baking-sheet. Put into a pastry-bag (No. 1079) half the quantity of the
biscuits-à-la-cuillère preparation (No. 1231), and drop it on the
baking-sheet into Lima-bean-shaped pieces one and a half inches long by
half an inch wide. Sprinkle them lightly with powdered sugar, and place
them in a brisk oven to bake for twelve minutes. Take them out and let
them cool for fifteen minutes, then put them on a table upside down, and
in the middle of each one cut a hole one inch long by a quarter of an
inch wide. Fill the holes with apricot marmalade (No. 1335), then unite
them, two by two, so as to enclose the marmalade and be the perfect
shape of Lima beans. Glaze them neatly by dipping them separately into
a glace preparation as for éclairs à la vanille (No. 1245), and lay them
at once on a pastry-grate to dry for fifteen minutes. Dress them on a
dessert-dish with a folded napkin, and serve. The remainder of the paste
may be used the following day.
=1239. Fancy Almond Cakes.=--Peel and pound half a pound of almonds as
for No. 1207; then add two egg whites; when thoroughly pounded, put them
into a vessel with ten ounces of powdered sugar, and the grated rind of
a good lemon; then, with the hand, knead well together for twenty
minutes. Slide a fancy tube (No. 3) into a pastry-bag (No. 1079), and
pour in the above preparation. Cover a baking-sheet with brown paper,
and holding the top of the bag with the right hand, guide the bottom
with the left, and press the paste through onto the paper in small round
bits one inch wide and half an inch high. Make ten of these, being
careful to keep them one inch apart. Make ten more, shaped like the
letter S, using the same quantity as for the others; then ten more,
crescent-shaped, or like the letter C; and with the remainder of the
paste make ten more, heart-shaped, being careful to keep them from
touching one another. Take five candied cherries, cut them in halves,
and arrange them on top of the round cakes; have twenty dried currants
(No. 1080), and place one on each end of the S. Cut a candied apricot in
two, and each half into five slices, and lay them on top of the
crescents, and lastly have one ounce of candied angelica cut into very
thin strips, and arrange them nicely on the heart-shaped pieces.
It would be advisable to prepare these cakes the evening before they are
needed, and lay them aside in a warm place over night. The next morning,
glaze them lightly with beaten egg, using a pastry-brush, and place them
in a brisk oven to bake for ten minutes. When of a nice brown color,
remove, and let them become thoroughly cold. Lift them up carefully with
the paper, laying them gently upside down on a table, and with a wet
towel moisten the paper, so that the cakes will detach easily. Turn the
paper over immediately as it stood before, let rest for two minutes;
then remove the cakes. Lay them on a pastry-grate upside down, to allow
them to dry for thirty minutes. Dress them on a glass stand with a
folded napkin, and send to the table.
=1240. Pâte-à-Chou.=--Put into a saucepan two gills of cold milk and two
ounces of butter. Place it on the range, stir slightly with the spatula,
and when boiling, immediately add a quarter of a pound of well-sifted
flour; stir briskly for two minutes. Then stand the pan on a table.
Break in one egg; mix sharply for two minutes, break in a second egg,
mix sharply again; and repeat with a third and a fourth egg; then the
pâte-à-chou is ready.
=1241. Eclairs.=--Arrange in a pastry-bag (No. 1079), a tube (No. 3);
put into it the above quantity of pâte-à-chou (No. 1240), and press out
upon a baking-sheet fifteen éclairs, each one three inches long. Bake
them in a hot oven for twenty minutes. Remove, and let them cool; then
with a pair of scissors open each éclair on one side, and with a spoon
fill the interiors with a crême patissière (No. 1242).
=1242. Crême Patissière.=--Put a pint of cold milk into a saucepan, and
place it on the stove. Mix in another vessel two ounces of powdered
sugar, with one ounce of flour, and half an ounce of corn-starch. Break
in two whole eggs, and beat well together with the whip for two minutes.
When the milk is boiling, add it to the preparation, and after stirring
for one minute longer, put it into another saucepan, and place it on the
stove. Beat well until it comes to a boil; then remove from the fire,
and add immediately a teaspoonful of vanilla essence. Mix thoroughly
again for one minute longer; then pour it into a bowl, and let it get
cold.
