FANCY CAKES AND CONFECTIONS
Almond paste for making macaroons and small fancy cakes may be bought of
dealers who keep confectioners’ supplies, although sometimes a resident
baker or confectioner will sell a small quantity. Almond paste is put up
in five-pound tin pails, and retails for one and one-half dollars per
pail. During the cold weather it will keep after being opened for a long
time.
Macaroons
½ lb. almond paste
Whites 3 eggs
⅜ lb. powdered sugar
Work together almond paste and sugar on a smooth board or marble slab.
Then add whites of eggs gradually, and work until mixture is perfectly
smooth. Confectioners at first use the hand, afterwards a palette knife,
which is not only of use for mixing but for keeping board clean. Shape,
using a pastry bag and tube, on a tin sheet covered with buttered paper,
one-half inch apart; or drop mixture from tip of spoon in small piles.
Macaroon mixture is stiff enough to hold its shape, but in baking
spreads. Bake fifteen to twenty minutes in a slow oven. If liked soft,
they should be slightly baked. After removing from oven, invert paper,
and wet with a cloth wrung out of cold water, when macaroons will easily
slip off.
Almond Macaroons
Sprinkle Macaroons, before baking, with almonds blanched and shredded,
or chopped.
Crescents
½ lb. almond paste
2 ozs. confectioners’ sugar
White 1 small egg
Almonds, blanched and finely chopped
Mix same as Macaroons. Shape mixture, which is quite soft, in a long
roll. Cut pieces from roll three-fourths inch long. Roll each separately
in chopped nuts, at the same time shaping to form a crescent. Bake
twenty minutes on a buttered tin sheet in a slow oven. Cool, and frost
with Confectioners’ Frosting, made thin enough to apply with a brush,
and flavored with lemon juice until quite acid. Other nuts may be used
in place of almonds.
Cinnamon Bars
10 ozs. almond paste
5 ozs. confectioners’ sugar
White 1 egg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Mix same as Macaroons. Dredge a board with sugar, knead mixture
slightly, and shape in a long roll. Pat, and roll one-fourth inch thick,
using a rolling-pin. After rolling the piece should be four inches wide.
Spread with frosting made of white of one egg and two-thirds cup
confectioners’ sugar beaten together until stiff enough to spread. Cut
in strips four inches long by three-fourths inch wide. This must be
quickly done, as a crust soon forms over frosting. To accomplish this,
use two knives, one placed through mixture where dividing line is to be
made, and the other used to make a clean sharp cut on both sides of
first knife. Knives should be kept clean by wiping on a damp cloth.
Remove strips as soon as cut, to a tin sheet, greased with lard and then
floured. Bake twenty minutes on centre grate in a slow oven.
Horseshoes
Use Cinnamon Bar mixture. Cover with frosting colored with fruit red.
Cut in strips six inches long by one-half inch wide. As soon as cut,
shape quickly, at the same time carefully, in form of horseshoes. Bake
same as Cinnamon Bars. When cool, make eight dots with chocolate
frosting to represent nails.
Cocoanut Cakes I
½ lb. fresh grated cocoanut
Whites 1½ eggs
6 ozs. sugar and glucose, using one mixing-spoon glucose
_German Confectioner_
Cook cocoanut, sugar, and glucose in double boiler until mixture clings
to spoon, add whites of eggs, stir vigorously, and cook until mixture
feels sticky when tried between the fingers. Spread in a wet pan, cover
with wet paper, and chill on ice. Shape in small balls, first dipping
hands in cold water. Bake twenty minutes in a slow oven on a tin sheet
greased with white wax.
Cocoanut Cakes II
1 lb. fresh grated cocoanut
¾ lb. sugar
Whites 2 eggs
Cook, shape, and bake same as Cocoanut Cakes I.
Stuffed Dates I
Make a cut the entire length of dates and remove stones. Fill cavities
with castanea nuts, English walnuts, or blanched almonds, and shape in
original form. Roll in granulated sugar. Pile in rows on a small plate
covered with a doily. If castanea nuts are used, with a sharp knife cut
off the brown skin which lies next to shell.
