PUDDINGS BOILED AND BAKED.

For boiled puddings a regular pudding-boiler holding from three pints to
two quarts is best, a tin pail with a very tight-fitting cover answering
instead, though not as good. For large dumplings a thick
pudding-cloth–the best being of Canton flannel, used with the nap-side
out–should be dipped in hot water, and wrung out, dredged evenly and
thickly with flour, and laid over a large bowl. From half to
three-quarters of a yard square is a good size. In filling this, pile the
fruit or berries on the rolled-out crust which has been laid in the middle
of the cloth, and gather the edges of the paste evenly over it. Then
gather the cloth up, leaving room for the dumpling to swell, and tying
very tightly. In turning out, lift to a dish; press all the water from the
ends of the cloth; untie and turn away from the pudding, and lay a hot
dish upon it, turning over the pudding into it, and serving at once, as it
darkens or falls by standing.

In using a boiler, butter well, and fill only two-thirds full that the
mixture may have room to swell. Set it in boiling water, and see that it
is kept at the same height, about an inch from the top. Cover the outer
kettle that the steam may be kept in. Small dumplings, with a single apple
or peach in each, can be cooked in a steamer. Puddings are not only much
more wholesome, but less expensive than pies.

APPLE DUMPLING.

Make a crust, as for biscuit, or a potato-crust as follows: Three large
potatoes, boiled and mashed while hot. Add to them two cups of sifted
flour and one teaspoonful of salt, and mix thoroughly. Now chop or cut
into it one small cup of butter, and mix into a paste with about a
teacupful of cold water. Dredge the board thick with flour, and roll
out,–thick in the middle, and thin at the edges. Fill, as directed, with
apples pared and quartered, eight or ten good-sized ones being enough for
this amount of crust. Boil for three hours. Turn out as directed, and eat
with butter and sirup or with a made sauce. Peaches pared and halved, or
canned ones drained from the sirup, can be used. In this case, prepare the
sirup for sauce, as on p. 172. Blueberries are excellent in the same way.

ENGLISH PLUM PUDDING, OR CHRISTMAS PUDDING.

One pound of raisins stoned and cut in two; one pound of currants washed
and dried; one pound of beef-suet chopped very fine; one pound of
bread-crumbs; one pound of flour; half a pound of brown sugar; eight eggs;
one pint of sweet milk; one teaspoonful of salt; a tablespoonful of
cinnamon; two grated nutmegs; a glass each of wine and brandy.

Prepare the fruit, and dredge thickly with flour. Soak the bread in the
milk; beat the eggs, and add. Stir in the rest of the flour, the suet, and
last the fruit. Boil six hours either in a cloth or large mold. Half the
amounts given makes a good-sized pudding; but, as it will keep three
months, it might be boiled in two molds. Serve with a rich sauce.

ANY-DAY PLUM PUDDING.

One cup of sweet milk; one cup of molasses; one cup each of raisins and
currants; one cup of suet chopped fine, or, instead, a small cup of
butter; one teaspoonful of salt, and one of soda, sifted with three cups
of flour; one teaspoonful each of cinnamon and allspice.

Mix milk, molasses, suet, and spice; add flour, and then the fruit. Put in
a buttered mold, and boil three hours. Eat with hard or liquid sauce. A
cupful each of prunes and dates or figs can be substituted for the fruit,
and is very nice; and the same amount of dried apple, measured after
soaking and chopping, is also good. Or the fruit can be omitted
altogether, in which case it becomes “Troy Pudding.”

BATTER PUDDING, BOILED OR BAKED.

Two cups of flour in which is sifted a heaping teaspoonful of baking
powder, two cups of sweet milk, four eggs, one teaspoonful of salt. Stir
the flour gradually into the milk, and beat hard for five minutes. Beat
yolks and whites separately, and then add to batter. Have the
pudding-boiler buttered. Pour in the batter, and boil steadily for two
hours. It may also be baked an hour in a buttered pudding-dish. Serve at
once, when done, with a liquid sauce.

