Take out the core and blossom with a bodkin; make a syrup with half their weight of sugar; put in the apples, and keep them under the syrup with a spoon, and they will be done in ten minutes over a slow fire. When cold, tie them down with brandy paper.
To each pound of fruit add an equal quantity of sugar, which clarify with as little water as possible, and skim it thoroughly; then put in the fruit, and boil it gently till it begins to break. Take out the apples, boil the syrup again till it grows thick, and then pour it over them. They are not to be pared; and half the stalk left on.
Cut the finest pippins, and pare them as thin as you can. As you do them, throw them into cold water to preserve their colour. Make a middling thick syrup, of about half a poundof sugar to a pint of water, and when it boils up skim it, and throw in the pippins with a bit of lemon-peel. Keep up a brisk fire; throw the syrup over the apples as they boil, to make them look clear. When they are done, add lemon-juice to your taste; and when you can run a straw through them they are done enough. Put them, without the syrup, into a bowl; cover them close, and boil the syrup till you think it sufficiently thick: then take it off, and throw it hot upon the pippins, keeping them always under it.
Seven pounds of apples cored, one pound and three quarters of sugar, the juice and peel of two lemons; boil these in a stewpan till quite a thick jelly. Bake the apple till soft; break it as smooth as possible; put it into pots, and tie down close.
Take as many golden rennets as will fill the dish that is to go to table; pick them of a size; pare them, and take out the cores at the bottom, that they may appear whole at the top. With the cores and about half a glass of water make a syrup; when it is half done, put in your apples, and let them stew till they are done. Be careful not to break them; place them in your dish; that your syrup may be fine, add the white of an egg well beaten; skim it, and it will be clarified. Squeeze into it the juice of a lemon, with the peel cut in small shreds. This should boil a minute; then throw over the syrup, which should be quite a jelly.
The whites of seven or eight very fresh eggs, put into a flat dish, with a very little finely sifted sugar, and beaten to a very thick froth. It will require to be beaten full half an hour before it becomes of a sufficient substance. It is then to be put over the apple and custard, and piled up to some height; after which place it in a very quick oven, and let it remain till it becomes partially of a light brown colour.
It should be done immediately before it is sent up to table.
Pare six large apples, take out the cores, cut them in slices, and fry them on both sides with butter; put them on a sieve to drain; mix half a pint of milk and two eggs, with flour, to batter, not too stiff; put in a little lemon-peel, shred very fine, and a little beaten cinnamon. Put some butter into a frying-pan, and make it hot; put in half the batter, and lay the apples on it;let it fry a little to set it; then put the remaining batter over it; fry it on one side; then turn it, and fry the other brown: put it into a dish; strew powder-sugar over it, and squeeze on it the juice of a Seville orange.
Pare six large apples and cut out the cores; cut them in slices as thick as a half-crown piece. Mix half a pint of cream and two eggs with flour into a stiff batter, put in a glass of wine or brandy, a little lemon-peel, shred very fine, two ounces of powder-sugar: mix it well up, and then put in the apples. Have a pan of hog’s lard boiling hot; put in every slice singly as fast as you can, and fry them quick, of a fine gold colour on both sides; then take them out, and put them on a sieve to drain; lay them on a dish, and sprinkle them with sugar. For fritters be careful that the fat in which you fry them is quite sweet and clean.
Pare and slice pippins, or sharp apples, into a stewpan, with just as much water as will cover them; boil them as fast as possible till half the liquid is wasted; then strain them through a jelly-bag, and to every pint of juice put three quarters of a pound of sugar. Boil it again till it becomes jelly; put lemon-juice and lemon-peel to the palate. Some threads of lemon-peel should remain in the jelly.
Take about a half sieve of john apples, or golden pippins; pare them, and put them in a clean bright copper pan; add as much river water as will cover them; set them over a charcoal fire, turning them now and then, till they are boiled tender. Put a hair-sieve over a pan, and throw them on to drain; then put the apples in a large pan or mortar, and beat them into pulp. Put them back into the copper pan, adding about half the water that came from them; then set them on the fire, and stir them till they boil two or three minutes. Strain them into a flannel jelly-bag; it should run out quite slowly, and be thick like syrup; you should allow it six or eight hours to run or drop. Then measure the jelly into a bright copper pan, and to each pint add one pound of treble-refined sugar; put it on a slow fire till the sugar is melted; then let the fire be made up, that it may boil; keep skimming it constantly. When you hold up the skimmer near the window, or in the cool, and you perceive it hangs about half an inch, with a dropat the end, then add the juice of half a lemon, if a small quantity. Take it off the fire, and pour it into gallipots.
