Any smart cook will be careful to have the board nice and clean before making her pastry, and will not leave any of the dough adhering to the pan or board while making. It is best when rolled on marble. In very hot weather the butter should be put into cold water, to keep it as firm as possible; and if made early in the morning to be preserved from the air until it is baked. A good pastry cook will use less butter and make lighter crusts than others.
Using preserved fruits in pastry.—Preserved fruits should never be baked long; those that have been prepared with their full proportion of sugar need no baking; the crust should be baked in a tin shape, and a bit of bread put in to keep them in shape; when baked, take out the bread and add the preserve. It can be baked in small dishes, or tart pans, in fanciful shapes, such as cross bars or leaves.
How to keep suet for a year.—Take the firmest parts and pick free from skin and veins ; put it in a saucepan of water and boil it; it is better not to melt it in a frying pan, as it will taste; when boiled let it cool off, then strain it and wipe it dry; fold it in fine paper and put it in a linen bag; keep it in a dry but not hot place. When used, scrape it fine, and it will make a fine crust.
A RICH CRUST FOR CHEESECAKES OR PRESERVES.—Take a pound of the best flour, well dried; mix with it three ounces of refined sugar, then work half a pound of butter in it with your hand till it comes to a froth; put the flour into it by degrees, and work into it, well beaten and strained, the yolks of three and the whites of two eggs; if too limber, put in some flour and sugar to make it fit to roll. Line your small pans and fill; a little over fifteen minutes will bake them. When they are done, have ready some refined sugar beaten up with the white of an egg as thick as you can. Ice them all over; set them in an oven to harden, and serve cold. Use fresh butter.
MERINGUES.—Half a pound of sifted sugar and six eggs; whisk the whites in a large pan until they are perfectly white and thick like snow; then take a spoon and mix in the sugar lightly; do not work it too much, as it will make it soft, and it will be difficult to make the meringue. They can be shaped better when the batter is firm. Cut some foolscap paper into bands about two inches wide; then take a spoon nearly full of the batter, working it up at the side of the bowl in the form of an egg, and drop this slopingly upon one of the bands of the paper, at the same time drawing the edge of the spoon sharply around the outer base of the meringue, so as to give it a smooth and rounded appearance, that it may resemble an egg; do it all in the same way until the band is full; keep the meringues about two inches apart on the paper; as the bands are filled place them close beside each other on the table, and when the batter is used up shake some rather coarse sugar all over them and let it remain for three or four minutes; then take hold of one of the bands at each end, clear off the loose sugar; place the meringues on the board, allowing sufficient room for the oven, and so on with all the rest; bake a light color in a slow oven; when done, each piece of meringue must be carefully removed from the paper, the white part inside scooped out with a dessert spoon, and nicely smoothed over; they must then be placed in order on a baking sheet and put back into the oven to dry; take care they do not get more color. Previous to sending the meringues to table, whip some good cream with a little sifted sugar, a glass of brandy, a few drops of orange flower water, or vanilla; garnish each with a teaspoonful of this cream; join two together, dish them up in a pyramidal form on a napkin; you can make them all sizes to vary their form or appearance; previous to shaking the sugar over them, strew over them some fine pounded pestachios, or almonds, rough granite sugar, colored preserves, or any kind of ice creams.
MINCE PIE, WITHOUT MEAT.—Take six pounds of good apples, pared, cored, and minced; three pounds of fresh suet, or butter, and raisins stoned and minced; to these add a quarter of a ounce of mace, cinnamon, eight cloves in powder, three pounds of white sugar, a little salt, the rinds of four and the juice of two lemons, half a pint of port wine, and the same of brandy; mix well and put into a deep pan. Have washed and dried four pounds of currants, and add one pound of citron on candied peel.
A LIGHT PUFF PASTE.—It can never be made as nicely in summer as in cold weather, unless you are well supplied with ice; the butter must be kept in ice water until it is firm; mix it in a cool kitchen and use ice water to wet the flour; do not handle it more than you can possibly help; after it is mixed set it away in a pan, cover it with a cloth, and set it on ice; sift one pound of flour, reserve one-quarter of a pound; work out all the buttermilk from the butter; divide it into four equal parts, rub one-fourth of it into the flour, until it is smooth, wet this into a smooth dough, a little stiff, with a half a pint of water, a teaspoonful of salt, dissolved, then divide the rest of the butter into six parts; roll out half an inch thick, then place one of the parts of the batter rolled to the size of the paste; then sprinkle this with the other quarter of a pound of flour, fold it twice and turn it so the points will be towards you; flour the rolling-pin, and press it evenly and lightly and roll it from you, an inch thick; take care not to let the butter burst through the paste; repeat this until all the butter is used up; keep it as cool as possible; after it has been rolled each time put it away on ice for a quarter of an hour longer; if convenient, when the dough is finished, put it away on ice for two or three hours; then wet small pieces large enough for the size of your tart; use just enough flour to prevent it sticking to the slab or rolling-pin; you must use judgment in wetting the flour.
A RICH PUFF PASTE.—Take equal quantities of flour and butter as will be necessary for what you want; mix a little butter with the flour, and wet it with as much water as will make it into a stiff paste. Roll it out, and put half the butter over it in slices, turn the ends in and roll it thin; do this twice, and touch it as little as possible. It requires a quicker oven than for short crust. Set it away for three hours before making it into tarts.
RICE PASTE—For those who do not like flour paste, boil a quarter of a pound of rice in the smallest quantity of water; strain from it all the moisture as well as you can; beat it in a mortar with either half a pound of butter or fat, and one egg, well beaten, and it will make an excellent paste for tarts, etc.