Stuffed Dates II
Remove stones from dates and fill cavities with Neufchâtel cheese.
Salted Almonds I
Blanch one-fourth pound Jordan almonds and dry on a towel. Put one-third
cup olive oil in a very small saucepan. When hot, put in one-fourth of
the almonds and fry until delicately browned, stirring to keep almonds
constantly in motion. Remove with a spoon or small skimmer, taking up as
little oil as possible. Drain on brown paper and sprinkle with salt;
repeat until all are fried. It may be necessary to remove some of the
salt by wiping nuts with a napkin.
Salted Almonds II
Prepare almonds as for Salted Almonds I. Fry in one-third cup fat, using
half lard and half clarified butter or all cocoanut butter. Drain, and
sprinkle with salt.
Salted Peanuts
In buying peanuts for salting, get those which have not been roasted.
Remove skins and fry same as Salted Almonds I or II.
Salted Pecans
Shelled pecans may be bought by the pound, which is much the best way
when used for salting, as it is difficult to remove the nut meat without
breaking. Fry same as salted Almonds I or II. Care must be taken that
they do not remain in fat too long; having a dark skin, color does not
determine when they are sufficiently cooked.
Parisian Sweets
1 lb. figs
1 lb. dates
1 lb. English walnut meat
Confectioners’ sugar
Pick over and remove stems from figs and stones from dates. Mix fruit
with walnut meat, and force through a meat chopper. Work, using the
hands, on a board dredged with confectioners’ sugar, until well blended.
Roll to one-fourth inch thickness, using confectioners’ sugar for
dredging board and pin. Shape with a small round cutter, first dipped in
sugar, or cut with a sharp knife in three-fourth inch squares. Roll each
piece in confectioners’ sugar, and shake to remove superfluous sugar.
Pack in layers in a tin box, putting paper between each layer. These
confections may be used at dinner in place of bonbons or ginger chips. A
combination of nut meat (walnut, almond, and filbert) may be used in
equal proportions.
Sugared Popped Corn
2 quarts popped corn
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups brown sugar
½ cup water
Put butter in saucepan, and when melted add sugar and water. Bring to
boiling-point, and let boil sixteen minutes. Pour over corn, and stir
until every kernel is well coated with sugar.
Molasses Candy
2 cups Porto Rico molasses
⅔ cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vinegar
An iron kettle with a rounding bottom (Scotch kettle) or copper kettle
is best for candy making. If one has no copper kettle, a granite kettle
is best for sugar candies.
Put butter in kettle, place over fire, and when melted, add molasses and
sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. During the first of the boiling
stirring is unnecessary, but when nearly cooked, it should be constantly
stirred. Boil until, when tried in cold water, mixture will become
brittle. Add vinegar just before taking from fire. Pour into a well
buttered pan. When cool enough to handle, pull until porous and
light-colored, allowing candy to come in contact with tips of fingers
and thumbs, not to be squeezed in the hand. Cut in small pieces, using
large shears or a sharp knife, and then arrange on slightly buttered
plates to cool.
Velvet Molasses Candy
1 cup molasses
3 cups sugar
1 cup boiling water
3 tablespoons vinegar
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup melted butter
¼ teaspoon soda
Put first four ingredients in kettle placed over front of range. As soon
as boiling-point is reached, add cream of tartar. Boil until, when tried
in cold water, mixture will become brittle. Stir constantly during last
part of cooking. When nearly done, add butter and soda. Pour into a
buttered pan and pull same as Molasses Candy. While pulling, add one
teaspoon vanilla, one-half teaspoon lemon extract, few drops oil of
peppermint, or few drops oil of wintergreen.
Buttercups
2 cups molasses
1 cup sugar
½ cup boiling water
2 tablespoons butter
⅓ teaspoon cream of tartar
Fondant flavored with vanilla
Boil ingredients (except fondant) until, when tried in cold water, a
firm ball may be formed in the fingers, not stirring until the last few
minutes of cooking. Pour on a buttered platter, and when cool enough to
handle, pull until light-colored. Shape on a floured board, having strip
wide enough to enclose a roll of fondant one inch in diameter. Place
fondant on candy, bring edges of candy together, and press firmly over
fondant. With both hands pull candy into a long strip. Cut in small
pieces; each piece will consist of fondant encircled with molasses
candy. Care must be taken that candy is not cooked too long, as it
should be soft rather than brittle.
