The Cook's Oracle; and Housekeeper's Manual Part 82

Boil for a few minutes a pint and a half of new milk, with an ounce of picked isingla.s.s (if in summer, one ounce and a quarter), the rind of half a lemon, peeled very thin, a little cinnamon, and a blade of mace, and two and a half ounces of lump sugar: blanch and pound eight or ten bitter, and half an ounce of sweet almonds very fine, with a spoonful of rose water, and mix them with the milk; strain it through a lawn sieve or napkin into a basin, with half a pint of good cream. Let it stand half an hour; pour it into another basin, leaving the sediment at the bottom, and when nearly cold fill it into moulds: when wanted, put your finger round the mould; pull out the blancmange; set it in the centre of a dish, and garnish with slices of orange.

N.B. About half a gill of noyeau may be subst.i.tuted for the almonds.

_Orange Jelly._--(No. 47.)

Boil in a pint of water one ounce and a quarter of picked isingla.s.s, the rind of an orange cut thin, a stick of cinnamon, a few corianders, and three ounces of loaf-sugar, till the isingla.s.s is dissolved; then squeeze two Seville oranges or lemons, and enough China oranges to make a pint of juice: mix all together, and strain it through a tamis or lawn sieve into a basin; set it in a cold place for half an hour; pour it into another basin free from sediment; and when it begins to congeal, fill your mould: when wanted, dip the mould into lukewarm water; turn it out on a dish, and garnish with orange or lemon cut in slices, and placed round.

N.B. A few grains of saffron put in the water will add much to its appearance.

_Italian Cream._--(No. 48.)

Rub on a lump of sugar the rind of a lemon, and sc.r.a.pe it off with a knife into a deep dish or china bowl, and add half a gill of brandy, two ounces and a half of sifted sugar, the juice of a lemon, and a pint of double cream, and beat it up well with a clean whisk; in the meantime, boil an ounce of isingla.s.s in a gill of water till quite dissolved; strain it to the other ingredients; beat it some time, and fill your mould; and when cold and set well, dish it as in the foregoing receipt.

N.B. The above may be flavoured with any kind of liqueur, raspberry, strawberry, or other fruits, coloured with prepared cochineal, and named to correspond with the flavour given.

_Trifle._--(No. 49.)

Mix in a large bowl a quarter of a pound of sifted sugar, the juice of a lemon, some of the peel grated fine, half a gill of brandy, and ditto of Lisbon or sweet wine, and a pint and a half of good cream; whisk the whole well, and take off the froth as it rises with a skimmer, and put it on a sieve; continue to whisk it till you have enough of the whip; set it in a cold place to drain three or four hours; then lay in a deep dish six or eight sponge biscuits, a quarter of a pound of ratafia, two ounces of Jordan almonds blanched and split, some grated nutmeg and lemon-peel, currant jelly and raspberry jam, half a pint of sweet wine, and a little brandy; when the cakes have absorbed the liquor, pour over about a pint of custard, made rather thicker than for apple pie; and, when wanted, lay on lightly plenty of the whip, and throw over a few nonpareil comfits.

_Whip Syllabub._--(No. 50.)

Make a whip as in the last receipt; mix with a pint of cream, half a pint of sweet wine, a gla.s.s of brandy, the juice of a lemon, grated nutmeg, six ounces of sifted loaf sugar: nearly fill the custard-gla.s.ses with the mixture, and lay on with a spoon some of the whip.

_Chantilly Basket._--(No. 51.)

Dip into sugar boiled to a caramel (See No. 85) small ratafias, stick them on a dish in what form you please, then take ratafias one size larger, and having dipped them into the sugar, build them together till about four or five inches high; make a rim of York drops or drageas of gum paste, likewise a handful of sugar or ratafia, and set it over the basket; line the inside with wafer-paper, and a short time before it is wanted, fill it with a mixture the same as for trifle, and upon that plenty of good whip.

_Baked Custard._--(No. 52.)

Boil in a pint of milk, a few coriander seeds, a little cinnamon and lemon-peel; sweeten with four ounces of loaf sugar, and mix with it a pint of cold milk; beat well eight eggs for ten minutes, and add the other ingredients; pour it from one pan into another six or eight times, strain it through a sieve, and let it stand some time; skim off the froth from the top, fill it in earthen cups, and bake them immediately in a hot oven, give them a good colour; about ten minutes will do them.

_Boiled Custard._--(No. 53.)

Boil in a pint of milk, five minutes, lemon-peel, corianders, and cinnamon, a small quant.i.ty of each, half a dozen of bitter almonds, blanched and pounded, and four ounces of loaf sugar: mix it with a pint of cream, the yelks of ten eggs, and the whites of six, well beaten; pa.s.s it through a hair-sieve, stir it with a whisk over a slow fire till it begins to thicken, remove it from the fire, and continue to stir it till nearly cold; add two table-spoonfuls of brandy, fill the cups or gla.s.ses, and grate nutmeg over.

