Desserts Good in Summer
For the hot days of summer, I know the mothers and little cooks will be
deeply interested in cold desserts of all kinds--dishes that can be made
early in the morning and set away, as well as various frozen dainties.
It is well to enjoy the delicious fruits and melons in their season (and
really nothing finishes off a dinner better after a close, warm day),
but still we all want to know how to make light puddings and jellies for
a change.
FLOATING ISLAND
Floating island is a nice dessert, easily made by any child, with
reasonable care. For six persons, have her take three even cupfuls of
milk and one-fourth teaspoonful salt, and put on to heat in a double
kettle. Then beat up the yolks of three eggs, add one-half cupful sugar,
one-half teaspoonful vanilla, and pour in them slowly the hot milk,
stirring all the time. Return to the double boiler and continue to stir
until it thickens and gets creamy, coating the spoon. Do not allow to
boil, or it will curdle. Cover and set aside to cool.
Next the whites should be beaten up very stiff, and sweetened with two
tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Have a pan filled with boiling hot
water--but not bubbling--and into this drop the whites in heaping big
spoonfuls. After standing a few moments they will puff up very light.
While they are cooking, pour the custard in a glass dish, then lift the
whites with a skimmer, allow to drain and dot them over the top. Made in
this way, the meringue tastes much better than when served uncooked. A
half-teaspoonful of currant jelly on top of each "island" makes the
dessert even more inviting, and it looks particularly nice when served
in individual glass dishes or sherbet cups.
* * * * *
Gelatin forms the basis for many delicious, inexpensive puddings. It is
well for the housewife to examine the recipes coming with the different
brands, for while some boxes will make only one quart of jelly, others
at the same price will make two, and therefore cost only half as much.
LEMON JELLY
For plain lemon jelly, the mother will instruct the child to soak two
rounded tablespoonfuls of granulated gelatin in one-third cupful of
cold water for fifteen minutes. Then add two cupfuls of boiling water,
one cupful sugar, and the strained juice of two lemons. Pour in a
shallow mold to set and when ready to send to the table turn onto a
small platter and garnish with whipped cream, or serve with the custard
used for floating island.
[Illustration: FRUIT JELLY WITH WHIPPED CREAM]
FRUIT JELLY
For a fruit jelly in winter, line the bottom of the mold or individual
cups with pieces of banana, orange, or preserved cherries, fill up with
the liquid lemon jelly and set away to harden. In berry season,
however, flavor the gelatin with half a cupful of the pure berry juice
strained (instead of using lemon), and pour into cups half filled with
fine, whole berries. This is best served with whipped cream, one large
berry decorating the top of each cup.
These jellies have to be set in a very cold place to make them firm, and
it is often advisable in warm weather, if they cannot be put on ice, to
make them, the night before they are needed, then put them in the
coolest place possible.
WHIPPED CREAM
Whipped cream is called for with so many dishes, that every little girl
should learn how to prepare it. In the first place the cream must be
very thick and very cold. In the cities a special cream is usually
delivered if ordered for whipping; and I believe it is a day older than
the other kind. But if thick enough and cold, there is no trick at all
about making it stiff in a very few moments. Have the child take a deep
bowl or small stone butter jar, rinse it in cold water until chilled,
then wipe and pour in one-half pint of cream. Taking a Dover egg-beater,
also thoroughly cold, let her whip steadily and not too fast until
thick as the stiff white of an egg. Taking out the beater, next add half
a cupful of confectioners' sugar, half a teaspoonful of vanilla, stir
thoroughly and set away on the ice until needed. It is best when freshly
made.
NUTS
Nuts are used so much nowadays, in all kinds of cookery, that we find
them in the most unexpected places. When chopped, they are mixed with
cottage cheese for sandwiches, stirred into all kinds of salads, put
into cake batter, and all kinds of icings; and when left in unbroken
halves, used to garnish many gelatine puddings and whipped-cream
desserts.
* * * * *
But when the very hottest days come, we all like the good things that
come from the ice-cream freezer. The best up-to-date freezers do their
work very quickly, the great secret being to have the ice broken up in
very fine pieces or crushed in a strong bag. A good rule to follow for
mixing with salt is as follows:
For ice-creams, three parts ice to one part salt.
For frappes, two parts ice to one part salt.
For mousses, etc., equal parts ice and salt.
Then be sure to get the top on your can tightly, and when you are ready
to remove it be careful to first brush aside all ice and salt, so not
one particle can possibly get into the freezer. Nothing marks the
amateur more than salt in the ice-cream.
FRENCH ICE-CREAM
A delicious French ice-cream has for its foundation a custard made by
beating up first the yolks of three eggs very light, adding a pinch of
salt, one cupful sugar and two cupfuls of milk. Cook this in a double
boiler until it coats the spoon, but do not allow to boil or it will
curdle. Cool, flavor with a teaspoonful of rich vanilla, add one pint of
cream and freeze.
CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM
For a rich chocolate ice-cream, make like the foregoing, only add to the
custard before it cools two ounces of grated, unsweetened chocolate
which has been set in a pan of hot water long enough to allow it to
melt. This takes but a few moments, however.
