Make a large sponge-cake of forty eggs as directed (No. 1369), bake it
in a large oval tin dish-cover (about two hours and a half would be the
time required), and the next day cut it with your knife into the form of
the body of a swan (leaving a space in the breast down the front for the
neck), empty the interior as in the last; ice it over with a white
iceing, and when upon the point of setting ruffle it with the prongs of
a fork in imitation of feathers, form the head and neck of pâte d’office
(No. 1137) by rolling out a piece with the hands of sufficient length
and proportionate thickness to form the neck, being rather thicker at
one end than at the other; cut it in halves lengthwise, placing them
upon a buttered baking-sheet, the cut side downwards, model each half
head with taste separately, form each piece exactly alike, and of the
same size for the neck, being somewhat in the form of the letter S, but
finishing quite straight at the bottom, bake them in a moderate oven,
and when done join them together with a paste made of flour and white of
egg, with which also affix it to the dish you intend serving it upon
(previously scraping the bottom of the neck quite flat with a knife),
mask it over with a white iceing, and when upon the point of setting
ruffle it with the prongs of a fork, and set in a warm place until dry;
an hour before serving pour some gelée au maresquin (No. 1227) cold, but
not set, into the dish, filling it to the inner rim, and stand it in a
cold place until set; when ready to serve empty the interior of the
body, which soak with three glasses of maresquino and three of brandy;
fill with a vanilla ice (No. 1381), with which you have mixed two ounces
of citron, two ounces of angelica, two ounces of currants, and two
ounces of Smyrna raisins, the citron and angelica cut into dice, and all
soaked three hours in maresquino and brandy; turn it over on your dish
upon the jelly, fixing it neatly to the neck, you have previously made
some sucre filé (No. 1380), with which form the wings and tail, and fix
in their respective places, whip about a quart more of the jelly as
above upon ice until upon the point of setting, and with it, when set,
form a kind of foam at the breast, diminishing it at the sides by
degrees, in imitation of waves caused by the bird swimming.