The Lady's Own Cookery Book, and New Dinner-Table Directory Part 58

Blanch six ounces of sweet and half an ounce of bitter almonds; let them lie half an hour on a stove or before the fire; pound them very fine with two table-spoonfuls of rose or orange-flower water; put in the stewpan half a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter, add to this the almonds, six ounces of sifted loaf-sugar, a little grated lemon-peel, some good cream, and the yolks of four eggs; rub all well together with the pestle; cover the pattypans with puff paste, fill them with the mixture, and bake it half an hour in a brisk oven.

_Cocoa-nut Cheesecakes._

Take a cocoa-nut, which by many is thought far superior to almonds; grate it the long way; put to it some thick syrup, mixing it by degrees.

Boil it till it comes to the consistence of cheese; when half cold add to it two eggs; beat it up with rose-water till it is light: if too thick, add a little more rose-water. When beaten up as light as possible, pour it upon a fine crust in cheesecake pans, and, just before they are going into the oven, sift over some fine sugar, which will raise a nice crust and much improve their appearance. The addition of half a pound of b.u.t.ter just melted, and eight more eggs, leaving out half of the whites, makes an excellent pudding.

_Cream Cheesecake._

Two quarts of cream set on a slow fire, put into it twelve eggs very well beat and strained, stir it softly till it boils gently and breaks into whey and a fine soft curd; then take the curd as it rises off the whey, and put it into an earthen pan; then break four eggs more, and put to the whey; set it on the fire, and take off the curd as before, and put it to the rest: then add fourteen ounces of b.u.t.ter, half a pound of light Naples biscuit grated fine, a quarter of a pound of almonds beat fine with rose-water, one pound of currants, well washed and picked, some nutmeg grated, and sugar to your taste: a short crust.

_Curd Cheesecake._

Just warm a quart of new milk; put into it a spoonful of runnet, and set it near the fire till it breaks. Strain it through a sieve; put the curd into a pan, and beat it well with a spoon. Melt a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, put in the same quant.i.ty of moist sugar, a little grated nutmeg, two Naples biscuits, grated fine, the yolks of four eggs beat well, and the whites of two, a gla.s.s of raisin wine, a few bitter almonds, with lemon or Seville orange-peel cut fine, a quarter of a pound of currants plumped; mix all well together, and put it into the paste and pans for baking.

_Lemon Cheesecake._

Grate the rind of three to the juice of two lemons; mix them with three sponge biscuits, six ounces of fresh b.u.t.ter, four ounces of sifted sugar, half a gill of cream, and three eggs well beaten. Work them well, and fill the pan, which must be lined with puff-paste; lay on the top some candied lemon-peel cut thin.

_Another._

Boil the peel of two lemons till tender; pound it in a mortar very fine; blanch and pound a few almond kernels with the peel. Mix a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar, a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, the yolks of six eggs, all together in the mortar, and put it in the puff-paste for baking. This quant.i.ty will make twelve or fourteen cakes.

_Orange Cheesecake._

Take the peel of one orange and a half and one lemon grated; squeeze out the juice; add a quarter of a pound of sugar, and a quarter of a pound of melted b.u.t.ter, four eggs, leaving out the whites, a little Naples biscuit grated, to thicken it, and a little white wine. Put almonds in it if you like.

_Scotch Cheesecake._

Put one ounce of b.u.t.ter into a saucepan to clarify; add one ounce of powder sugar and two eggs; stir it over a slow fire until it almost boils, but not quite. Line your pattypans with paste; bake the cakes of a nice brown, and serve them up between hot and cold.

_Cherries, to preserve._ No. 1.

Take either morella or carnation; stone the fruit; to morella cherries take the jelly of white currants, drawn with a little water, and run through a jelly-bag; to a pint and a half of jelly, add three pounds of fine sugar. Set it on a quick fire; when it boils, skim it, and put in a pound of stoned cherries. Let them not boil too fast at first; take them off at times; but when they are tender boil them very fast till they are very clear and jelly; then put them into pots or gla.s.ses. The carnation cherries must have red currant jelly; if you have not white currant jelly for the morella, codling jelly will do.

_Cherries, to preserve._ No. 2.

