CHAPTER XVII.

TARTS AND PUFFS.

WE have already given directions for making puff-paste for tarts, as also the making of Tarts as well as Pies, in the commencement of the fifteenth chapter. We have, therefore, here to treat only of those of a smaller and more delicate kind, concerning which the following general observations are necessary.

If you use tin patties to bake it, butter the bottoms, and then put on a very thin bit of crust, otherwise you will not be able to take them out; but if you bake them in glass or china, you need only use an upper crust. Put some fine sugar at the bottom, then lay in your fruit, strew more sugar at top, cover them, and bake them in a slack oven. Currants and raspberries make an exceeding good tart, and require little baking.

Apples and pears intended for tarts must be managed thus: cut them into quarters, and take out the cores, then cut the quarters across, and put them into a saucepan, with as much water as will barely cover them, and let them simmer on a slow fire till the fruit is tender. Put a good piece of lemon-peel into the water with the fruit, and then have your patties ready. Lay fine sugar at bottom, then your fruit, and a little sugar at top. Pour over each tart one tea-spoonful of lemon-juice, and three of the liquor they were boiled in; then put on your lid, and bake them in a slack oven. Apricot tarts may be made in the same manner, only that you must not put in any lemon-juice.

Preserved fruit requires very little baking, and that which is very high preserved should not be baked at all. In this case, the crust should be first baked upon a tin the size of the intended tart; cut it with a marking iron, and when cold, take it off, and lay it on the fruit.

SECT. I.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF TARTS.

Raspberry Tart.

ROLL out some thin puff-paste, and lay it in a patty-pan; then put in some raspberries, and strew over them some very fine sugar. Put on the lid, and bake it. Then cut it open, and put in half a pint of cream, the yolks of two or three eggs well beaten, and a little sugar. Give it another heat in the oven, and it will be fit for use.

Green Almond Tarts.

GATHER some almonds off the tree before they begin to shell, scrape off the down, and put them into a pan with some cold spring water. Then put them into a skillet with more spring water, set it on a slow fire, and let it remain till it just simmers. Change the water twice, and let them remain in the last till they begin to be tender. Then take them out, and dry them well in a cloth. Make a syrup with double refined sugar, put them into it, and let them simmer a short time. Do the same the next day, put them into a stone jar, and cover them very close, for if the least air comes to them, they will turn black. The yellower they are before they are taken out of the water, the greener they will be after they are done. Put them into your crust, cover them with syrup, lay on the lid, and bake them in a moderate oven.

Angelica Tarts.

PARE and core some golden pippins, or nonpareils; then the stalks of angelica, peel them, and cut them into small pieces; apples and angelica, of each an equal quantity. Boil the apples in just water enough to cover them, with lemon-peel, and fine sugar. Do them very gently till they become a thin syrup, and then strain it off. Put it on the fire with the angelica in it, and let it boil ten minutes. Make a puff-paste, lay it at the bottom of the tin, and then a layer of apples, and a layer of angelica, till it is full. Pour in some syrup, put on the lid, and send it to a very moderate oven.

Rhubarb Tarts.

TAKE the stalks of rhubarb that grow in a garden, peel them, and cut them into small pieces. Then do it in every respect the same as a gooseberry tart.

Spinach Tarts.

SCALD some spinach in boiling water, and then drain it quite dry. Chop it, and stew it in some butter and cream, with a very little salt, some sugar, some bits of citron, and very little orange-flower water. Put it into very fine puff-paste, and let it be baked in a moderate oven.

Petit Patties.

MAKE a short crust, and roll it thick; take a piece of veal, and an equal quantity of bacon and beef suet. Shred them all very fine, season them with pepper and salt, and a little sweet herbs. Put them into a stew-pan, and keep turning them about, with a few mushrooms chopped small, for eight or ten minutes. Then fill your patties, and cover them with crust. Colour them with the yolk of an egg, and bake them. These make a very pretty garnish, and give a handsome appearance to a large dish.

Orange Tarts.

GRATE a little of the outside rind of a Seville orange; squeeze the juice of it into a dish, throw the peels into water, and change it often for four days.—Then set a saucepan of water on the fire, and when it boils put in the oranges; but mind to change the water twice to take out the bitterness. When they are tender, wipe them well, and beat them in a mortar till they are fine. Then take their weight in double refined sugar, boil it into a syrup, and scum it very clean. Put in the pulp, and boil altogether till it is clear. Let it stand till cold, then put it into the tarts, and squeeze in the juice. Bake them in a quick oven.

Chocolate Tarts.

RASP a quarter of a pound of chocolate, and a stick of cinnamon, and add to them some fresh lemon-peel grated, a little salt, and some sugar. Then take two spoonsful of fine flour, and the yolks of six eggs well beaten and mixed with some milk. Put all these into a stew-pan, and let them be a little time over the fire. Then take it off, put in a little lemon-peel cut small, and let it stand till it is cold. Beat up enough of the whites of eggs to cover it, and put it into puff-paste. When it is baked, sift some sugar over it, and glaze it with a salamander.

SECT. II.

PUFFS, &c.

Sugar Puffs.

BEAT up the whites of ten eggs till they rise to a high froth, and then put them into a marble mortar, with as much double-refined sugar as will make it thick. Then rub it well round the mortar, put in a few carraway seeds, and take a sheet of wafers, and lay it on as broad as a sixpence, and as high as you can. Put them into a moderately heated oven for about a quarter of an hour, and they will have a very white and delicate appearance.

Lemon Puffs.

TAKE a pound of double-refined sugar, bruise it, and sift it through a fine sieve. Put it into a bowl, with the juice of two lemons, and mix them together. Then beat the white of an egg to a very high froth, put it into your bowl, beat it half an hour, and then put in three eggs, with two rinds of lemons grated. Mix it well up, and throw sugar on your papers, drop on the puffs in small drops, and bake them in a moderately heated oven.

Almond Puffs.

TAKE two ounces of sweet almonds, blanch them, and beat them very fine with orange-flower water. Beat up the whites of three eggs to a very high froth, and then strew in a little sifted sugar. Mix your almonds with the sugar and eggs, and then add more sugar till it is as thick as paste. Lay it in cakes, and bake them in a slack oven on paper.

Chocolate Puffs.

BEAT and sift half a pound of double-refined sugar, scrape into it an ounce of chocolate very fine, and mix them together. Beat up the white of an egg to a very high froth, and strew into it your sugar and chocolate. Keep beating it till it is as thick as paste, then sugar your paper, drop them on about the size of a sixpence, and bake them in a very slow oven.

Curd Puffs.

PUT a little rennet into two quarts of milk, and when it is broken, put it into a coarse cloth to drain. Then rub the curd through a hair sieve, and put to it four ounces of butter, ten ounces of bread, half a nutmeg, a lemon-peel grated, and a spoonful of wine.—Sweeten with sugar to your taste, rub your cups with butter, and put them into the oven for about half an hour.

Wafers.

TAKE a spoonful of orange-flower water, two spoonsful of flour, two of sugar, and the same of milk. Beat them well together for half an hour; then make your wafer tongs hot, and pour a little of your batter in to cover your irons. Bake them on a stove fire, and as they are baking, roll them round a stick like a spigot. When they are cold, they will be very crisp, and are proper to be ate either with jellies or tea.