pound of powdered loaf-sugar. Rub a lump of loaf-sugar all over the rind
of a large lemon, to draw the juice to the surface; then grate the peel
of the lemon, and stir it into the mixture, together with the lump of
sugar. Squeeze in the juice of the lemon, and add two table-spoonfuls of
rose-water. Beat the mixture very hard; then take half a pound of potato
flour (which is best), or else of fine wheat flour, and stir it in very
lightly and slowly. It must be baked immediately.
Have ready some small square or oblong cases of thick white paper, with
an edge turned up all round, and sewed at the corners. They should be
about a finger in length, half a finger in breadth, and an inch and a
half in depth. Either butter these paper-cases, or sift white sugar all
over the inside. Put some of the mixture into each case, but do not fill
them to the top. Grate loaf-sugar over the top of each, and bake them
quickly.
These cakes are much better when baked in paper cases; tins being
generally too thick for them. No cake requires greater care in baking.
If the oven is not hot enough, both at top and bottom, they will fall
and be heavy, and lose their shape.
CROQUETTES.
Take a pound of powdered sugar, a pound of butter, half a pound of
wheat-flour, and half a pound of Indian meal; mix all together, and add
the juice and grated peel of a large lemon, with spice to your taste.
Make it into a lump of paste. Then put it into a mortar, and beat it
hard on all sides.
Roll it out thin, and cut it into cakes with the edge of a tumbler, or
with a tin cutter.
Flour a shallow tin pan. Lay the cakes into it, but not close together.
Bake them about ten minutes. Grate sugar over them when done.
MARGUERITES.
Beat together till very light, a pound of butter and a pound of powdered
sugar. Sift a pound of flour into a pan. Take the yolks only, of twelve
eggs, and beat them till very thick and smooth. Pour them into the
flour, and add the beaten butter and sugar. Stir in a grated nutmeg, and
a wine-glass of rose-water. Mix the whole together, till it becomes a
lump of dough.
Flour your paste-board, and lay the dough upon it; sprinkle it with
flour. Roll it out about half an inch thick, and cut it into round cakes
with the edge of a cup. Flour a shallow pan, put in the cakes (so as not
to touch), and bake them about five minutes in a quick oven. If the oven
is too cool, they will run.
When the cakes are cool, lay on each a large lump of currant jelly. Take
the whites of the eggs, and beat them till they stand alone. Then add to
them, by degrees, sufficient powdered sugar to make the consistence of
icing, and ten drops of strong essence of lemon. Heap on each cake, with
a spoon, a pile of the icing over the currant-jelly. Set them in a cool
oven till the icing becomes firm and of a pale brownish tint.
These cakes are very fine.
WAFERS.
Sift half a pound of flour into a pan. Make a hole in the middle, and
put in three beaten eggs, a table-spoonful of brandy, a table-spoonful
of powdered sugar, a table-spoonful of sweet-oil, and a very little
salt, not more than will lie on a sixpence. Mix all together, adding
gradually a little milk, till you have a batter about the thickness of
good cream. Then stir in a table-spoonful of rose-water. Let there be no
lumps in the batter. Heat your wafer-iron on both sides, in a clear
fire, but do not allow it to get red-hot. Then grease the inside with a
brush dipped in sweet-oil, or a clean rag with some butter tied up in
it. Then put in the batter, allowing about two table-spoonfuls to each
wafer. Close the iron, and in baking turn it first on one side and then
on the other. When done, sprinkle the wafers with powdered sugar, and
roll each one up, pressing the edges together while warm, so as to make
them unite.
A little practice will soon show you the proper degree of heat, and the
time necessary for baking the wafers. They should be but slightly
colored, and of an even tint all over.
GINGERBREAD.
Mix together two pounds of flour, one pound of sugar, five beaten eggs,
three quarters of a pound of butter, and a tea-cupful of ginger. Put the
flour to the other ingredients, a little at a time, and stir the whole
very hard. Melt a tea-spoonful of sal aratus or fine pearl-ash in a
little sour milk, and stir it in at the last. Roll the dough into
sheets, and cut it out with square tins. If not stiff enough for
rolling, add a little more flour. Lay it in buttered pans, and bake it
in a moderate oven.
PART THE SEVENTH.
PREPARATIONS OF FRUIT, SUGAR, &c.
AN APPLE CHARLOTTE.
Pare and core some fine pippins, and cut them into small pieces. Melt
some butter in the bottom of a pan. Then lay your apples in it with a
sufficient proportion of sugar, beaten cinnamon or nutmeg, and some
rose-water or grated lemon-peel. Set the pan in an oven, and let the
apples bake till they are quite soft. Then take them out of the pan, and
mash them to a marmalade with the back of a spoon.