Vinegar Candy
2 cups sugar
½ cup vinegar
2 tablespoons butter
Put butter into kettle; when melted, add sugar and vinegar. Stir until
sugar is dissolved, afterwards occasionally. Boil until, when tried in
cold water, mixture will become brittle. Turn on a buttered platter to
cool. Pull, and cut same as Molasses Candy.
Ice Cream Candy
3 cups sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup boiling water
½ tablespoon vinegar
Boil ingredients together without stirring, until, when tried in cold
water, mixture will become brittle. Turn on a well buttered platter to
cool. As edges cool, fold towards centre. As soon as it can be handled,
pull until white and glossy. While pulling, flavor as desired, using
vanilla, orange extract, coffee extract, oil of sassafras, or melted
chocolate. Cut in sticks or small pieces.
Butter Scotch
1 cup sugar
¼ cup molasses
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons boiling water
½ cup butter
Boil ingredients together until, when tried in cold water, mixture will
become brittle. Turn into a well buttered pan; when slightly cool, mark
with a sharp-pointed knife in squares. This candy is much improved by
cooking a small piece of vanilla bean with other ingredients.
Butter Taffy
2 cups light brown sugar
¼ cup molasses
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons water
⅞ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
Boil first five ingredients until, when tried in cold water mixture will
become brittle. When nearly done, add butter, and just before turning
into pan, vanilla. Cool, and mark in squares.
Horehound Candy
¾ square inch pressed horehound
2 cups boiling water
3 cups sugar
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
Pour boiling water over horehound which has been separated in pieces;
let stand one minute, then strain through double cheese-cloth. Put into
a granite kettle with remaining ingredients, and boil until, when tried
in cold water, mixture will become brittle. Turn into a buttered pan,
cool slightly, then mark in small squares. Small square packages of
horehound may be bought for five cents.
Chocolate Caramels
2½ tablespoons butter
2 cups molasses
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup milk
3 squares chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla
Put butter into kettle; when melted, add molasses, sugar, and milk. Stir
until sugar is dissolved, and when boiling-point is reached, add
chocolate, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted. Boil until,
when tried in cold water, a firm ball may be formed in the fingers. Add
vanilla just after taking from fire. Turn into a buttered pan, cool, and
mark in small squares.
Nut Chocolate Caramels
To Chocolate Caramels add the meat from one pound English walnuts broken
in pieces, or one-half pound almonds blanched and chopped.
Rich Chocolate Caramels
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup milk
½ cup sugar
1 cup molasses
4 squares chocolate
1 cup walnut meats, broken in pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla
Put butter in saucepan and when melted add milk, sugar and molasses.
When boiling-point is reached add chocolate, and cook until brittle when
tried in cold water, stirring occasionally to prevent mixture from
adhering to pan. Remove from fire, beat three minutes, add nut meats and
vanilla, and turn into a buttered pan. When cold cut in squares and wrap
in paraffine paper.
Peanut Nougat
1 lb. sugar
1 quart peanuts
Shell, remove skins, and finely chop peanuts. Sprinkle with one-fourth
teaspoon salt. Put sugar in a perfectly smooth granite saucepan, place
on range, and stir constantly until melted to a syrup, taking care to
keep sugar from sides of pan. Add nut meat, pour at once into a warm
buttered tin, and mark in small squares. If sugar is not removed from
range as soon as melted, it will quickly caramelize.
Nut Bar
Cover the bottom of a buttered shallow pan with one and one-third cups
nut meat (castaneas, English walnuts, or almonds) cut in quarters. Pour
over one pound sugar, melted as for Peanut Nougat. Mark in bars.
French Nougat
½ lb. confectioners’ sugar
¼ lb. almonds, blanched and finely chopped
Confectioners’ chocolate
Put sugar in a saucepan, place on range, and stir constantly until
melted; add almonds, and pour on an oiled marble. Fold mixture as it
spreads with a broad-bladed knife, keeping it constantly in motion.
