out, in a thread of the required size, and which will either
be fine or coarse, according to the length of the point which is cut
off. If the hole at the point of the cone is not perfectly straight
when the icing is pressed out, it will form a spiral thread, which is
very inconvenient to work with. Stars, borders, flowers, and different
devices are formed on cakes after they are iced, the execution of which
depends on the ability and ingenuity of the artist. Baskets, Chinese
and other temples, etc., are formed on molds by these means, first
giving them a coating of white wax, which is brushed over them after it
is melted, and when cold, the icing is formed on it like trellis-work;
when finished, the mold is warmed, and the icing easily comes off.
Some of the pipes which are used cannot be formed with paper, as the
tape and star-pipes, which are made of tin, having a bag fastened to
them in a similar manner to that generally used for dropping out Savoy
biscuits, macaroons, etc., only much smaller, the point of the tin tube
of the one being fluted to form a star, and in the other it is flat,
so that when the icing is forced or squeezed through, it comes out
in a broad thin sheet, like a piece of tape. I employ a set of pipes
made of tin, with small bags fastened to them; these are of different
dimensions; the orifice of the round ones commences at the size of a
common pin, and the tape-pipes from a quarter to half an inch in width.
I find these much better than paper ones, as the trouble and time which
is lost in constantly making new ones is amply repaid by the others, as
they are not very expensive and are always ready for use. These pipes
should be in the hands of the confectioner what the pencil or brush
is to the painter--capable of performing wonders with men of genius.
Some of the bonbons which may be seen in the shops are proofs of what I
assert; and many things are so cleverly done, that many persons would
believe that they were either formed in a mold or modeled. I have not
space to enlarge further on this subject, but much more might be given
in explanation; therefore the artist must be guided by his own genius
and fancy.