=1243. How to Glaze Eclairs with Chocolate.=--Put in a saucepan one
pound and three quarters of granulated sugar and a gill of cold water.
Place on the stove, and with a spatula mix well until the sugar is
thoroughly melted, and when boiling remove from the stove, and pour it
gradually on a marble slab, on which it will spread about three feet
square. Let it cool off for ten minutes. Then cut two ounces of cocoa
into small pieces; put them on a plate, and leave them at the oven door
to melt. With a spatula begin working the sugar that is on the marble as
rapidly as possible in every direction until it begins to whiten; then
add the melted cocoa, mixing it thoroughly again until it becomes hard;
remove the spatula, and detach the preparation quickly from the marble
with a knife. Put it into a vessel, and covering it with a damp cloth,
let it rest for thirty minutes. Then place half of it in a saucepan on
the hot stove, and with the spatula mix thoroughly and slowly until it
is lukewarm, meanwhile adding a teaspoonful of cold water. Take the
éclairs, one by one, and with the hand dip them into this preparation.
Lay them on a pastry-grate; let them cool off for five minutes; dress on
a dessert-dish with a folded napkin, and serve.
Keep the rest of the preparation for further use. When laid aside in a
cool place, and properly taken care of, it will be as good in two weeks’
time as when freshly made.
=1244. Eclairs au Café.=--Have a pâte-à-chou ready, as for No. 1240;
then proceed to make the éclairs. Bake, and fill them with a crême
patissière (No. 1242) exactly as for the chocolate éclairs; glazing them
the same as for No. 1243, only instead of cocoa use half a gill of
coffee essence (No. 1263). Serve precisely the same.
=1245. Eclairs à la Vanille.=--Prepare a pâte-à-chou as for No. 1240.
Make the éclairs, bake, and fill them with a crême patissière, as No.
1242. Glaze them as for No. 1243, only substituting two teaspoonfuls of
vanilla essence for the cocoa, and serving them the same.
=1246. Choux à la Crême.=--Prepare a pâte-à-chou as for No. 1240, and
put it into the bag. Press it down onto a baking-sheet into six round,
equal cakes, about two inches high. Glaze the surface of each with
beaten egg. Bake in a moderate oven for thirty minutes. Watch them
carefully, and when they are of a good golden color, remove from the
oven and let cool for half an hour. Make an incision on one side, about
half-way in the cakes, using a pair of scissors. Fill the insides with
crême patissière (No. 1242), and close them again. Dredge well with
powdered sugar, and dress on a dessert-dish, with a folded napkin,
before sending to the table.
=1247. Méringues.=--Put six egg whites into a copper basin, with a light
half saltspoonful of salt, and with a wire whip begin beating slowly,
but gradually increase until a stiff froth is obtained. Should it become
grainy, beat briskly again, adding half an ounce of powdered sugar.
(Eight minutes should suffice to have a proper froth.) Remove the whip.
Have on a plate one pound of powdered sugar, and with a spatula drop the
sugar slowly and carefully over the froth, mixing it in meanwhile with
the spatula. This should take about two minutes. Flavor it with any
desired flavoring, and it will be ready for use.
=1248. Apples, Méringuées.=--Have six fine apples cooked as for No.
1169; dress them on a dessert-dish, filling the cavities with currant
jelly (No. 1326); then decorate all round and the tops with méringue,
prepared as for No. 1247, half the quantity being sufficient. Sprinkle
them moderately with powdered sugar; lay the dish on a baking-pan, and
put it in the oven for five minutes. When a light brown color, remove,
and serve either hot or cold.