SUNDERLAND PUDDINGS.

Are merely puffs or pop-overs eaten with sauce. See p. 209.

BREAD PUDDING.

One cup of dried and rolled bread-crumbs, or one pint of fresh ones; one
quart of milk; two eggs; one cup of sugar; half a teaspoonful of cinnamon;
a little grated nutmeg; a saltspoonful of salt.

Soak the crumbs in the milk for an hour or two; mix the spice and salt
with the sugar, and beat the eggs with it, stirring them slowly into the
milk. Butter a pudding-dish; pour in the mixture; and bake half an hour,
or till done. Try with a knife-blade, as in general directions. The whites
may be kept out for a meringue, allowing half a teacup of powdered sugar
to them. By using fresh bread-crumbs and four eggs, this becomes what is
known as “Queen of Puddings.” As soon as done, spread the top with half a
cup of any acid jelly, and cover with the whites which have been beaten
stiff, with a teacupful of sugar. Brown slightly in the oven. Half a pound
of raisins may be added.

BREAD-AND-BUTTER PUDDING.

Fill a pudding-dish two-thirds full with very thin slices of bread and
butter. A cupful of currants or dried cherries may be sprinkled between
the slices. Make a custard of two eggs beaten with a cup of sugar; add a
quart of milk, and pour over the bread. Cover with a plate, and set on the
back of the stove an hour; then bake from half to three-quarters of an
hour. Serve very hot, as it falls when cool.

BREAD-AND-APPLE PUDDING.

Butter a deep pudding-dish, and put first a layer of crumbs, then one of
any good acid apple, sliced rather thin, and so on till the dish is nearly
full. Six or eight apples and a quart of fresh crumbs will fill a
two-quart dish. Dissolve a cup of sugar and one teaspoonful of cinnamon in
one pint of boiling water, and pour into the dish. Let the pudding stand
half an hour to swell; then bake till brown,–about three-quarters of an
hour,–and eat with liquid sauce. It can be made with slices of bread and
butter, instead of crumbs.

BIRD’S-NEST PUDDING.

Wash one teacupful of tapioca, and put it in one quart of cold water to
soak for several hours. Pare and core as many good apples as will fit in a
two-quart buttered pudding-dish. When the tapioca is softened, add a
cupful of sugar, a pinch of salt, and half a teaspoonful of cinnamon, and
pour over the apples. Bake an hour, and eat with or without sauce.

TAPIOCA PUDDING.

One quart of milk; one teacupful of tapioca; three eggs; a cup of sugar; a
teaspoonful of salt; a tablespoonful of butter; a teaspoonful of lemon
extract.

Wash the tapioca, and soak in the milk for two hours, setting it on the
back of the stove to swell. Beat eggs and sugar together, reserving whites
for a meringue if liked; melt the butter, and add, and stir into the milk.
Bake half an hour. Sago pudding is made in the same way.

TAPIOCA CREAM.

One teacupful of tapioca washed and soaked over-night in one pint of warm
water. Next morning add a quart of milk and a teaspoonful of salt, and
boil in a milk-boiler for two hours. Just before taking it from the fire,
add a tablespoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of vanilla, and three eggs
beaten with a cup of sugar. The whites may be made in a meringue. Pour
into a glass dish which has had warm water standing in it, to prevent
cracking, and eat cold. Rice or sago cream is made in the same way.

PLAIN RICE PUDDING.

One cup of rice; three pints of milk; one heaping cup of sugar; one
teaspoonful of salt.

Wash the rice well. Butter a two-quart pudding-dish, and stir rice, sugar,
and salt together. Pour on the milk. Grate nutmeg over it, and bake for
three hours. Very good.

MINUTE PUDDING.

One quart of milk; one pint of flour; two eggs; one teaspoonful of salt.