The apples that are supposed to have the most jelly in them in this country are the john apple. The best time to make the jelly is the autumn; the riper they get, the less jelly. If the flannel bag is quite new, it should be washed in several clean warm waters, without soap. The jelly, if well made, should appear like clear water, about the substance of currant-jelly.
Take apples, of a light green, without any spot or redness, and rather sour; cut them in quarters, taking out the cores, and put them into a quart of water; let them boil to a pulp, and strain it through a hair-sieve, or jelly-bag. To a pint of liquor take a pound of double-refined sugar; wet your sugar, and boil it to a thick syrup, with the white and shell of an egg: then strain your syrup, and put your liquor to it. Let it boil again, and, as it boils, put in the juice of a lemon and the peel, pared extremely thin, and cut as fine as threads; when it jellies, which you may know by taking up some in your spoon, put it in moulds; when cold, turn it out into your dish; it should be so transparent as to let you see all the flowers of your china dish through it, and quite white.
Pare and core the crabs; to fifteen pounds of crabs take ten pounds of sugar, moistened with a little water; boil them well, skimming the top. When boiled tender, and broke to the consistency of jam, pour it into your pans, and let it stand twenty-four hours. It is better the second year than the first. The crabs should be ripe.
Slice a pound of pippins or codlings into a pint of clear spring water; let them boil till the water has extracted all the flavour of the fruit; strain it out, and to a pint of this liquor take a pound of double-refined sugar, boiled to sugar again; then put in your codling liquor; boil it a little together as fast as you can. Put in your golden pippins; boil them up fast for a little while; just before the last boiling, squeeze in the juice of a lemon; boil it up quick once more, taking care the apples do not lose their colour; cut them, and put them in glasses with the jelly. It makes a very pretty middle or corner dish.
Take Kirton pippins or royal russets, golden pippins or nonpareils; finely pare and quarter the russets, and pare andtake out the core also of the smaller apples. Take the clean tops of wicker baskets or hampers, and put the apples on the wickers in a cool oven. Let them remain in till the oven is quite cold: then they must be turned as you find necessary, and the cool oven repeated till they are properly dry. They must stand some time before they are baked, and kept carefully from the damp air. The richer the pears the better; but they must not be over-ripe.
The apricots must be gathered before they are quite ripe, and, as the fruit is usually riper on one side than the other, you must prick the unripe side with the point of a penknife, or a very large needle. Put them into cold water, and give them a great deal of room in the preserving-pan; and proceed in the same manner as directed for peaches. If they are not well coloured, it is owing to an improper choice of the fruit, being too ripe or too high coloured, provided the brandy be of the right sort.
Cut apricots when ripe in small thin pieces; take double-refined sugar, pounded very small and sifted through a fine sieve, and strew a little at the bottom of a silver basin; then put in your chips, and more of your sugar. Set them over a chaffing-dish of coals, shaking your basin, lest the chips should stick to the bottom, till you put in your sugar. When your sugar is all candied, lay them on glass plates; put them in a stove, and turn them out.
Boil a pint of cream with some bitter almonds pounded, and strain it off. When the cream is cold, add to it the yolks of four eggs, with half a spoonful of flour, well mixed together; set it over the fire; keep stirring it till it is thick. Add to it a little apricot jam; put it in your dish; sift powdered sugar over it, and brown it with your salamander.
Pare and stone a pound of apricots, and put to them three quarters of a pound of double-refined sugar, strewing some of the sugar over the apricots as you pare them, that they may not lose colour. When they are all pared put the remainder of the sugar on them; let them stand all night, and in the morning boil them on a quick fire till they are clear. Then let them stand till next day covered with a sheet of white paper. Set them on a gentle fire till scalding hot; let them stand three days in the syrup; lay them out on stone plates; put them into a stove, and turn them every day till they are dry.