GERMAN PUFFS.—Boil sixteen tablespoonfuls of flour in a quart of milk, and a little salt, then add to it six eggs; stir until fine; then butter twelve baking cups, and bake in a heated oven. To be eaten with clarified sugar, made in the following manner: take half a pint of water, half a pound of loaf sugar, and the rind of a lemon. Boil for twenty minutes. I would recommend less salt in all sweet things.
CHEESE PUFFS.—Take half a pint of cheese curd, strain well, a teaspoonful and a half of flour, three eggs, leave out the whites of two, a teaspoonful of orange flower water, a little nutmeg, and two ounces of white sugar; beat it fine; lay it in little patty pans, lined with puff paste. Bake in a hot oven a quarter of an hour.
ICING FOR TARTS.—Beat the white of an egg to a snow; wash the paste with it, and sift white sugar thickly on the top, after the paste has been baked, and then return it to the oven ; bake in a gentle oven till it is iced.
RHUBARB FOR TARTS.—Cut the rhubard into pieces of three or four inches long, and, with a little water and sugar to sweeten, or a thin syrup, stew one hour; then make a light paste, and line the dish with the paste.
COCOANUT TARTS.—After taking off the brown skin, grate the cocoanut fine, then mix three ounces of powdered white sugar with it; grate the rind of a lemon, and with the milk of the cocoanut make a nice paste. Line some tin baking dishes with a puff paste, and put the mixture into them. Bake a nice brown color.
LEMON TARTS.—Squeeze two large lemons and grate the rinds, strain the juice, and add two ounces of ground almonds, two ounces of grated bread crumbs, two ounces of suet or fat, six eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately to a snow, with four ounces of sifted sugar. Make a light puff paste around the dish, and bake in a quick oven.
COCOANUT CHEESECAKES.—Take the milk and grate the cocoanut without the brown skin, put it with its weight of white sugar into a saucepan, perfectly clean and tinned; keep gently stirring it until it is tender; it will take an hour to make it so; when it is cooled off, then add six eggs, the whites beaten to a froth, the yolks beaten separately, and the rind of a lemon, grated. Line some patty pans with a puff paste, and put in the mixture. Bake a quarter of an hour in a good hot oven.
A PLAIN CHEESECAKE.—Turn three quarts of milk to curd, break it and drain off the whey; when dry break it into a pan with two ounces of butter, beat till perfectly smooth; add to it a pint and a half of thin cream or good milk, and add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and three ounces of currants.
SUGAR COOKIES, No. 1.—One and a half cups of sugar, one egg, half a cup of butter, half a cup of sweet milk, one teaspoonful of soda, and two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar; roll and bake on buttered tins.
SUGAR COOKIES, No. 2.—Take one cup of sugar, half a cup of butter, one egg, and one-quarter of a teaspoonful of soda; roll very thin.
STICKIES.—Make a pastry, as before directed in pastry recipe, and cut into shapes; double them over as large as three inches long and square, and have prepared one pound of brown sugar, and half a pound of butter, boiling hot in a frying pan. Fry the stickies in this, and turn them over two or three times till they are well candied. They can be eaten hot or cold.
LEMON CHEESECAKES.—Mix four ounces of sifted lump sugar, and four ounces of melted butter; then add the yolks of two eggs and white of one, the rind of three lemons, grated fine, and the juice of one and a half. Half a pound of ladies'-finger biscuits, a few ground almonds, and a spoonful of brandy; mix well; put a light puff paste around the dish, and bake in a quick oven.
Orange cheesecakes are made in the same way, only the peel must be boiled in two or three waters, to take out the bitterness.
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE.—Take half a cup of butter, one quart of flour, one quart of milk, one teaspoonful of soda, and make into a dough; roll it out thin and bake it. When done split it, and spread with butter and fresh strawberries.
AN EXCELLENT TRIFLE.—Lay macaroons and ratafia over the bottom of a glass trifle dish, and pour some port wine over the cakes; pour over this some cold, rich custard; it must be two or three inches thick; on this put a layer of raspberry jam, and cover the whole with a very high whip of rich cream, made the day before, the whites of two eggs beaten to a snow, and grated lemon peel. Some prefer it made the day before, as it is thicker and far better. Very small candies, such as hundreds and thousands, strewed on top, will make it look beautiful for company.
GOOSEBERRY FOOL.—Put a quart of gooseberries into an earthenware lined saucepan with a little water at the bottom; when it is done enough to pulp, press it through a colander; have ready, if for supper, a cupful of cream and fresh milk boiled together, or three eggs instead of milk, well beaten; the fruit must be added to the raw egg whilst it is hot; sweeten and strew some cinnamon on the top; it is best eaten cold.
Rhubarb can be prepared in the same way, or cut into small pieces, and stewed in a syrup of white sugar, made in this way: a pint of water and one pound of sugar.
LAMPLECHS.—Take some light puff paste, roll it out and strew over chopped raisins, currants, apples, nutmeg, cinnamon and ground almonds; cut the paste into three inch lengths, and cover it with the same, and strew thickly over white sugar; first wet the paste on the top with a brush using the white of a beaten egg or water, and bake in a quick oven a light brown.
CHARLOTTE DE POMMES.—Butter a plain mould, and line it with thin slices of stale bread, dipped in clarified butter, joining each slice neatly, to prevent the syrup from escaping, which would spoil the appearance of the charlotte when done; then fill the mould with apple marmalade and apricot jam; cover the top with slices of bread dipped in butter, and on the top of the bread put a plate with a weight on it; set the mould in a quick oven from three-quarters of an hour to one hour, according to the size; turn it out with care, having drained the butter from it before taking it from the mould; sift loaf sugar over it, or cover it with clear jelly, and serve it hot.