The Myrtle Reed Cook Book Part 94

PINEAPPLE SPONGE

Grate a fresh pineapple, add a cupful of sugar, and simmer slowly for ten minutes. Add half a package of gelatine which has been soaked and dissolved in as little water as possible, and when cool but not set, fold in the stiffly beaten whites of four eggs. Serve with a custard made of a pint of milk sweetened to taste, flavored with vanilla, and thickened with the beaten yolks of four eggs. A can of grated pineapple may be used instead of the fresh fruit.

PLUM ROLL

Sift a quart of flour with a teaspoonful of salt, and three teaspoonfuls of baking-powder, rub in two tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter, and add enough milk to make a soft dough. Roll out, spread with one cupful of chopped raisins and half a cupful of chopped citron.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, roll up, and steam for half an hour or more. Serve hot with Hard Sauce.

PRUNE SPONGE

Beat three eggs separately and mix. Add half a cupful of sugar, half a teaspoonful of vanilla, and three-fourths cupful of flour sifted with a teaspoonful of baking-powder. Soak and pit fifteen prunes, drain, chop fine, add half a cupful of sugar and the juice of half a lemon.

Put the prunes in a b.u.t.tered baking-dish, cover with the batter, and bake for twenty or twenty-five minutes.

QUINCE FLUFF

Cut up four or five quinces and boil until soft in water to cover, then peel, and rub through a sieve. Sweeten to taste, add the unbeaten whites of four eggs, and beat to a froth with an egg-beater. Serve immediately in dessert dishes.

QUINCE TRIFLE

Stew four quinces until soft, rub through a colander, and sweeten to taste. Turn into a gla.s.s dish and cover with a boiled custard made of one pint of milk, the yolks of three eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Cover with a meringue and serve.

RICE b.a.l.l.s WITH CUSTARD

Wash a cupful of rice and soak for an hour in cold water to cover.

Drain and cook until soft in two and one-half cupfuls of milk, adding a teaspoonful of salt when the rice is nearly soft. Add sugar to taste and any preferred flavoring. Wet custard cups in cold water, fill with rice and chill. At serving time turn out on a platter, put a bit of red jelly on each ball of rice and surround with boiled custard.

RASPBERRY SPONGE

Bring to a boil two and one-half cupfuls of raspberry juice, sweetening to taste. Add half a package of soaked gelatine, and stir until dissolved. When cool but not set, fold in the stiffly beaten whites of three eggs, and beat until stiff. Mould, chill, and serve with whipped cream. Strawberry or currant juice may be used in the same way.

STRAWBERRY MERINGUE

Beat the whites of seven eggs to a stiff froth and add gradually a pinch of salt and seven tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar. Put into a b.u.t.tered baking-dish in layers, spreading each layer thinly with melted strawberry jam. Bake in a moderate oven for twenty-five minutes and serve very cold with whipped cream. Other jams may be used in the same way.

STRAWBERRY SPONGE

Rub a quart of strawberries through a sieve, sweeten heavily, and add the juice of a lemon. Add half a package of gelatine which has been soaked and dissolved, and when cool but not set, fold in the stiffly beaten whites of four eggs. Mould, chill, and serve with sugar and cream or with whipped cream. Other fruits may be used in the same way.

STRAWBERRY TRIFLE

Fill dessert gla.s.ses half full of sponge cake and strawberry preserves. Cover with a meringue flavored with strawberry juice or with boiled custard or with whipped cream, and serve with a few preserved strawberries on top. Other fruits may be served in the same way.

SNOW-b.a.l.l.s

Wet small square cloths in cold water and spread thinly with boiled rice. Put an apricot in the centre of each, having removed the stone.

Draw the cloths together, tie securely, and steam for ten or fifteen minutes. Remove the cloths and serve with a sauce made from fruit syrup. Almost any other fruit may be used instead of apricots.

SWEET PANCAKES

Mix two tablespoonfuls of flour with a few drops of orange-flower water and a few grains of salt. Add the yolks of four eggs, well-beaten, and the whites of two. Fry by tablespoonfuls in b.u.t.ter, turning once, and sprinkling with sugar. Or, spread with jelly, roll up, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

STEWED PEARS WITH RICE

Peel, split, and core four large pears and cook until tender with two cupfuls of claret and one cupful of sugar. Boil half a cupful of rice until soft in milk to cover, sweetening and flavoring to taste. Spread the rice in a serving-dish, arrange the pears upon it, reduce the syrup by rapid boiling, pour over, and serve ice cold. Other fruits may be used in the same way.

VANITIES

Beat two eggs very light, add a pinch of salt, and flour to roll. Roll as thin as possible, cut into fancy shapes and fry brown in deep fat.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

VIRGINIA PUFFS

Cream half a cupful of b.u.t.ter with a cupful of sugar, add the beaten yolks of four eggs, a teaspoonful of vanilla, and sift in a cupful of cornstarch and two teaspoonfuls of baking-powder, alternating with the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs. Bake in b.u.t.tered gem-pans, hissing hot, in a quick oven. Serve with any preferred sauce.