Take two pounds of apricot paste in pulp and a pint of strong codling liquor; boil them very fast together till the liquor is almost wasted; then put to it one pound and a half of fine sugar pounded; boil it very fast till it jellies; put it into pots, and it will make clear cakes in the winter.
Stone the fruit; set them over the fire with half a pint of water; when scalded, rub them through a sieve, and to every pound of pulp put a pound of sifted loaf-sugar. Set it over a brisk fire in a preserving-pan; when it boils, skim it well, and throw in the kernels of the apricots and half an ounce of bitter almonds blanched; boil it together fast for a quarter of an hour, stirring it all the time.
Take ripe apricots, pare, stone, and quarter them, and put them into a skillet, setting them on embers, and stirring them till all the pieces are dissolved. Then take three quarters of their weight in fine sugar, and boil it to a candy; put in the apricots, and stir it a little on the fire; then turn it out into glasses. Set it in a warm stove; when it is dry on one side, turn the other. You may take apricots not fully ripe, and coddle them, and that will do also.
Pare and stone your apricots; to one pound of fruit put one pound of fine sugar, and boil all together till they break. Then to five pounds of paste put three pounds of codling jelly, and make a candy of three pounds of fine sugar. Put it in all together; just scald it, and put it in little pots to dry quickly. Turn it out to dry on plates or glasses.
Stone and pare four dozen of large apricots, and cover them with three pounds of fine sugar finely beaten; put in some of the sugar as you pare them. Let them stand at least six or seven hours; then boil them on a slow fire till they are clear and tender. If any of them are clear before the rest, take them out and put them in again. When the rest are ready, let them stand closely covered with paper till next day. Then make very strong codling jelly: to two pounds of jelly add two pounds of sugar, which boil till they jelly; and while boiling make your apricots scalding hot; put the jelly to the apricots, and boil them, but not too fast. When the apricots rise in the jelly and jelly well, put them in pots or glasses, and cover closely with brandy paper.
Cut in half, and break in pieces, ripe apricots; put them in a preserving pan, simmer for a few minutes, and pass through a fine hair sieve: no water to be used. Add three quarters of a pound of white powdered sugar to a pound of fruit; put in the kernels; mix all together, and boil for twenty minutes: well skim when it begins to boil. Put it into pots; when cold, cover close with paper dipped in brandy, and tie down with an outer cover of paper.
Gather the fruit before it is too ripe, and to one pound put three quarters of a pound of fine sugar. Stone and pare the apricots as you put them into the pan; lay sugar under and over them, and let them stand till next day. Set them on a quick fire, and let them just boil; skim well; cover them till cold, or till the following day; give them another boil; put them in pots, and strew a little sugar over them while coddling, to make them keep their colour.
To a pound of apricots, before they are stoned and pared, weigh a pound and a quarter of the best pounded sugar. Stone and pare the fruit, and, as you pare, sprinkle some sugar under and over them. When the sugar is pretty well melted, set them on the fire and boil them. Keep out some sugar to strew on them in the boiling, which assists to clear them. Skim very clear, and turn the fruit with a ladle or a feather. When clear and tender, put them in glasses; add to the syrup a quarter of a pint of strong pippin liquor, and nearly the weight of it in sugar; let it boil awhile, and put it to the apricots. The fire should be brisk, as the sooner any sweetmeat is done the clearer and better it will be. Let the liquor run through a jelly-bag, that it may clear before you put the syrup to it, or the syrup of the apricots to boil.
Take half a pint of water, a bit of lemon-peel, a piece of butter the size of a walnut, and a little orange-flower water; boil them gently three or four minutes; take out the lemon-peel, and add to it by degrees half a pint of flour: keep it boiling and stirring until it is a stiff paste; then take it off the fire, andput in six eggs, well beaten, leaving out three whites. Beat all very well for at least half an hour, till it is a stiff light paste; then take two pounds of hog’s-lard; put it in a stewpan; give it a boil up, and, if the bances are of a right lightness, fry them; keep stirring them all the time till they are of a proper brown. A large dish will take six or seven minutes boiling. When done, put them in a dish to drain; keep them by the fire; strew sugar over them; and, when you are going to fry them, drop them through the handle of a key.