Divide in four parts, and as soon as cool enough to handle shape in long
rolls about one-third inch in diameter, keeping rolls in motion until
almost cold. When cold, snap in pieces one and one-half inches long.
This is done by holding roll at point to be snapped over the sharp edge
of a broad-bladed knife and snapping. Melt confectioners’ chocolate over
hot water, beat with a fork until light and smooth, and when slightly
cooled dip pieces in chocolate and with a two-tined fork or bonbon
dipper remove from chocolate to oiled paper, drawing dipper through top
of each the entire length, thus leaving a ridge. Chocolate best adapted
for dipping bonbons and confections must be bought where confectioners’
supplies are kept.
Nougatine Drops
Drop French Nougat mixture from the tip of a spoon on an oiled marble
very soon after taking from fire. These drops have a rough surface. When
cold, dip in melted confectioners’ chocolate.
Wintergreen Wafers
1 oz. gum tragacanth
1 cup cold water
Confectioners’ sugar
Oil of wintergreen
Soak gum tragacanth in water twenty-four hours and rub through a fine
wire sieve; add enough confectioners’ sugar to knead. Flavor with a few
drops of oil of wintergreen. If liked pink, color with fruit red. Roll
until very thin on a board or marble dredged with sugar. Shape with a
small round cutter or cut in three-fourths inch squares. Spread wafers,
cover, and let stand until dry and brittle. This mixture may be flavored
with oil of lemon, clove, sassafras, etc., and colored as desired.
Cocoanut Cream Candy
1½ cups sugar
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons butter
⅓ cup shredded cocoanut
½ teaspoon vanilla
Put butter into granite saucepan; when melted, add sugar and milk, and
stir until sugar is dissolved. Heat to boiling-point, and boil twelve
minutes; remove from fire, add cocoanut and vanilla, and beat until
creamy and mixture begins to sugar slightly around edge of saucepan.
Pour at once into a buttered pan, cool slightly, and mark in squares.
One-half cup nut meat, broken in pieces, may be used in place of
cocoanut.
Chocolate Cream Candy
2 cups sugar
⅔ cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
2 squares chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla
Put butter into granite saucepan; when melted, add sugar and milk. Heat
to boiling-point; then add chocolate, and stir constantly until
chocolate is melted. Boil thirteen minutes, remove from fire, add
vanilla, and beat until creamy and mixture begins to sugar slightly
around edge of saucepan. Pour at once into a buttered pan, cool
slightly, and mark in squares. Omit vanilla, if desired, and add, while
cooking, one-fourth teaspoon cinnamon.
Maple Sugar Candy
1 lb. soft maple sugar
¾ cup thin cream
¼ cup boiling water
⅔ cup English walnut or pecan meat, cut in pieces
Break sugar in pieces; put into a saucepan with cream and water. Bring
to boiling-point, and boil until a soft ball is formed when tried in
cold water. Remove from fire, beat until creamy, add nut meat, and pour
into a buttered tin. Cool slightly, and mark in squares.
Sultana Caramels
2 cups sugar
½ cup milk
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup butter
2 squares chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup English walnut or hickory nut meat, cut in pieces
2 tablespoons Sultana raisins
Put butter into a saucepan; when melted, add sugar, milk, and molasses.
Heat to boiling-point, and boil seven minutes. Add chocolate, and stir
until chocolate is melted; then boil seven minutes longer. Remove from
fire, beat until creamy, add nuts, raisins, and vanilla, and pour at
once into a buttered tin. Cool slightly, and mark in squares. The nut
meats and raisins may be omitted.
Pralines
1⅞ cups powdered sugar
1 cup maple syrup
½ cup cream
2 cups hickory nut or pecan meat, cut in pieces
Boil first three ingredients until, when tried in cold water, a soft
ball may be formed. Remove from fire, and beat until of a creamy
consistency; add nuts, and drop from tip of spoon in small piles on
buttered paper, or mixture may be poured into a buttered tin and cut in
squares, using a sharp knife.