=1249. Small Fancy Méringues à la Ch. C. Delmonico.=--Put into a
sugar-pan one pound of granulated sugar with half a pint of cold water,
and place on the hot stove. Have two quarts of ice-water in a vessel,
and when the sugar comes to a boil, dip the fingers of the right hand
into the ice-water and pass them quickly around the inside of the pan,
and let boil for five minutes. Dip a wooden stick, similar to a
pen-holder, in the ice-water, then quickly into the boiling sugar, and
again in the ice-water, lifting up the stick to feel the sugar that
adheres. Should it not be sufficiently consistent to form into a ball,
let boil a little longer; then try once more; and should it be a proper
thickness, remove from the fire and set it on the corner of the stove,
so that it no longer boils. While the sugar is cooking, beat the whites
of five eggs in a copper basin until they are a firm froth; and while
beating, have an assistant pour very gradually the prepared sugar into
the egg-froth; and When all is added, lay the basin containing the
preparation into a vessel half filled with ice-water. Remove the whip,
and using a wooden spatula, mix gently for five minutes, adding a
teaspoonful of vanilla flavoring. Cover the basin with a napkin, letting
it rest for ten minutes. Butter and flour a baking-sheet; slide down a
fancy tube (No. 3) into a pastry-bag (No. 1079), fill it with the
preparation, press down onto the baking-sheet, giving a C-shape, two
inches long by one wide, to forty of them; and then forming twenty more,
shaped like the letter D. Sprinkle them lightly with powdered sugar;
place in a very slow oven, and let bake for fifteen minutes. When baked,
these cakes should be perfectly white. Remove them from the oven, let
get thoroughly cold; dress on a glass stand, and send to the table.
=1250. Méringue-shells.=--Prepare a méringue as for No. 1247. Slide a
tube (No. 4) down a pastry-bag (No. 1079); lay a piece of paper over a
baking-sheet, and after putting the méringue into the bag, press it out
onto the paper, giving it an egg-shape, two and a half inches long by
one inch high. There will be enough to make eighteen equal-sized
shells. Be careful to keep them one inch apart. Sprinkle over liberally
with powdered sugar, and place in a very slow oven to bake thirty
minutes. Remove, and set to cool for twenty-five minutes. Then turn the
paper containing the shells upside down on the table; and with a wet
cloth or brush moisten well the paper; turn them over again, and let
rest for two minutes, when the shells will detach easily. With the
finger press them gently, one by one, in the bottom, into a perfect
shell-shape. Return them to the baking-sheet, laying them upside down,
and put them in the oven to dry thoroughly for ten minutes; then leave
them to cool for thirty minutes more. Keep them in a dry place, either
in a tin or paper box, and use when required. Méringue-shells prepared
this way will keep nicely for at least twenty-five days.
=1251. Swiss Méringues à l’Helvétienne.=--Have a méringue preparation as
for No. 1247; slide down in a pastry-bag (No. 1079) a tube (No. 4).
Butter and flour a baking-sheet; make on it one design eight inches in
diameter; another exactly the same shape, only six inches, and another
of the same, only four inches. Put the méringue into the bag, and press
it down gently over and around the first design, making the paste
three-quarters of an inch thick; repeat the same for the second and
third forms. Press down in the pan some more méringue, making a little
cone four inches high, two inches in diameter at the base, and tapering
gradually to a point at the top. Sprinkle the whole lightly with
powdered sugar, and place the pan in a very moderate oven to bake for
twenty-five minutes. Take it out, and let it thoroughly cool for half an
hour. Have a quart of whipped crême à la vanille (No. 1254), add to it
half a gill of Swiss kirsch and half a gill of maraschino, and with a
pastry-whip beat the whole together for three minutes. Have ready a
round dessert-dish with a fancy paper over, detach carefully the largest
form from the pan, lay it on the dish, detach the second, lay it over
the first, and fill the hollow space with half of the cream; now detach
the third and smallest piece and lay it over the others, filling it
entirely with part of the cream, and finally detach the cover, and
arrange it nicely on the top. Pour the remaining cream into the
pastry-bag containing the fancy tube, and with it decorate the places
where the rings are joined. Then send to the table.
=1252. Crême Renversée.=--Put in a copper sugar-pan three ounces of
granulated sugar with half a gill of cold water. Toss the pan briskly to
melt the sugar well; then place it on the stove, and let it boil slowly
until it becomes a light brown color. If a moderate fire, it will
require four minutes, but if a brisk one only two will suffice; this
will now be a caramel. Take a pudding-mold holding one quart; line the
interior with all the caramel, holding the mold in the left hand, and
spreading it evenly all round. Put the mold in a cool place, and let it
become thoroughly cold. Have one pint of milk in a bowl; break in four
eggs, add a quarter of a pound of powdered sugar and a teaspoonful of
lemon essence. Beat well for five minutes; strain through a sieve into
another bowl, and fill the mold with this cream. Place it in a tin pan
filled with water to half the height of the mold, and place in a very
moderate oven for forty-five minutes. When of a good golden color
remove, and cool for at least two hours. Turn it on a dessert-dish, and
serve with its own juice.