Tie up the finest maiden barberries in bunches; to one pound of them put two pounds and a quarter of sugar; boil the sugar to a thick syrup, and when thick enough stir it till it is almost cold. Put in the barberries; set them on the fire, and keep them as much under the syrup as you can, shaking the pan frequently. Let them just simmer till the syrup is hot through, but not boiling, which would wrinkle them. Take them out of the syrup, and let them drain on a lawn sieve; put the syrup again into the pot, and boil it till it is thick. When half cold put in the barberries, and let them stand all night in the preserving-pan. If the syrup has become too thin, take out the fruit and boil it again, letting it stand all night: then put it into pots, and cover it with brandy paper.
Take one pound of loaf sugar, finely beaten and sifted; then take eight eggs, whites and all; beat them in a wooden bowl for an hour; then take a quarter of a pound of blanched almonds, beat them very small with some rose-water; put them into the bowl, and beat them for an hour longer; then shake in five ounces of fine flour and a spoonful of coriander seed, and one of caraways. Beat them half an hour; butter your plates, and bake them.
Take one pound of flour; mix it stiff with water; then roll it very thin; cut out the biscuits with cutters, and bake them.
Take the whites of six eggs in fine sugar, and the whites of four in flour; then beat your eggs with the sugar and flour well with a whisk: butter your pans, and only half fill them; strew them over with sugar before you put them in the oven; grate lemon-peel over them.
One pound of flour, half a pound of butter, half a pound of loaf sugar, rather more than one ounce of ginger powdered, all well mixed together. Let it stand before the fire for half an hour; roll it into thin paste, and cut out with a coffee-cup or wine-glass: bake it for a few minutes.
Blanch half a pound of sweet almonds in cold water; beat them with the whites of six eggs, first whipped up to a froth; put in a little at a time as they rise; the almonds must be very fine. Then add one pound of double-refined sugar, beaten and sifted; put in, by degrees, four ounces of fine flour, dried well and cold again; the yolks of six eggs well beaten; the peels of two large lemons finely grated: beat these all together about half an hour; put them in tin pans; sift on a little sugar. The oven must be pretty quick, though you keep the door open while you bake them.
Take three pounds of fine sugar, and wet it with a spoonful and a half of gum-dragon, and put in the juice of lemons, but make the mass as stiff as you can: mix it well, and beat it up with white of eggs. When beaten very light, put in two grains of musk and a great deal of grated lemon; drop the paste into round papers, and bake it.
Blanch two ounces of bitter almonds in cold water, and beat them extremely fine with orange-flower water and rose-water. Put in by degrees the whites of five eggs, first beaten to a light froth. Beat it extremely well; then mix it up with fine sifted sugar to a light paste, and lay the biscuits on tin plates with wafer paper. Make the paste so light that you may take it up with a spoon. Lay it in cakes, and bake them in a rather brisk oven. If you make them with sweet almonds only, they are almond puffs or cakes.
Flour, milk, and sugar, well mixed together. Shape the biscuits with the top of a glass, and bake them on a tin.
To one pint of calves’ foot or hartshorn jelly add four ounces of almonds blanched and beaten very fine with rose and orange-flower water; let half an ounce of the almonds be bitter, but apricot kernels are better. Put the almonds and jelly, mixed by degrees, into a skillet, with as much sugar as will sweetenit to your taste. Give it two or three boils; then take it up and strain it into a bowl; add to it some thick cream: give it a boil after the cream is in, and keep it stirred while on the fire. When strained, put it into moulds.
Boil three ounces of isinglass in a quart of water till it is reduced to a pint; strain it through a sieve, and let it stand till cold. Take off what has settled at the bottom: then take a pint of cream, two ounces of almonds, and a few bitter ones; sweeten to your taste. Boil all together over the fire, and pour it into your moulds. A laurel leaf improves it greatly.
Take an ounce of isinglass dissolved over the fire in a quarter of a pint of water, strain it into a pint of new milk; boil it, and strain again; sweeten to your taste. Add a spoonful of orange-flower water and one of mountain. Stir it till it is nearly cold, and put it into moulds. Beat a few bitter almonds in it.
Into two quarts of milk put an ounce of isinglass, an ounce of sugar, half the peel of a lemon, and a bit of cinnamon. Keep stirring till it boils.