Creamed Walnuts
White 1 egg
½ tablespoon cold water
¾ teaspoon vanilla
1 lb. confectioners’ sugar
English walnuts
Put egg, water, and vanilla in a bowl, and beat until well blended. Add
sugar gradually until stiff enough to knead. Shape in balls, flatten,
and place halves of walnuts opposite each other on each piece. Sometimes
all the sugar will not be required.
Peppermints
1½ cups sugar
½ cup boiling water
6 drops oil peppermint
Put sugar and water into a granite saucepan and stir until sugar is
dissolved. Boil ten minutes; remove from fire, add peppermint, and beat
until of right consistency. Drop from tip of spoon on slightly buttered
paper.
BOILED SUGAR FOR CONFECTIONS
Eleven tests are considered for boiling sugar:—
Small thread, 215° F.
Large thread, 217°
Pearl, 220°
Large pearl, 222°
The blow, 230°
The feather, 232°
Soft ball, 238°
Hard ball, 248°
Small crack, 290°
Crack, 310°
Caramel, 350°
Fondant, the basis of all French candy, is made of sugar and water
boiled together (with a small quantity of cream of tartar to prevent
sugar from granulating) to soft ball, 238° F. The professional
confectioner is able to decide when syrup has boiled to the right
temperature by sound while boiling, and by testing in cold water; these
tests at first seem somewhat difficult to the amateur, but only a little
experience is necessary to make fondant successfully. A sugar
thermometer is often employed, and proves valuable, as by its use one
need not exercise his judgment.
White Fondant
2½ lbs. sugar
1½ cups hot water
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Put ingredients into a smooth granite stewpan. Stir, place on range, and
heat gradually to boiling-point. Boil without stirring until, when tried
in cold water, a soft ball may be formed that will just keep in shape,
which is 238° F. After a few minutes’ boiling, sugar will adhere to
sides of kettle; this should be washed off with the hand first dipped in
cold water. Have a pan of cold water near at hand, dip hand in cold
water, then quickly wash off a small part of the sugar with tips of
fingers, and repeat until all sugar adhering to side of saucepan is
removed. If this is quickly done, there is no danger of burning the
fingers. Pour slowly on a slightly oiled marble slab. Let stand a few
minutes to cool, but not long enough to become hard around the edge.
Scrape fondant with chopping knife to one end of marble, and work with a
wooden spatula until white and creamy. It will quickly change from this
consistency, and begin to lump, when it should be kneaded with the hands
until perfectly smooth.
Put into a bowl, cover with oiled paper to exclude air, that a crust may
not form on top, and let stand twenty-four hours. A large oiled platter
and wooden spoon may be used in place of marble slab and spatula. Always
make fondant on a clear day, as a damp, heavy atmosphere has an
unfavorable effect on the boiling of sugar.
Coffee Fondant
2½ lbs. sugar
1½ cups cold water
¼ cup ground coffee
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Put water and coffee in saucepan, and heat to boiling-point. Strain
through double cheese-cloth; then add sugar and cream of tartar. Boil,
and work same as White Fondant.
Maple Fondant
1¼ lbs. maple sugar
1¼ lbs. sugar
1 cup hot water
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Break maple sugar in pieces and add to remaining ingredients. Boil, and
work same as White Fondant.
Bonbons
The centres of bonbons are made of fondant shaped in small balls. If
White Fondant is used, flavor as desired,—vanilla being usually
preferred. For cocoanut centres, work as much shredded cocoanut as
possible into a small quantity of fondant; for nut centres, surround
pieces of nut meat with fondant, using just enough to cover. French
candied cherries are often used in this way. Allow balls to stand over
night, and dip the following day.
=To Dip Bonbons.= Put fondant in saucepan, and melt over hot water;
color and flavor as desired. In coloring fondant, dip a small wooden
skewer in coloring paste, take up a small quantity, and dip skewer in
fondant. If care is not taken, the color is apt to be too intense.