Cut some thin slices of bread into a triangular or three-cornered shape,
and dip them in melted butter. Then butter a broad deep dish, and lay
the pieces of bread in the bottom of it, making the points meet in the
centre. Spread a thick layer of apple all over the bread; then more
bread, covered with another layer of apple, and so on till the dish is
full; having a cover of bread on the top. Set it in the oven, and bake
it slowly about a quarter of an hour.
A very fine Charlotte may be made by substituting slices of spunge-cake
for the bread, or having square spunge-cakes laid round, leaving a hole
in the centre to be filled up with gooseberry jelly. If you use
spunge-cake, you need not put it in the oven.
APPLE COMPOTE.
Pare and core some large pippins, but leave them whole. Make a syrup by
boiling and skimming a pound of loaf-sugar melted in a gill of water,
into which the half of the white of an egg has been beaten. When the
syrup is quite clear, boil the apples in it till soft and tender. Then
take them out, lay them in a deep dish, and fill up with small
sweet-meats or marmalade the holes from whence you took the cores.
Boil the syrup again till it becomes a jelly. Pour it hot over your
apples, and set it in a cool place to congeal.
The syrup will be much improved by adding to it the juice of one or two
lemons, or a dozen drops of essence of lemon.
COMPOTE OF PEARS.
Pare them, but leave on the stems. Lay them in a preserving-pan; and to
a dozen moderate-sized pears, put half a pound of white sugar, a gill of
water, and a few sticks of cinnamon, with some slips of lemon-peel.
Simmer them till tender; and when half done, pour in a glass of
port-wine. When quite done, take out the pears and lay them in a deep
dish. Strain the syrup; give it another boil, and pour it over them.
COMPOTE OF CHESTNUTS.
Take some of the largest and finest chestnuts. Cut a slit in the shell
of each, and roast them in a charcoal furnace, taking care not to burn
them. When done, peel them and put them into a pan with some powdered
sugar, and a very little water. Let them simmer over a slow fire for
about a quarter of an hour. When done, take them out, put them into a
dish, squeeze over them some lemon-juice, and sprinkle them with
powdered sugar.
FRIED APPLES.
Pare and core some of the largest and finest pippins, and cut them into
thin round slices. Mix together in a deep dish some brandy, lemon-juice,
and powdered sugar. Lay the slices of apple in it, and let them soak for
several hours. Then drain them, and dip each slice in flour. Put some
butter into a pan, and fry the apples of a fine brown. Dish them, and
grate loaf-sugar over them.
Quinces may be done in the same manner. So also may peaches, but they
must be cut in half.
PEACH MARMALADE.
Take ripe peaches; pare them and cut them in half, taking out the
stones. Weigh them, and to each pound of fruit allow half a pound of
loaf-sugar. Mash them with the sugar, and put them in a
preserving-kettle. Boil them slowly till they become a shapeless mass,
which will generally be in about three quarters of an hour. Stir the
marmalade frequently, to prevent its sticking to the kettle. Blanch half
the kernels, and cut them in two; and when the marmalade is about half
done, put them into it to give it a fine flavor. Take out the kernels
when the marmalade is cold, and then tie it up in pots or glasses,
laying over it paper dipped in brandy.
Marmalade of plums or green-gages may be made in the same manner.
BRANDY PEACHES.
Take large yellow free-stone peaches; they must not be too ripe. Wipe
off the down with a flannel, and then prick each peach to the stone with
a large pin. Put them into a pan, and scald them with boiling water.
Cover them, and let them rest for a few minutes. This is to make them
white. You may repeat the scalding two or three times. Then take them
out to drain and dry.
Allow a pound of the best loaf-sugar to a dozen large peaches. Put the
sugar into a preserving-kettle (lined with enamel or porcelain), and
melt it, allowing to each pound a gill of water, and half the white of
an egg. Boil the sugar, and skim it till perfectly clear. Then put in
the peaches, and give them a boil. Take them off the fire, and let them
set in the syrup till next day.
The following morning take out the peaches, set the syrup over the fire,
and when it has boiled a few minutes put in the peaches, and give them a
short boil. Then take them out, and let them get cold. Boil down the
syrup to half its original quantity, but take care that it does not boil
long enough to congeal or become thick. Put the peaches into a glass
jar, and pour the syrup over them. Fill up the jar with brandy, and
cover it closely.
Apricots may be done in the same manner. Also pears. The stems must be
left on the pears.