Steep an ounce of the best isinglass two hours in a pint of boiling water. Take a pint of white wine, the yolks of eight eggs well beaten, the juice of four lemons and one Seville orange, and the peel of one lemon; mix them together, and sweeten to your taste. Set it on a clear fire; keep it stirred till it boils, and then strain it off into moulds.
Forty pounds of flour, a handful of salt, one quart of yest, three quarts of water; stir the whole together in the kneading trough. Strew over it a little flour, and let it stand covered for one hour. Knead it and make it into loaves, and let them stand a quarter of an hour to rise, before you put them in the oven.
Three quarters of a pound of lump sugar, dissolved in a quarter of a pint of water, half a pound of the best flour, seven eggs, taking away the whites of two; mix the liquid sugar, when it has boiled, with the eggs: beat them up together in a basin with a whisk; then add by degrees the flour, beating all together for about ten minutes; put it into a quick oven. An hour bakes it.
Tin moulds are the best: the dimensions for this quantity are six inches in length and four in depth.
Boil a quantity of potatoes; drain them well, strew over them a small quantity of salt, and let them remain in the vessel in which they were boiled, closely covered, for an hour, which makes them mealy: then peel and pound them as smooth as flour. Add eight pounds of potatoes to twelve of wheaten flour; and make it into dough with yest, in the way that bread is generally made. Let it stand three hours to rise.
Boil a quarter of a pound of rice till it is quite soft; then put it on the back of a sieve to drain. When cold, mix it with three quarters of a pound of flour, a tea-cupful of milk, a proper quantity of yest, and salt. Let it stand for three hours; then knead it very well, and roll it up in about a handful of flour, so as to make the outside dry enough to put into the oven. About an hour and a quarter will bake a loaf of this size. When baked, it will produce one pound fourteen ounces of very good bread; it is better when the loaves are not made larger than the above-mentioned quantity will produce, but you may make any quantity by allowing the same proportion for each loaf. This bread should not be cut till it is two days old.
Take one peck of wheaten flour, six pounds of rye flour, a little salt, half a pint of good yest, and as much warm water as will make it into a stiff dough. Let it stand three hours to rise before you put it into the oven. A large loaf will take three hours to bake.
Melt a pound of butter, pour it on two pounds of flour, half a tea-cupful of yest, two ounces of caraway seeds, one ounce of Scotch caraways; sweeten to your taste with lump sugar, then knead it well together and roll it out, not too thin; cut in quarters and pinch it round: prick it well with a fork.
Take three quarts of new milk; put in as much runnet as will turn it; whey the curds very clean; break them small with your hands; put in nine yolks of eggs and one white, a handful of grated bread, half a handful of flour, and a little salt. Mix these well together, working it well with your hands; roll it into small loaves, and bake them in a quick oven three quarters of an hour. Then take half a pound of butter, four spoonfuls of clear water, half a nutmeg sliced very thin, and a little sugar. Set it on a quick fire, stirring it quickly, and let it boil till thick. When the loaves are baked, cut out the top and stir up the crumb with a knife; then pour some of the butter into each of them, and cover them up again. Strew a little sugar on them: before you set them in the oven, beat the yolk of an egg and a little beer together, and with a feather smear them over with it.
Soak crumb of bread in milk for three hours; strain it through a sieve; then put in a little salt, some candied citron and lemon-peel cut small, and sugar to your taste. Put to your paste the yolks only of six or eight new-laid eggs, and beat it till the eggs are mixed. Whip the whites of the eggs till they are frothed; add to the other ingredients, and mix them well. Butter the pan or dish in which you bake your loaf. When baked, turn it out into your dish, scrape some fine sugar upon it, and glaze with a hot shovel.
Two pounds of flour, a quarter of a pound of butter; rub the butter in the flour like grated bread; set it to the fire to dry: put in one pound of currants and a quarter of a pound of moist sugar, with a few caraway seeds, and two spoonfuls of good yest; make the dough into small buns; set them to rise half an hour: you may put two or three eggs in if you like.
One pound of fine flour, two pounds of currants, a few caraway seeds, a quarter of a pound of moist sugar, a pint of new milk, and two table-spoonfuls of yest; mix all well together in a stiff paste, and let it stand half an hour to rise; then roll them out, and put them in your tins; let them stand another half hour to rise before you bake them. The above receipt answers equally well for a cake baked in a tin.