Boil the milk in a double boiler. Beat the eggs, and add the flour slowly,
with enough of the milk to make it smooth. Stir into the boiling milk, and
cook it half an hour. Eat with liquid sauce or sirup. It is often made
without eggs.

CORN-STARCH PUDDING.

One quart of milk; four tablespoonfuls of corn-starch; one cup of sugar;
three eggs; a teaspoonful each of salt and vanilla.

Boil the milk; dissolve the corn-starch in a little cold milk, and add.
Cook five minutes, and add the eggs and flavoring beaten with the sugar.
Turn into a buttered dish, and bake fifteen minutes, covering then with a
meringue made of the whites, or cool in molds, in this case using only the
whites of the eggs. The yolks can be made in a custard to pour around
them. A cup of grated cocoanut can be added, or two teaspoonfuls of
chocolate stirred smooth in a little boiling water.

GELATINE PUDDING.

Four eggs; one pint of milk; one cup of sugar; a saltspoonful of salt; a
teaspoonful of lemon or vanilla; a third of a box of gelatine.

Soak the gelatine a few minutes in a little cold water, and then dissolve
it in three-quarters of a cup of boiling water. Have ready a custard made
from the milk and yolks of the eggs. Beat the yolks and sugar together,
and stir into the boiling milk. When cold, add the gelatine water and the
whites of the eggs beaten very stiff. Pour into molds. It is both pretty
and good.

CABINET PUDDING.

One quart of milk; half a package of gelatine; a teaspoonful each of salt
and vanilla; a cup of sugar.

Boil the milk; soak the gelatine fifteen minutes in a little cold water;
dissolve in the boiling milk, and add the sugar and salt. Now butter a
Charlotte-Russe mold thickly. Cut slips of citron into leaves or pretty
shapes, and stick on the mold. Fill it lightly with any light cake, either
plain or rich. Strain on the gelatine and milk, and set in a cold place.
Turn out before serving. Delicate crackers may be used instead of cake.

CORN-MEAL OR INDIAN PUDDING.

One quart of milk; one cup of sifted corn meal; one cup of molasses (not
“sirup”); one teaspoonful of salt.

Stir meal, salt, and molasses together. Boil the milk, and add slowly.
Butter a pudding-dish, and pour in the mixture; adding, after it is set in
the oven, one cup of cold milk poured over the top. Bake three hours in a
moderate oven.

       *       *       *       *       *

CUSTARDS, CREAMS, JELLIES, ETC.

BAKED CUSTARD.

One quart of milk; four eggs; one teacup of sugar; half a teaspoonful of
salt; nutmeg.

Boil the milk. Beat the eggs very light, and add the sugar and salt. Pour
on the milk very slowly, stirring constantly. Bake in a pudding-dish or in
cups. If in cups, set them in a baking-pan, and half fill it with boiling
water. Grate nutmeg over each. The secret of a good custard is in slow
baking and the most careful watching. Test often with a knife-blade, and
do not bake an instant after the blade comes out smooth and clean. To be
eaten cold. Six eggs are generally used; but four are plenty.

BOILED CUSTARD.

One quart of milk; three or four eggs; one cup of sugar; one teaspoonful
of vanilla; half a teaspoonful of salt; one teaspoonful of corn-starch.

Boil the milk. Dissolve the corn-starch in a little cold water, and boil
in the milk five minutes. It prevents the custard from curdling, which
otherwise it is very apt to do. Beat the eggs and sugar well together,
stir into the milk, and add the salt and flavoring. Take at once from the
fire, and, when cool, pour either into a large glass dish, covering with a
meringue of the whites, or into small glasses with a little jelly or jam
at the bottom of each. Or the whites can be used in making an apple-float,
as below, and the yolks for the custard.

For _Cocoanut Custard_ add a cup of grated cocoanut; for _Chocolate_, two
tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate dissolved in half a cup of boiling
water.

TIPSY PUDDING.