=1253. Crême en Mousse au Café.=--Take a pint of whipped cream as for
No. 1254, add three tablespoonfuls of coffee essence (No. 1263), and
beat well together for five minutes. Transfer it to a china bowl, and
put it in a cold ice-box. When ready to serve, use a spoon to drop the
cream carefully upon the centre of a cold, round dessert-dish, keeping
it as high as possible, shaping it into a pretty, artistic dome. Send
immediately to the table.
=1254. Whipped Cream à la Vanille.=--Put a pint of sweet cream into a
basin. Have a tub or large dish-pan containing chopped ice and a little
water, and lay the basin on top. With a soft wire egg-whip beat the
cream slowly at first, and increase in swiftness until it is a firm
froth. Sweeten with two ounces of powdered sugar, and add a teaspoonful
of vanilla flavoring, beating constantly. Let it rest, and use when
needed. Remove all the superfluous milk which may be found with the
cream, before using it.
=1255. Crême en Mousse au Rhum.=--With a pint of fresh, sweet cream
proceed as for No. 1254, adding a gill of rum, and beating well together
for five minutes. Transfer it into a china bowl, and place in the
ice-box until ready to use. When serving, have a cold dessert-dish, and
with a wooden spoon drop the cream carefully into the centre of the
dish, keeping it piled high as possible so to give it a pretty dome
form, and send to the table immediately.
=1256. Crême en Mousse au Kirsch.=--Proceed as for No. 1255, only
substituting a gill of kirsch for the gill of rum; serve in the same
manner.
=1257. Crême en Mousse au Maraschino.=--Prepared the same as crême en
mousse au rhum (No. 1255), substituting a gill of maraschino for the
rum.
=1258. Crême en Mousse au Cognac.=--The same as for No. 1255, adding a
gill of cognac instead of the rum, but serving the same way.
=1259. Crême en Mousse au Curaçoa.=--Substituting a gill of curaçoa for
a gill of rum, and proceeding precisely the same as for No. 1255.
=1260. Crême en Mousse.=--To be prepared exactly the same, only using a
gill of any other liquor desired, and serving the same as No. 1255.
=1261. Charlotte Russe à la Crême.=--Take six small, round charlotte
russe molds two and a half inches high, three inches in diameter at the
top by two at the bottom. When thoroughly cleaned, line them with
biscuits à la cuillère (No. 1231), cut them in two, and should they be
higher than the mold, trim them off to the edge. Pour the whipped cream
(No. 1254) into a pastry-bag (No. 1079), and fill up the molds. Turn
them over onto six dessert-plates, spread a little more cream on the top
of each, and cover them each with one macaroon (No. 1210). Dress the
rest of the cream nicely around the plates, and serve.
=1262. Charlotte Russe au Café.=--Line and prepare six small
charlotte-molds as for the above (No. 1261), adding to the whipped
cream two tablespoonfuls of coffee essence (No. 1263). Beat thoroughly
together for two minutes, then fill the molds, and serve as for the
above.
=1263. Coffee Essence.=--Take one ounce of good, ground coffee; place it
in a small saucepan with half a pint of cold water, and let boil until
reduced to about two tablespoonfuls. Then strain through a cloth,
pressing it well, and let cool thoroughly. Add it to the cream as
described in No. 1262.
=1264. How to Cook Sugar.=--Put into a sugar-pan one pound of granulated
sugar, with half a pint of cold water; place it on a brisk stove. Have a
vessel containing two quarts of ice-water, and when the sugar comes to a
boil dip the fingers of the right hand into the water, and quickly pass
them all around the inside of the pan, being careful to avoid touching
the sugar; repeat this two or three times. However difficult this
operation may appear, it is essential that it should be done, in order
to have the sugar in a perfect condition. Take care to dip the fingers
into the ice-water each time. Let the sugar boil; then squeeze in three
drops of lemon juice. To know when it is sufficiently boiled, have a
thin piece of wood the shape of a larding-needle. Dip the point into the
ice-water, and then plunge it into the boiling sugar; remove it quickly,
and dip it immediately into the water again. Lift it out, and see
whether the sugar adhering to the wood be thoroughly hard. If not, let
boil again, and continue to test with the stick as before. To be certain
that the sugar is perfectly done, place the point of the stick between
the teeth, and bite it. Should the sugar stick to the teeth, it needs
more boiling, but if it cracks easily without sticking, it is thoroughly
done. Remove it immediately from the fire, and place the bottom of the
pan in the ice-water to prevent the sugar from turning brown.