Take flour, butter, and sugar, of each a quarter of a pound, four eggs, and a few caraway seeds. This quantity will make two dozen. Bake them on tins.
Take a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar finely powdered, the same quantity of butter, and nearly double of flour dried before the fire, a walnut-shell full of caraway-seeds just bruised, and one egg. Work all these up together into a paste, the thickness of half-a-crown, and cut it with a tea-cup, flour a tin; lay the cakes upon it; take the white of an egg well beat and frothed; lay it on them with a feather, and then grate upon them a little fine sugar.
Take one pound of fine flour, dry it well by the fire, sift it, and rub into it a pound of butter, the yolks of four eggs, the whites of two, both beaten light, three spoonfuls of cream, and the like quantity of white wine and ale yest. Let this sponge stand by the fire to rise; then beat it up extremely well and light with your hand; grate in a nutmeg; continue beating till it is ready for the oven; then add a pound of rough caraway seeds, keeping a few out to strew on the top of the cakes before they are put into the oven.
Take three pounds of flour, six ounces of butter, six ounces of sugar sifted fine, six eggs, both yolks and whites. Beat your eggs till they will not slip off the spoon; melt the butter in a pint of new milk, with which mix half a pint of good yest; strain it into the flour, and throw in half an ounce of caraway seeds. Work the whole up very light; set it before the fire to rise; then make it up into buns of the size of a penny roll, handling them as little as possible. Twenty minutes will bake them sufficiently.
Tie up cream in a fine napkin, and then in a coarse cloth, as you would a pudding: bury it two feet under ground; leave it there for twelve hours, and when you take it up it will be converted into butter.
To one quart of black gooseberries put one pint of red currants, picked into an earthen jar. Stop it very close, and set it in a pot of cold water over the fire to boil till the juice comes out. Then strain it, and to every pint of liquor put a pound of sugar; boil and skim it till you think it done enough: put it in flat pots, and keep it in a dry place. It will either turn out or cut in slices.
Take two gallons of new milk, boil it, and, when you take it off the fire, put in a quart of cream, giving it a stir; then pour it through a sieve into an earthen pan: lay some sticks over your pan, and cover it with a cloth; if you let it stand thus two days, it will be the better. Skim off the cream thick, and sweeten it to your taste; you may put in a little orange-flower water, and whip it well up.
Five pounds of flour dried, six pounds of currants, a quart of boiled cream, a pound and a half of butter, twenty eggs, the whites of six only, a pint of ale yest, one ounce of cinnamon finely beaten, one ounce of cloves and mace also well beaten, a quarter of a pound of sugar, a little salt, half a pound of orange and citron. Put in the cream and butter when it is just warm; mix all well together, and let it stand before the fire to rise. Put it into your hoop, and leave it in the oven an hour and a quarter. The oven should be as hot as for a manchet.
Beat half a pound of sifted sugar and the same quantity of fresh butter to a cream, in a basin made warm; mixing half a pound of flour well dried, six eggs, leaving out four whites, and one table-spoonful of brandy. The butter is to be beaten in first, then the flour, next the sugar, the eggs, and lastly, the brandy. Currants or caraways may be added at pleasure. It must be beaten an hour, and put in the oven immediately.
Take six quarts of fine flour dried in an oven, six pounds of currants, five pounds of butter, two pounds and a half of sugar, one pound of citron, three quarters of a pound of orange-peel, and any other sweetmeat you think proper; a pound of almonds ground very small, a few coriander seeds beat and sifted, half an ounce of mace, four nutmegs, sixteen eggs, six of the whites, half a pint of sack, and half a pint of ale yest.
One pound of the finest flour, one ounce of powdered sugar, five ounces of butter, three table-spoonfuls of fresh yest.
Take nine eggs; beat the yolks and whites separately; the weight of eight eggs in sugar, and five in flour: whisk the eggs and the sugar together for half an hour; then put in theflour, just before the oven is ready to bake it. Both the sugar and the flour must be sifted and dried.