Make a boiled custard as directed. Half fill a deep dish with any light,
stale cake. Add to a teacup of wine a teacup of boiling water, and pour
over it. Add the custard just before serving.

APPLE FLOAT.

Six good, acid apples stewed and strained. When cold, add a teacupful of
sugar, half a teaspoonful of vanilla, and the beaten whites of three or
four eggs. Serve at once.

BLANCMANGE.

One quart of milk; one cup of sugar; half a package of gelatine; half a
teaspoonful of salt; a teaspoonful of any essence liked.

Soak the gelatine ten minutes in half a cup of cold water. Boil the milk,
and add gelatine and the other ingredients. Strain into molds, and let it
stand in a cold place all night to harden. For chocolate blancmange add
two tablespoonfuls of scraped chocolate dissolved in a little boiling
water.

SPANISH CREAM.

Make a blancmange as on p. 238; but, just before taking from the fire, add
the yolks of four eggs, and then strain. The whites can be used for
meringues.

WHIPPED CREAM.

One pint of rich cream; one cup of sugar; one glass of sherry or Madeira.

Mix all, and put on the ice an hour, as cream whips much better when
chilled. Using a whip-churn enables it to be done in a few minutes; but a
fork or egg-beater will answer. Skim off all the froth as it rises, and
lay on a sieve to drain, returning the cream which drips away to be
whipped over again. Set on the ice a short time before serving.

CHARLOTTE RUSSE.

Make a sponge cake as on p. 216, and line a Charlotte mold with it,
cutting a piece the size of the bottom, and fitting the rest around the
sides. Fill with cream whipped as above, and let it stand on the ice to
set a little. This is the easiest form of Charlotte. It is improved by the
beaten whites of three eggs stirred into the cream. Flavor with half a
teaspoonful of vanilla if liked.

BAVARIAN CREAM.

Whip a pint of cream to a stiff froth. Boil a pint of rich milk with a
teacupful of sugar, and add a teaspoonful of vanilla. Soak half a box of
gelatine for an hour in half a cup of warm water, and add to the milk. Add
the yolks of four eggs beaten smooth, and take from the fire instantly.

When cold and just beginning to thicken, stir in the whipped cream. Put
in molds, and set in a cold place. This can be used also for filling
Charlotte Russe. For chocolate add chocolate as directed in rule for
boiled custard; for coffee, one teacup of clear, strong coffee.

STRAWBERRY CREAM.

Three pints of strawberries mashed fine. Strain the juice, and add a
heaping cup of sugar, and then gelatine soaked as above, and dissolved in
a teacup of boiling water. Add the pint of whipped cream, and pour into
molds.

FRUIT CREAMS.

Half a pint of peach or pine-apple marmalade stirred smooth with a
teacupful of sweet cream. Add gelatine dissolved as in rule for strawberry
cream, and, when cold, the pint of whipped cream. These creams are very
delicious, and not as expensive as rich pastry.

OMELETTE SOUFFLEE.

Six whites and three yolks of eggs; three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar
sifted; a few drops of lemon or vanilla. Beat the yolks, flavoring, and
sugar to a light cream; beat the whites to the stiffest froth. Have the
yolks in a deep bowl. Turn the whites on to them, and do not stir, but
mix, by cutting down through the middle, and gradually mixing white and
yellow. Turn on to a tin or earthen baking-dish with high sides, and bake
in a moderate oven from ten to fifteen minutes. It will rise very high,
and must be served the instant it is done, to avoid its falling.

FRIED CREAM.

One pint of milk; half a cup of sugar; yolks of three eggs; two
tablespoonfuls of corn-starch and one of flour mixed; half a teaspoonful
of vanilla, and two inches of stick-cinnamon; a teaspoonful of butter.