During dipping, keep fondant over hot water that it may be kept of right
consistency. For dipping, use a two-tined fork or confectioners’ bonbon
dipper. Drop centres in fondant one at a time, stir until covered,
remove from fondant, put on oiled paper, and bring end of dipper over
the top of bonbon, thus leaving a tail-piece which shows that bonbons
have been hand dipped. Stir fondant between dippings to prevent a crust
from forming.
Cream Mints
Melt fondant over hot water, flavor with a few drops of oil of
peppermint, wintergreen, clove, cinnamon, or orange, and color if
desired. Drop from tip of spoon on oiled paper. Confectioners use rubber
moulds for shaping cream mints; but these are expensive for home use,
unless one is to make mints in large quantities.
Cream Nut Bars
Melt fondant and flavor, stir in any kind of nut meat, cut in pieces.
Turn in an oiled pan, cool, and cut in bars with a sharp knife. Maple
Fondant is delicious with nuts.
Dipped Walnuts
Melt fondant and flavor. Dip halves of walnuts as bonbon centres are
dipped. Halves of pecan or whole blanched almonds may be similarly
dipped.
Tutti-Frutti Candy
Fill an oiled border-mould with three layers of melted fondant. Have
bottom layer maple, well mixed with English walnut meat; the second
layer colored pink, flavored with rose, and mixed with candied cherries
cut in quarters and figs finely chopped; the third layer white, flavored
with vanilla, mixed with nuts, candied cherries cut in quarters, and
candied pineapple cut in small pieces. Cover mould with oiled paper, and
let stand over night. Remove from mould, and place on a plate covered
with a lace paper napkin. Fill centre with Bonbons and Glacé Nuts.
Glacé Nuts
2 cups sugar
1 cup boiling water
⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
Put ingredients in a smooth saucepan, stir, place on range, and heat to
boiling-point. Boil without stirring until syrup begins to discolor,
which is 310° F. Wash off sugar which adheres to sides of saucepan, as
in making fondant. Remove saucepan from fire, and place in larger pan of
cold water to instantly stop boiling. Remove from cold water and place
in a saucepan of hot water during dipping. Take nuts separately on a
long pin, dip in syrup to cover, remove from syrup, and place on oiled
paper.
Glacé Fruits
For Glacé Fruits, grapes, strawberries, sections of mandarins and
oranges, and candied cherries are most commonly used. Take grapes
separately from clusters, leaving a short stem on each grape. Dip in
syrup made as for Glacé Nuts, holding by stem with pincers. Remove to
oiled paper. Glacé fruits keep but a day, and should only be attempted
in cold and clear weather.
Candied Orange Peel
Remove peel from four thin-skinned oranges in quarters. Cover with cold
water, bring to boiling-point, and cook slowly until soft. Drain, remove
white portion, using a spoon, and cut yellow portion in thin strips,
using scissors. Boil one-half cup water and one cup sugar until syrup
will thread when dropped from tip of spoon. Cook strips in syrup five
minutes, drain, and coat with fine granulated sugar.
Spun Sugar
2 lbs. sugar
2 cups boiling water
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Put ingredients in a smooth saucepan. Boil without stirring until syrup
begins to discolor, which is 300° F. Wash off sugar which adheres to
sides of saucepan, as in making fondant. Remove saucepan from fire, and
place in a larger pan of cold water to instantly stop boiling. Remove
from cold water, and place in saucepan of hot water. Place two
broomstick-handles over backs of chairs, and spread paper on the floor
under them. When syrup is slightly cooled, put dipper in syrup, remove
from syrup, and shake quickly back and forth over broom-handles.
Carefully take off spun sugar as soon as formed, and shape in nests, or
pile lightly on a cold dish. Syrup may be colored if desired. Spun Sugar
is served around bricks or moulds of frozen creams and ices.
Dippers for spinning sugar are made of coarse wires; about twenty wires,
ten inches long, are put in a bundle, and fastened with wire coiled
round and round to form a handle.
[Illustration:
CREAM MINTS.—_Page 546._
]
[Illustration:
CANDIED ORANGE PEEL.—_Page 547._
]
[Illustration:
BREAD AND BUTTER FOLDS.—_Page 549._
]
[Illustration:
NOISETTE SANDWICHES.—_Page 552._
]