The above cooked sugar can be used for glazing dried fruits and candied
fruits of all kinds; also to fasten on pieces of nougat, and to make any
kind of caramels, etc., etc.
=1265. Burned Sugar.=--Put into a small iron omelet-pan half a pound of
granulated sugar, and place on a slow stove, to burn thoroughly for
thirty minutes. Remove the pan to the table to cool slightly for five
minutes, and then add half a pint of boiling water, mixing well with an
iron spoon. Replace the pan on the stove, and boil for five minutes,
stirring continually; then strain the sugar through a sieve into a
vessel, and put in a cold place to cool thoroughly. Pour it into a
bottle, and use when required. Burned sugar prepared this way will keep
in perfect condition for several weeks.
=1266. Nougat.=--Have ready four ounces of peeled and dried almonds (No.
1207). Cut each into four slices, and lay them in a tin pan with a sheet
of paper under them. Put the pan in a warm place, but not on the stove.
Take a copper sugar-pan, or dropper, put into it six ounces of powdered
sugar, and place it on a hot stove; then with a dry, wooden spatula stir
continually, until the sugar is dissolved, being careful to avoid
browning it. Remove from the fire, add one drop of lemon juice, and let
it cool off slightly for three minutes, stirring constantly; then add
the almonds, mixing all gently with the spatula for two minutes. The
nougat is now ready for use, and can be molded into cornets-d’abondance,
columns, bases, or any shape the fancy may dictate.
=1267. Small Pyramid of Nougat.=--Oil slightly the interior of a small,
round base. Take half the nougat, prepared as for No. 1266, lay it on a
marble table (the nougat should always be hot), roll it out very thin
with an oiled roller, and with this line the oiled base. Then with a
whole lemon sharply press the nougat onto the mold to give it a perfect
form, cutting it evenly away all around the edge. Put the pieces with
the rest in the pan, and place near the fire to keep hot. Have a small
cornet-d’abondance (cornucopia), oil it slightly, and line the inside
with half the remaining nougat, rolled out as before, and pressing it
the same. Cut away all the superfluous part, and let it cool slightly.
Then unmold both the base and cornet. Oil a tartlet-mold, and line it
with the rest of the nougat. Lay the base carefully upon a glass stand
of suitable size, the covered part uppermost, and fasten to the stand
with cooked sugar (No. 1264). With cooked sugar fasten the cornet in the
middle, small end uppermost, using cooked sugar for the purpose. Put the
remaining piece from the tartlet-mold on top of all, and fasten it in
the same way. All this should be done carefully and patiently. Have
ready two well-peeled, sound oranges, pull them gently to pieces,
looking closely at each separate section to see that the skin is not
broken or loosened. Have a quarter of a pound of fresh Malaga grapes,
detach them, leaving on each grape about a quarter of an inch of stem.
Take also two ounces of candied cherries, plunge the grapes into the
cooked sugar (No. 1264), and with a fork lift them up, and immediately
lay them on a well-cleaned, oiled, marble table. Treat the pieces of
orange and the cherries each the same way. During this time, should the
sugar become cool, heat it up once more; fill the cornet with these
fruits, dipping one side of each piece into the cooked sugar to make
them adhere together. With a part of them fill the tart-shaped piece on
top, proceeding in the same manner, and decorate with glace royale (No.
1269).
=1269. Glace Royale.=--Put the white of one egg into a small bowl. Beat
it well with a small spatula, adding six ounces of extra fine sugar, and
squeezing in three drops of lemon juice. Then continue beating for
twenty minutes. When finished, it should be snow-white and pulpy. Make a
small brown paper cornet, cut off the lower end, slide down a small
fancy tube, and pour in some of the glace royale, covering the remainder
of it with a damp cloth. Then with the cornet decorate the edge of the
nougat base as in the preceding (No. 1268), also the upper edge, and all
around the edge of the cornet, and finish by decorating artistically the
tart-shaped piece on top; then send it to the table.
All nougat pieces, when finished, should be kept in a moderate
temperature.