Take a pound of flour, well dried and sifted; add to it one pound of sugar also dried and sifted; take one pound of butter, and work it in your hands till it is like cream; beat very light the yolks of ten eggs and six whites. Mix all these by degrees, beating it very light, and a little sack and brandy. It must not stand to rise. If you choose fruit, add one pound of currants, washed, picked, and dried.
Two pounds and a half of fresh butter, twenty-four eggs, three-pounds of flour, one pound and a half of sugar, one ounce of mixed spice, four pounds of currants, half a jar of raisins, half of sweet almonds, a quarter of a pound of citron, three quarters of orange and lemon, one gill of brandy, and one nutmeg. First work the butter to a cream; then beat the sugar well in; whisk the eggs half an hour; mix them with the butter and sugar; put in the spice and flour; and, when the oven is ready, mix in the brandy, fruit, and sweetmeats. It will take one hour and a half beating. Let it bake three hours.
Beat up eight eggs for half an hour. Have ready powdered and sifted one pound of loaf sugar; shake it in, and beat it half an hour longer. Put to it a quarter of a pound of sweet almonds beat fine with orange-flower water; grate the rind of a lemon into the almonds, and squeeze in the juice. Mix all together. Just before you put it in the oven, add a quarter of a pound of dry flour; rub the hoop or tin with butter. An hour and a half will bake it.
Take ten eggs and the whites of five; whisk them well, and beat in one pound of finely sifted sugar, and three quarters of a pound of flour: the flour to be put in just before the cake is going to the oven.
Take a pound of almonds; blanch them in cold water, and beat them as small as possible in a stone mortar with a wooden pestle, putting in, as you beat them, some orange-flower water. Then take twelve eggs, leaving out half of the whites; beat them well; put them to your almonds, and beat them together, above an hour, till it becomes of a good thickness. As youbeat it, sweeten it to your taste with double-refined sugar powdered, and when the eggs are put in add the peel of two large lemons finely rasped. When you beat the almonds in the mortar with orange-water, put in by degrees about four spoonfuls of citron water or ratafia of apricots, or, for want of these, brandy and sack mixed together, two spoonfuls of each. The cake must be baked in a tin pan; flour the pan before you put the cake into it. To try if it is done enough, thrust a straw through it, and if the cake sticks to the straw it is not baked enough; let it remain till the straw comes out clean.
Take twelve eggs, leaving out half the whites; beat the yolks by themselves till they look white; put to them by degrees one pound of fine sifted sugar; put in, by a spoonful at a time, three quarters of a pound of fine flour, well dried and sifted, with the whites of the eggs well beaten, and continue this till all the flour and the whites are in. Then beat very fine half a pound of fine almonds, with sack and brandy, to prevent their oiling; stir them into the cake. Bake it three quarters of an hour. Ratafia cake is made in the same manner, only keep out two ounces of the almonds, and put in their stead two of apricot kernels; if you have none, use bitter almonds.
Take one pound of almonds, blanch them; then take one pound of double-refined sugar, beaten very small; crack the almonds, one by one, upon the tops; put them into the sugar; mix them, and then beat them well together till they will work like paste. Make them into round cakes; take double-refined sugar, pounded and sifted, beat together with the white of an egg, and, when the cakes are hardened in the oven, take them out, and cover one side with sugar with a feather; then put them into the oven again, and, when one side is hardened, take them out and do the same on the other side. Set them in again to harden, and afterwards lay them up for use.
Take the small sort of almonds; steep them in cold water till they will blanch, and as you blanch them throw them into water. Wipe them dry, and beat them in a stone mortar, with a little rose-water, and as much double-refined sugar, sifted, as will make them into clear paste. Roll them into any size you please; then dry them in an oven after bread has been drawn, so that they may be dry on both sides; when they arecold, make a candy of sugar; wet it a little with rose-water; set it on the fire; stir it till it boils, then take it off, and let it cool a little. With a feather spread it over the cakes on one side; lay them upon papers on a table; take the lid of a baking-pan, put some coals on it, and set it over the cakes to raise the candy quickly. When they are cold, turn the other side, and serve it in the same manner.
Take one pound and a half of white sugar, two pounds of apples, pared and cut thin, and the rind of a large lemon; put a pint of water to the sugar, and boil it to a syrup; put the apples to it, and boil it quite thick. Put it into a mould to cool, and send it cold to table, with a custard, or cream poured round it.