GOOSEBERRY POTTAGE.
Stew two quarts of fine large gooseberries in just sufficient water to
cover them. When quite soft and broken, mash them with the back of a
spoon, make them very sweet with sugar, and set them away to get cold.
Take three pints of rich milk; stir into it a pounded nutmeg and the
yolks of four eggs. Then set it over a bed of hot coals, and let it
simmer, stirring it gently all the time. Before it comes to a boil, take
it off the fire and gradually stir in the gooseberries. It must be
quite cold before you serve it up. Send it to table in a bowl, and eat
spunge-cake with it.
It will be still nicer, if you use the pulp only of the gooseberries,
pressed through a sieve or cullender.
FRUIT JELLIES.
Previous to making your jelly, clarify the sugar, which must be the best
loaf. Break it up, and to each pound allow a gill of water and an ounce
of isinglass. Mix the water with the sugar. Dissolve the isinglass in as
much hot water as will cover it. Set the sugar over the fire in a
preserving-kettle; and when it is beginning to boil, throw in the melted
isinglass. Skim the syrup well, and when it is quite clear and no more
scum rises, take it from the fire, cover it, and leave it to settle.
Prepare the fruit of which you intend to make the jelly. If small fruit,
such as gooseberries, currants, grapes, raspberries, or strawberries;
pick them from the stems, and put them into a jar; set the jar in a
vessel of warm water, and let them come to a boil. Then take them out,
put them into a fine sieve, set a pan under it, and with the back of a
large spoon press out all the juice from the fruit. Mix the juice, while
warm, with the clarified sugar, and boil them together for about a
quarter of an hour. Then put it into your jars or glasses, and tie it up
with brandy-paper.
If you want the jelly for immediate use, put it into a mould; set the
mould in ice for two or three hours; and when the jelly is congealed,
loosen it by setting the mould in warm water, and then turn it out.
PRESERVED PUMPKIN.
Take a fine ripe pumpkin of a deep rich color. Cut from it as many
slices as you want; they should be very thin. Have ready some
lime-water. Put into it the slices of pumpkin, and let them soak for
twenty-four hours. Then take them out, wash them well in cold water, and
wipe them dry. Having prepared a nicely clarified syrup of sugar, put
the slices of pumpkin into it, and let them simmer over a slow fire
without stirring, for a day and a night; but first flavor them to your
taste with lemon-juice mixed into the syrup. When done, they will be
crisp and transparent. Put them into broad stone or queensware pots, and
tie them up with brandy-paper.
PRESERVED RASPBERRIES.
Let your raspberries be gathered on a dry day. Measure them, and to a
quart of raspberries allow a pound of fine loaf-sugar. Spread the fruit
on large dishes, but do not heap it; let every raspberry lie singly.
Pound the sugar to powder, and sift it over the fruit.
Then have ready the same quantity of ripe currants. Squeeze them through
a linen bag which has been wrung out of cold water. Prepare a pound of
loaf-sugar for each pint of currant juice. Put the sugar into a
preserving-kettle, and pour the currant-juice over it. When it has
melted, set it on the fire, and boil and skim it for ten minutes. When
no more scum rises, put in the raspberries. As soon as they are all
scalded, take off the kettle, cover it, and set it away for two hours.
Then put it again on the fire for about five minutes. Afterward set it
again away for two hours, and then return it to the fire as before.
This must be done three times in all, but on no account allow the
raspberries to boil. If done with care, they will be whole and
transparent.
When cold, put them up in glasses.
* * * * *
If you preserve white raspberries, do them in the juice of white
currants.
* * * * *
Any other fruit may be done in jelly in the same manner.
ORANGE JELLY.
Peel twelve large sweet oranges, and cut them into small pieces. Put
them into a linen bag, and squeeze out all the juice. Measure the juice,
and if it does not amount to a pint, squeeze some more pieces of orange
through the bag. Put a pound of double-refined loaf-sugar into a
preserving kettle, and pour the juice over it. When the sugar has
melted, put it over the fire. Dissolve two ounces of isinglass in a
little hot water, and add it to the jelly just as it is beginning to
boil. Let it boil hard twenty minutes. Then put it into glasses, and tie
it up with brandy-paper.
Lemon-jelly may be made in this manner.
CLARIFIED SUGAR, FOR PRESERVES, AND OTHER USES.
