Put into a bowl an ounce of isinglass; (in warm weather you must
take an ounce and a quarter;) pour on as much rose water as will
cover the isinglass, and set it on hot ashes to dissolve.
[Footnote: You may make the stock for blanc-mange without
isinglass, by boiling four calves' feet in two quarts of water
till reduced one half, and till the meat is entirely to rags.
Strain it, and set it away till next day. Then clear it from the
fat and sediment; cut it into pieces and boil it with the cream
and the other ingredients. When you take it from the fire, and
strain it into the pitcher, keep stirring it till it gets cold.]
Blanch a quarter of a pound of shelled almonds, (half sweet and
half bitter,) and beat them to a paste in a mortar, (one at a
time,) moistening them all the while with a little rose water.
Stir the almonds by degrees into a quart of cream, alternately
with half a pound of powdered white sugar; add a large tea-spoonful
of beaten mace. Put in the melted isinglass, and stir the
whole very hard. Then put it into a porcelain skillet, and let it
boil fast for a quarter of an hour. Then strain it into a pitcher,
and pour it into your moulds, which must first be wetted with cold
water. Let it stand in a cool place undisturbed, till it has
entirely congealed, which will be in about five hours. Then wrap a
cloth dipped in hot water round the moulds, loosen the blanc-mange
round the edges with a knife, and turn it out into glass dishes.
It is best to make it the day before it is wanted.
Instead of using a figure-mould, you may set it to congeal in tea-cups
or wine glasses.
Blanc-mange may be coloured green by mixing with the cream a
little juice of spinage; cochineal which has been infused in a
little brandy for half an hour, will colour it red; and saffron
will give it a bright yellow tinge.