FRUIT ICE
For a refreshing fruit ice, have our little maid prepare the juice of
three oranges, three lemons, and one pint of either strawberries or red
raspberries. After straining through a coarse strainer, she must add
three cupfuls of sugar, three cupfuls of cold water and the stiffly
beaten whites of two eggs. This does not need to be frozen quite so hard
as the ice-cream.
STRAWBERRY MOUSSE
In strawberry season, particularly on a farm where there is an abundance
of rich cream and luscious fruit, the finest kind of a frozen dessert is
made by adding to a pint of thick unflavored cream, whipped as directed,
two cupfuls of crushed berries and two cupfuls of sugar. The berries and
sugar, well mixed, should be folded carefully into the cream and pressed
in a mold. The cracks must be filled with butter or lard to prevent the
salt water leaking in, and the mold packed closely in salt and ice and
left for four hours. Remember it is not frozen in the freezer by
turning. When ready to unmold, wring a cloth out of boiling water and
lay around the can for a moment, after loosening where possible with a
thin-bladed knife. Turn on to a platter and send to the table to be cut
in slices.
LEMON ICE
For a plain lemon ice, take the grated rind of one lemon, and the juice
of three, a cupful and a half of sugar, four cupfuls of water, and the
stiffly beaten whites of two eggs. Freeze, but not too hard.
CITRON CUSTARD
Citron custard is good summer or winter, served hot or cold. The child
should first beat up very light two eggs, then add a pinch of salt,
one-third cupful of sugar, two cupfuls of milk, and a sprinkle of
nutmeg. Next she must line a baking-dish or individual cups with thin
slices of citron, then pour in the custard and bake, after setting her
dish or cups in a pan of boiling water. If a few small nails are
scattered over the bottom of the water-pan, so the pudding cups do not
touch, but are surrounded by water, the custard will cook more evenly.
Leave in the oven about twenty minutes, but test before taking out by
inserting in the middle the blade of a silver knife. When thoroughly
done the blade will come out clean instead of coated.
[Illustration: CORNSTARCH PUDDING, INDIVIDUAL MOULDS]
CORNSTARCH PUDDING
Cornstarch pudding is an old favorite, too, either hot or cold. First
mix four level tablespoonfuls of cornstarch with three tablespoonfuls of
sugar, and beat up light one egg. Then scald two cupfuls of milk, after
pouring a few spoonfuls on the cornstarch in order to thoroughly wet it.
When the milk is hot, add the moistened cornstarch and sugar, the beaten
egg, and flavoring to taste, stirring constantly until thick. Then allow
to cook gently for ten minutes at least. A double boiler is best for all
such puddings, as it prevents all possibility of scorching, but it takes
longer. One delicious way of serving this otherwise ordinary dish is to
cut a few thin peelings from a lemon (just the yellow part), cook with
the milk till a delicate flavor is imparted, and then remove. When the
pudding is done, pour in a mold and let set. Then serve with whipped
cream flavored with vanilla. The combination of the two flavorings is
very agreeable.
RAISIN TAPIOCA
Tapioca is a thing every child should learn to use, as it is capable of
so many variations. For the simplest pudding, have her first cover
three-quarters of a cup of tapioca, (or sago, either), with one cupful
of cold water and allow to soak at least an hour. Then add three cupfuls
of boiling water, one-half teaspoonful salt, the flavoring and sugar to
taste, and boil until transparent. If the family like lemon, let her add
the strained juice and grated rind of one lemon and one-half cupful of
sugar. Or, she can use a level cupful of raisins, the juice and grated
rind of half a lemon and cupful of sugar. (The raisins should be seeded,
of course.)
APPLE TAPIOCA
Or still another way is to boil the tapioca, sweetened but not
flavored, for about fifteen minutes, then pour into a baking-dish half
filled with sliced apples and flavored with nutmeg. This must be baked
until the apples are tender.
TAPIOCA CUSTARD
Probably the most common way, though, of making tapioca pudding is by
taking half the recipe given and after boiling fifteen minutes, (without
flavoring or sugar), adding to it two cupfuls of milk, two well-beaten
eggs, one-half teaspoonful vanilla, and half a cupful of sugar, then
baking until the custard begins to brown on top. All these desserts are
to be served with cream, plain or whipped, which adds to the appearance
as well as taste.
There are several brands of granulated tapioca on the market, and they
are convenient if one is in a hurry, but they are more expensive than
the ordinary kind, and I have found that the directions on the box
seldom allow sufficient time to boil, and also that the pouring on of
boiling water suggested is apt to result in the powdered tapioca forming
lumps which require an extra amount of cooking.
HOT CHOCOLATE SAUCE
A favorite hot sauce for puddings, or to be served separately with
vanilla ice-cream, is made by melting one square of unsweetened
chocolate, adding a teaspoonful of butter, one-third of a cup of water,
one cup of sugar, and a few drops of vanilla. Cook for five minutes, and
keep hot until needed. Two tablespoonfuls of cocoa can be used if
preferred.
My little cooks should now have become experienced enough that if they
saw a recipe they thought they would like in some newspaper or magazine
they could go ahead and try it by themselves. It might be well for
mother to glance it over first and see if it looks all right, and then
if she said "Yes," proceed with it. But whatever they try, they should
remember to be sure they put in every ingredient according to
directions, and then cook to the queen's taste!