_Almond Custards._--(No. 54.)

Blanch and pound fine, with half a gill of rose water, six ounces of sweet, and half an ounce of bitter almonds; boil a pint of milk as No.

52; sweeten it with two ounces and a half of sugar; rub the almonds through a fine sieve, with a pint of cream; strain the milk to the yelks of eight eggs, and the whites of three well-beaten; stir it over a fire till it is of a good thickness; take it off the fire, and stir it till nearly cold, to prevent its curdling.

N.B. The above may be baked in cups, or in a dish, with a rim of puff paste put round.

_Twelfth Cake._--(No. 55.)

Two pounds of sifted flour, two pounds of sifted loaf sugar, two pounds of b.u.t.ter, eighteen eggs, four pounds of currants, one half pound of almonds blanched and chopped, one half pound of citron, one pound of candied orange and lemon-peel cut into thin slices, a large nutmeg grated, half an ounce of ground allspice; ground cinnamon, mace, ginger, and corianders, a quarter of an ounce of each, and a gill of brandy.

Put the b.u.t.ter into a stew-pan, in a warm place, and work it into a smooth cream with the hand, and mix it with the sugar and spice in a pan (or on your paste board) for some time; then break in the eggs by degrees, and beat it at least twenty minutes; stir in the brandy, and then the flour, and work it a little; add the fruit, sweetmeats, and almonds, and mix all together lightly; have ready a hoop cased with paper, on a baking-plate; put in the mixture, smooth it on the top with your hand, dipped in milk; put the plate on another, with sawdust between, to prevent the bottom from colouring too much: bake it in a slow oven[376-*] four hours or more, and when nearly cold, ice it with No. 84.

This mixture would make a handsome cake, full twelve or fourteen inches over.

_Obs._--If made in cold weather, the eggs should be broken into a pan, and set into another filled with hot water; likewise the fruit, sweetmeats, and almonds, laid in a warm place, otherwise it may chill the b.u.t.ter, and cause the cake to be heavy.

_Bride, or Wedding Cake._--(No. 56.)

The only difference usually made in these cakes is, the addition of one pound of raisins, stoned and mixed with the other fruit.

_Plain Pound Cake._--(No. 57.)

Cream, as in No. 55, one pound of b.u.t.ter, and work it well together with one pound of sifted sugar till quite smooth; beat up nine eggs, and put them by degrees to the b.u.t.ter, and beat them for twenty minutes; mix in lightly one pound of flour; put the whole into a hoop, cased with paper, on a baking-plate, and bake it about one hour in a moderate oven.

An ounce of caraway-seeds added to the above, will make what is termed a rich seed cake.

_Plum Pound Cake._--(No. 58.)

Make a cake as No. 57, and when you have beaten it, mix in lightly half a pound of currants, two ounces of orange, and two ounces of candied lemon-peel cut small, and half a nutmeg grated.

_Common Seed Cake._--(No. 59.)

Sift two and a half pounds of flour, with half a pound of good Lisbon or loaf sugar, pounded into a pan or bowl; make a cavity in the centre, and pour in half a pint of lukewarm milk, and a table-spoonful of thick yest; mix the milk and yest with enough flour to make it as thick as cream (this is called setting a sponge); set it by in a warm place for one hour; in the meantime, melt to an oil half a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter, and add it to the other ingredients, with one ounce of caraway-seeds, and enough of milk to make it of a middling stiffness; line a hoop with paper, well rubbed over with b.u.t.ter; put in the mixture; set it some time to prove in a stove, or before the fire, and bake it on a plate about an hour, in rather a hot oven; when done, rub the top over with a paste-brush dipped in milk.

_Rich Yest Cake._--(No. 60.)

Set a sponge as in the foregoing receipt, with the same proportions of flour, sugar, milk, and yest: when it has lain some time, mix it with three quarters of a pound of b.u.t.ter oiled, one pound and a quarter of currants, half a pound of candied lemon and orange-peel cut fine, grated nutmeg, ground allspice and cinnamon, a quarter of an ounce of each: case a hoop as stated No. 59, bake it in a good-heated oven one hour and a half.

N.B. It may be iced with No. 84, and ornamented as a twelfth cake.

_Queen, or Heart Cakes._--(No. 61.)

One pound of sifted sugar, one pound of b.u.t.ter, eight eggs, one pound and a quarter of flour, two ounces of currants, and half a nutmeg grated.

Cream the b.u.t.ter as at No. 55, and mix it well with the sugar and spice, then put in half the eggs and beat it ten minutes, add the remainder of the eggs, and work it ten minutes longer, stir in the flour lightly, and the currants afterward, then take small tin pans of any shape (hearts the most usual), rub the inside of each with b.u.t.ter, fill and bake them a few minutes in a hot oven, on a sheet of matted wire, or on a baking-plate; when done, remove them as early as possible from the pans.

_Queen's Drops._--(No. 62.)