Boil the cinnamon in the milk. Stir the corn-starch and flour smooth in a
little cold milk or water, and add to the milk. Beat the yolks light with
the sugar, and add. Take from the fire; take out the cinnamon, and stir in
the butter and vanilla, and pour out on a buttered tin or dish, letting it
be about half an inch thick. When cold and stiff, cut into pieces about
three inches long and two wide. Dip carefully in sifted cracker-crumbs;
then in a beaten egg, and in crumbs again, and fry like croquettes. Dry in
the oven four or five minutes, and serve at once. Very delicious.

PEACH FRITTERS.

Make a batter as on p. 208. Take the fruit from a small can of peaches,
lay it on a plate, and sprinkle with a spoonful of sugar and a glass of
wine. Let it lie an hour, turning it once. Dip each piece in batter, and
drop in boiling lard, or chop and mix with batter. Prepare the juice for a
sauce as on p. 172. Fresh peaches or slices of tender apple can be used in
the same way. Drain on brown paper, and sift sugar over them, before they
go to table.

FREEZING OF ICE CREAM AND ICES.

With a patent freezer ice cream and ices can be prepared with less trouble
than puff paste. The essential points are the use of rock-salt, and
pounding the ice into small bits. Set the freezer in the centre of the
tub. Put a layer of ice three inches deep, then of salt, and so on till
the tub is full, ending with ice. Put in the cream, and turn for ten
minutes, or till you can not turn the beater. Then take off the cover,
scrape down the sides, and beat like cake for at least five minutes. Pack
the tub again, having let off all water; cover with a piece of old carpet.
If molds are used, fill as soon as the cream is frozen; pack them full of
it, and lay in ice and salt. When ready to turn out, dip in warm water a
moment. Handle gently, and serve at once.

ICE CREAM OF CREAM.

To a gallon of sweet cream add two and a quarter pounds of sugar, and four
tablespoonfuls of vanilla or other extract, as freezing destroys flavors.
Freeze as directed.

ICE CREAM WITH EGGS.

Boil two quarts of rich milk, and add to it, when boiling, four
tablespoonfuls of corn-starch wet with a cup of cold milk. Boil for ten
minutes, stirring often. Beat twelve eggs to a creamy froth with a heaping
quart of sugar, and stir in, taking from the fire as soon as it boils.
When cold, add three tablespoonfuls of vanilla or lemon, and two quarts
either of cream or very rich milk, and freeze. For strawberry or raspberry
cream allow the juice of one quart of berries to a gallon of cream. For
chocolate cream grate half a pound of chocolate; melt it with one pint of
sugar and a little water, and add to above rule.

WATER ICES.

Are simply fruit juices and water made very sweet, with a few whites of
eggs whipped stiff, and added. For lemon ice take two quarts of water,
one quart of sugar, and the juice of seven lemons. Mix and add, after it
has begun to freeze, the stiffly-beaten whites of four eggs. Orange ice is
made in the same way.

WINE JELLY.

One box of gelatine; one cup of wine; three lemons, juice and rind; a
small stick of cinnamon; one quart of boiling water; one pint of white
sugar.

Soak the gelatine in one cup of cold water half an hour. Boil the cinnamon
in the quart of water for five minutes, and then add the yellow rind of
the lemons cut very thin, and boil a minute. Take out cinnamon and rinds,
and add sugar, wine, and gelatine. Strain at once through a fine strainer
into molds, and, when cold, set on the ice to harden. To turn out, dip for
a moment in hot water. A pint of wine is used, if liked very strong.

LEMON JELLY.

Omit the wine, but make as above in other respects, using five lemons.
Oranges are nice also. The juice may be used as in lemon jelly, or the
little sections may be peeled as carefully as possible of all the white
skin. Pour a little lemon jelly in a mold, and let it harden. Then fill
with four oranges prepared in this way, and pour in liquid jelly to cover
them. Candied fruit may be used instead. The jelly reserved to add to the
mold can be kept in a warm place till the other has hardened. Fresh
strawberries or raspberries, or cut-up peaches, can be used instead of
oranges.