_Ingredients._—12 or 14 apricots, sugar to taste, puff-paste or short
crust. _Mode._—Break the apricots in half, take out the stones, and put
them into a pie-dish, in the centre of which place a very small cup or
jar, bottom uppermost; sweeten with good moist sugar, but add no water.
Line the edge of the dish with paste, put on the cover, and ornament
the pie in any of the usual modes. Bake from ½ to ¾ hour, according
to size; and if puff-paste is used, glaze it about 10 minutes before
the pie is done, and put it into the oven again to set the glaze.
Short crust merely requires a little sifted sugar sprinkled over it
before being sent to table. Green apricots make very good tarts, but
they should be boiled with a little sugar and water before they are
covered with the crust. _Time._—½ to ¾ hour. _Average cost_, in full
season, 1_s._ _Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ in August,
September, and October; green ones rather earlier.
APRICOTS, Compôte of (an elegant Dish).
_Ingredients._—½ pint of syrup (_see_ SYRUP), 12 green apricots.
_Mode._—Make the syrup by the given recipe, and, when it is ready,
put in the apricots whilst the syrup is boiling. Simmer them very
gently until tender, taking care not to let them break; take them out
carefully, arrange them on a glass dish, let the syrup cool a little,
pour it over the apricots, and, when cold, serve. _Time._—From 15 to 20
minutes to simmer the apricots. _Average cost_, 9_d._ _Sufficient_ for
4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ in June and July, with green apricots.
APRICOTS, Flanc of, or Compôte of Apricots in a Raised Crust (Sweet
Entremets).
_Ingredients._—¾ lb. of short crust (_see_ CRUST), from 9 to 12
good-sized apricots, ¾ pint of water, ½ lb. of sugar. _Mode._—Make a
short crust by the given recipe, and line a mould with it. Boil the
sugar and water together for 10 minutes; halve the apricots, take out
the stones, and simmer them in the syrup until tender; watch them
carefully, and take them up, for fear they should break. Arrange them
neatly in the flanc or case; boil the syrup until reduced to a jelly;
pour it over the fruit, and serve either hot or cold. Greengages,
plums of all kinds, peaches, &c., may be done in the same manner, as
also currants, raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries, &c.; but with
the last-named fruits, a little currant-juice added to them will be
found an improvement. _Time._—Altogether, 1 hour to bake the flanc,
from 15 to 20 minutes to simmer the apricots. _Average cost_, 1_s._
6_d._ _Sufficient_ for 1 entremets or side-dish. _Seasonable_ in July,
August, and September.
The pretty appearance of this dish depends on the fruit being whole; as
each apricot is done, it should be taken out of the syrup immediately.