To each pound of sugar allow half a pint of water, and half the white of
an egg; thus four pounds of sugar will require a quart of water and the
whites of two eggs. Mix the white of egg with the water, and beat it to
a froth with rods. Take two thirds of the water, and pour it over the
sugar. When it has melted, set it over the fire. When it rises and
boils, pour in a little more of the water, and diminish the fire to
abate the boiling and allow the scum to rise. Take it off, skim it well,
and in five minutes set it on the fire again. When it boils a second
time, add a little more water; and afterwards take it off and skim it
again. Repeat this till it is quite clear, and no more scum rises. Then
take it from the fire. Dip a fine napkin in warm water, wring it out,
and then strain the syrup through it. Afterwards put your fruit into the
syrup, and boil it till tender.
You may keep this syrup in bottles, and at any time you can put fruit
into it; for instance, strawberries, raspberries plums, apricots &c. If
only wanted for immediate use, you need not boil them, but send them to
table in the syrup, with the advantage of their natural color and
flavor.
FRUIT IN SUGAR COATS.
Prepare some of the best loaf-sugar powdered as fine as possible. Have
ready some white of egg. Take some of the best and largest plums,
cherries, strawberries, raspberries, apricots (peeled) or any other
suitable fruit.
Dip the fruit, separately, in the white of egg, and then roll it all
over in the powdered sugar, which will thus adhere to it, and form a
coat. Then lay it on a dish (spreading it out so as not to touch) and
set it in a cool oven to harden.
BURNT ALMONDS.
Take a pound of shelled sweet almonds, a pound of loaf-sugar, and half a
pint of water. Melt the sugar in the water, and then set it over the
fire. Put in the almonds, and stir them about till they are well
dispersed through the sugar. Let them boil, and when you hear the
almonds crack, they are sufficiently done. Take them off, and stir them
till they are dry, and then put them into a wire sieve, and sift from
them the loose sugar. Put this sugar again into the pan, with sufficient
water to moisten it, and let it come to a boil. Then put in two
spoonfuls of cochineal powder to color it red; add the almonds, and stir
them over the fire till they are quite dry. Put them away in glass jars.
PEPPERMINT DROPS
Powder some fine loaf-sugar, add to it a little essence of peppermint
(sufficient to give it a strong flavor) and enough of water to make it
into a thick paste, which you must mix on a plate with the point of a
broad knife. Then put the paste into a pan that has a lip or little
spout at one side; melt it over the fire, and let it come to a boil. As
soon as it boils, take it off and drop it from the lip of the pan into a
clean broad tin pan or plate. Let the drops be all of the same size and
shape. The tin pan that receives them must be very cold. As soon as the
drops have hardened, loosen them from the tin, by slipping the point of
a knife under each.
You may color them red with cochineal.
Keep them in a glass jar.
If the mixture congeals before all the drops are made, melt it again
over the fire.
CHOCOLATE DROPS.
Scrape some of the best chocolate, and mix it with powdered white sugar.
Moisten it with a little water, so as to make a paste. Work it on a
plate with a knife. Then boil it in a pan with a lip, and pour it (a
drop at a time) into a cold tin pan. While moist, sprinkle colored
sugar-sand or non-pareils over the surface of each chocolate drop, which
drop must be of a good shape, and about the size of a sixpence. When
they are hardened, take them off the tin, by slipping under them the
point of a knife.
Keep them in glass jars.
After the chocolate has boiled, make the drops as fast as possible; for
if it gets cold before they are all done, it will injure it much to boil
it over again.
The confectioners use for these purposes small leaden moulds, greased
with oil of almonds. Into these moulds they pour the mixture, so that
every thing comes out of the same size and shape.
NOUGAT.
This is a very fine confection. Take three quarters of a pound of
shelled sweet almonds, and one quarter of a pound of shelled bitter
almonds. Blanch them by scalding them in boiling water. Then throw them
into cold water, and take them out and wipe them. Cut them into small
pieces (but do not pound them,) and mix them well together.
Take a pound of loaf-sugar broken small, and mix it with half a pint of
cold water, and an ounce of isinglass melted in a very little hot water.
Boil the sugar, and skim it well. When it is quite clear, throw in your
almonds, having first squeezed over them the juice of two lemons. Stir
the almonds well through the sugar; and as soon as they are properly
mixed with it, take the kettle off the fire.
Have ready a mould or a square tin pan well greased with sweet-oil. Put
your mixture into it, a little at a time; dispersing the almonds equally
through the sugar, before it has time to get cold. But if it does chill
before the almonds are well mixed in it, set it again over the fire to
melt. Turn it frequently in the mould, to prevent its sticking. When it
has become a hard cake, set the mould for a moment in warm water, and
turn out the nougat.
In stirring it, you had better use a wooden spoon.
