The Skilful Cook Part 48

Wet the edges of the pie-dish, and lay them evenly round it.

Peel, core, and quarter the apples.

Put them into the pie-dish, mixing them with the sugar.

Pile them up well in the middle of the dish, pressing them to an oval shape with the hands.

Pour in the water, and sprinkle over the lemon rind or cloves.

Wet the edges of the pastry, lining the dish, and put over the piece reserved for the cover.

Press the edges lightly together, and trim with a knife.

Make a small hole with a skewer on either side of the cover to let the steam escape.

To glaze, brush over with the white of an egg, and dust with castor sugar.

Bake from half to three-quarters of an hour. The oven should be very quick at first, and moderate afterwards.

Any Fruit Tart may be made by this recipe. Sugar must be added according to the acidity of the fruit used.

Genoise Pastry.

_Ingredients_--6 oz. of flour.

6 oz. of b.u.t.ter.

8 oz. of castor sugar.

7 eggs.

_Method._--Melt the b.u.t.ter in a stewpan, and brush over a _saute_ pan or shallow cake tin with it.

Line the pan with paper, and brush that also with the melted b.u.t.ter.

Break the eggs into a basin.

Add to them the sugar, and beat with a whisk for about twenty minutes until they rise.

The basin containing them may be placed on a saucepan of hot water; but care must be taken that the heat is not too great, as that would cook the eggs.

When the eggs are sufficiently beaten, _stir_ in the flour and b.u.t.ter _very lightly_.

If _beaten_ in, the pastry will not be light.

Pour the mixture into the pan, and bake for about an hour.

Genoise Sandwiches.

_Ingredients_--Genoise pastry.

Jam.

_Method._--Cut the Genoise pastry into slices.

Spread them with jam.

Lay the slices one on the other, and cut in triangular shapes.

Genoise iced-cakes.

_Ingredients_--Genoise pastry.

Jam.

Grated cocoa-nut.

Iceing.

_Method._--Stamp out small cakes of Genoise pastry with a round cutter.

Spread the sides thinly with jam.

Roll the cakes in the cocoa-nut.

Ice round the top of the cakes, and put some jam in the middle of the iceing.

Genoise Preserve-cakes.

_Ingredients_--Uncooked Genoise pastry.

Some preserve.

Some syrup of sugar and water.

Hundreds and thousands.

Chopped _pistachio_ kernels.

Grated cocoa-nut.

_Method._--Partly fill small well-b.u.t.tered dariol moulds with the Genoise mixture, and bake in a moderate oven.

When done, and sufficiently cool, cut a small circular piece from the bottom of the cakes.

Scoop out some of the inside, and fill them with the preserve.

Replace the small circular piece.

Brush the cakes over with the syrup, and roll them in the hundreds and thousands, chopped _pistachio_, and cocoa-nut.

They should be entirely covered with the decorations.

Pile them prettily on a dish, and decorate them with holly leaves.