To three quarters of a pound of cherries stoned take one pound and a quarter of sugar; leave out a quarter of a pound to strew on them as they boil. Put in the preserving-pan a layer of cherries and a layer of sugar, till they are all in; boil them quick, keeping them closely covered with white paper, which take off frequently, and skim them; strew the sugar kept out over them; it will clear them very much. When they look clear they are done enough. Take them out of the syrup quite clear from the skim; strain the syrup through a fine sieve; then put to it a quarter of a pint of the juice of white currants, put them into the pan again, and boil it till it is a hanging jelly. Just before it is quite done put in the cherries; give them a boil, and put them into pots. There must be fourteen spoonfuls of water put in at first with the cherries.

_Cherries, to preserve._ No. 3.

Stone the cherries, and to twelve pounds of fruit put nine pounds of sugar; boil the sugar-candy high; stir it well; throw in the cherries; let them not boil too fast at first, stirring them often in the pan; afterwards boil them fast till they become tender.

_Morella Cherries, to preserve._

When you have stalked and stoned your cherries, put to them an equal weight of sugar: make your syrup, skim it, and take it off the fire.

Skim it again well, and put in your cherries, shaking them with care in the pan. Boil them, not on a quick fire, lest the fruit should crack; and take them off the fire several times. Let them boil till done; put your cherries into pots; strain the syrup through muslin, and boil it again till thoroughly done.

_Morella Cherries, to preserve in Brandy._

Take two pounds of morella cherries, when not too ripe, but finely coloured, weighed with their stalks and stones. Put a quart of water and twelve ounces of double-refined sugar into a preserving-pan, and set it over a clear charcoal fire. Let it boil a quarter of an hour; skim it clean, and set it by till cold. Then take away the stalks and stones, and, when the syrup is quite cold, put the stoned cherries into the syrup, set them over a gentle fire, and let them barely simmer till their skins begin to rise. Take them from the fire; pour them into a basin; cut a piece of paper round of the size of the basin; lay it close upon the cherries while hot, and let them stand so till next day. Set a hair sieve in a pan, and pour the cherries into it; let them drain till the syrup is all drained out: boil the syrup till reduced to two-thirds, and set it aside till cold. Put your cherries into a gla.s.s jar; put to them a spoonful of their own syrup and one of brandy, and continue to do so till the jar is filled within two inches of the top: then put over it a wet bladder, and a piece of leather over that; tie it down close, and keep it in a warm place.

If you do not mind the stones, merely cut off the stalks of the cherries.

_Brandy Cherries._

To each bottle of brandy add half a pound of white sugar-candy: let this dissolve; cut the large ripe morella cherries from the tree into a gla.s.s or earthen jar, leaving the stalks about half the original length. When the jar is full, pour upon the cherries the brandy as above. Let the fruit be completely covered, and fill it up as the liquor settles. Cork the jar, and tie a leather over the top. Apricot kernels blanched and put in are an agreeable addition.

_Cherries, to dry._

Stone the cherries, and to ten pounds when stoned put three pounds of sugar finely beaten. Shake the cherries and sugar well together; when the sugar is quite dissolved, give them a boil or two over a slow fire, and put them in an earthen pot. Next day scald them, lay them on a sieve, and dry them in the sun, or in a oven, not too hot. Turn them till they are dry enough, then put them up; but put no paper.

_Liquor for dried Cherries._

Take some red currants, and boil them in water till it is very red; then put it to your cherries and sugar it; this makes them of a good colour.

_Cherry Jam._

Take twelve pounds of stoned cherries; boil and break them as they boil, and, when you have boiled all the juice away, and can see the bottom of the pan, put in three pounds of sugar finely beaten: stir it well in; give the fruit two or three boils, and put it in pots or gla.s.ses, and cover with brandy paper.

_Cocoa._

Take three table-spoonfuls of cocoa and one dessert spoonful of flour; beat them well together, and boil in a pint and a half of spring water, upon a slow fire, for two or three hours, and then strain it for use.

_Cocoa-Nut Candy._

Grate a cocoa-nut on a fine bread grater; weigh it, and add the same quant.i.ty of loaf-sugar: melt the sugar with rose-water, of which, for a small cocoa-nut, put six table-spoonfuls. When the syrup is clarified and boiling, throw in the cocoa-nut by degrees; keep stirring it all the time, whilst boiling, with a wooden slice, to prevent it burning to the bottom of the pan, which it is very apt to do, unless great care is taken. When the candy is sufficiently boiled, spread it on a pasteboard previously rubbed with a wet cloth, and cut it in whatever shape you please.

To know when the candy is sufficiently boiled, drop a small quant.i.ty on the pasteboard, and if the syrup does not run from the cocoa-nut, it is done enough; when the candy is cold, put it on a dish, and keep it in a dry place.