ORGEAT PASTE.
Take half a pound of shelled bitter almonds, and a pound and a half of
shelled sweet almonds. Blanch them, and pound them in a mortar one or
two at a time, pouring in frequently a little rose-water, which will
preserve their whiteness and prevent them from being oily and heavy.
Pound them to a fine smooth paste, and then mix them with a pound and a
half of loaf-sugar finely powdered.
Put the mixture again into the mortar, a little at a time, and pound it
awhile that the sugar and almonds may be thoroughly incorporated; adding
still a little rose-water.
When done, put it away in small covered pots or glasses, and it will
keep several months in a cool dry place. It makes a very fine drink.
When you want to use it, put a small piece into a tumbler of cold water,
and stir it till dissolved.
LIQUEURS.
To filter cordials, cover the bottom of a sieve with clean blotting
paper. Pour the liquor into it (having set a vessel underneath to
receive it), and let it drip through the paper and through the sieve.
Renew the paper frequently, and fasten it down with pins.
This process is slow, but it makes the liquor beautifully clear.
NOYAU.
Take six ounces of peach kernels, and one ounce of bitter almonds. Break
them slightly. Put them into a jug with three pints of white French
brandy. Let them infuse three weeks; shaking the jug every day. Then
drain the liquor from the kernels, and strain it through a linen bag.
Melt three quarters of a pound of the best loaf-sugar in a pint of
rose-water. Mix it with the liquor, and filter it through a sieve, the
bottom of which is to be covered on the inside with blotting paper. Let
the vessel which is placed underneath to receive the liquor be entirely
white, that you may be the better enabled to judge of its clearness. If
it is not clear the first time, repeat the filtering. Then bottle it for
use.
RASPBERRY CORDIAL.
Take a quart of raspberry-juice, and half a pint of cherry-juice, the
fruit having been squeezed in a linen bag after the cherries have been
stoned. Mix the juices together, and dissolve in them two pounds of
loaf-sugar. Then add two quarts of French brandy; put it into a jug, and
let it rest five weeks. Afterwards strain it, and bottle it for use.
ROSE CORDIAL.
Take a pound of the leaves of full-blown red roses. Put them into a
quart of lukewarm water, and let them infuse for two days, in a covered
vessel. Then squeeze them through a linen bag, to press out all the
liquid, and take as much white brandy as you have of the decoction of
roses. To a pint of the infusion add half a pound of loaf-sugar, and a
very small quantity of coriander and cinnamon. Put it into a jug, and
let it set for two weeks. Then filter it through blotting paper, and put
it into bottles.
QUINCE CORDIAL.
Pare your quinces, and scrape them to the core. Put all the scrapings
into a tureen, and see that there are no seeds among them. Let the
scrapings remain covered in the tureen for two days. Then put them into
a linen bag, and squeeze out all the juice. Measure it, and mix it with
an equal quantity of white brandy. To each pint of the mixture add half
a pound of loaf-sugar, and a little cinnamon and cloves. Put it into a
jug, and let it infuse for two months. Then filter it through blotting
paper, and bottle it. This cordial improves by age, and is excellent.
LEMON CORDIAL.
Pare off very thin the yellow rind of some fine lemons. Cut the lemons
in half, and squeeze out all the juice. To each pint of the juice,
allow half a pound of loaf-sugar. Mix the juice, the peel, and the sugar
together; cover it, and let it set twenty-four hours. Then mix it with
an equal quantity of white brandy, put it into a jug, and let it set a
month. Then strain it through a linen bag; and afterwards filter it
through blotting paper, before you bottle it.
PART THE EIGHTH.
MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS.
FRENCH COFFEE.
Let the coffee be roasted immediately before you want to use it, as it
loses much of its strength by keeping. Its color, when done, should be a
fine bright brown; but by no means allow it to scorch. A cylindrical
coffee-roaster that can be turned by a handle, and sets before the fire,
is far preferable to a pot or a pan. Grind the coffee while warm.
If you intend to make half a dozen cups of coffee for drinking, measure
six cups of water of the same size, and put the water into the
coffee-pot. Set it on hot coals, and when the water boils, put in two or
three chips of isinglass, or the white of an egg. Then throw in six
large tea-spoonfuls of ground coffee. Stir it several times while
boiling, and set it several times back from the fire to diminish the
boiling gradually. When it has boiled sufficiently, remove it entirely
from the coals, pour in a cup of cold water, and then put it in a corner
and let it settle for half an hour. Afterwards pour it off from the
grounds into another pot (which must first be scalded), and set it close
to the fire, but do not let it boil again.