One pound of apples cut and cored, one pound of sugar put to a quarter of a pint of water, so as to clarify the sugar, with the juice and peel of a lemon, and a little Seville orange. Boil it till it is quite stiff; put it in a mould; when cold it will turn out. You may put it into a little warm water to keep it from breaking when taken out.
Make a strong apple jelly, strain it, and put apricots into it to boil. Slit the apricots well, cover them with sugar, and boil them clear. Strain them, and put them in the candy when it is almost boiled up; and then put in your jelly, and scald it.
Take eggs according to the size of the cake, weigh them, shells and all; then take an equal weight of sugar, sifted very fine, and half the weight of fine flour, well dried and sifted. Beat the whites of the eggs to snow; then put the yolks in another pan; beat them light, and add the sugar to them by degrees. Beat them until very light; then put the snow, continuing to beat; and at last add by degrees the flour. Season with lemon-peel grated, or any peel you like; bake it in a slow oven, but hot enough to make it rise.
Take two pounds of flour, a quarter of a pound of butter, four eggs, one spoonful of good yest, half a pound of currants, half a pound of Lisbon sugar, some grated lemon-peel, and nutmeg. Melt the butter and sugar in a sufficient quantity ofnew milk to make it of a proper stiffness. Set it to rise for two hours and a half before the fire, and bake it in an earthen pan or tin in a quick oven, of a light brown.
Caraway seeds may be added—two ounces to the above quantity.
To a pound of fine flour take two ounces of fresh butter, which rub very well in with a little salt. Beat an egg smooth, and mix a spoonful of light yest with a little warm milk. Mix as much in the flour as will make a batter proper for fritters; then beat it with your hand till it leaves the bottom of the bowl in which it is made. Cover it up for three or four hours; then add as much flour as will form a paste proper for rolling up; make your cakes half an hour before you put them into the oven; prick them in the middle with a skewer, and bake them in a quick oven a quarter of an hour.
Water the yest well that it may not be bitter; change the water very often; put a very little sugar and water to it just as you are going to use it; this is done to lighten and set it fermenting. As soon as you perceive it to be light, mix up with it new milk warmed, as if for other bread; put no water to it; about one pound or more of butter to about sixteen or eighteen cakes, and a white of two of egg, beat very light; mix all these together as light as you can; then add flour to it, and beat it at least a quarter of an hour, until it is a tough light dough. Put it to the fire and keep it warm, and warm the tins on which the cakes are to be baked. When the dough has risen, and is light, beat it down, and put it to the fire again to rise, and repeat this a second time; it will add much to the lightness of the cakes. Make them of the size of a saucer, or thereabouts, and not too thick, and bake them in a slow oven. The dough, if made a little stiffer, will be very good for rolls; but they must be baked in a quicker oven.
A pint of thin cream, two eggs, three spoonfuls of yest, and a little salt. Mix all well together with half a pound of flour. Let it stand to rise before you put it in the oven. The cakes must be baked on tins.
Take four pounds of flour, one pound of currants, three pounds of butter, fourteen eggs, leaving out the whites, halfan ounce of mace, one pound of sugar, half a pint of sack, a pint of ale yest, a quart of milk boiled. Take it off, and let it cool. Rub the butter well in the floor; put in the sugar and spice, with the rest of the ingredients; wet it with a ladle, and beat it well together. Do not put the currants till the cake is ready to go into the oven. Butter the dish, and heat the oven as hot as for wheaten bread. You must not wet it till the oven is ready.
Melt two pounds of fresh butter in tin or silver; let it stand twenty-four hours; then rub into it four pounds of fine flour, dried. Mix in eight eggs, and whip the whites to a froth, a pint of the best yest, and a pint of sack, or any fine strong sweet wine. Put in two pounds of caraway seeds. Mix all these ingredients thoroughly; put the paste into a buttered pan, and bake for two hours and a half. You may mix with it half an ounce of cloves and cinnamon.
Take a quart of flour, a quarter of a pint of good ale yest, three quarters of a pound of fresh butter, one quarter of a pound of almonds, three quarters of a pound of caraway comfits, a handful of sugar, four eggs, leaving out two of the whites, new milk, boiled and set to cool, citron, orange, and lemon-peel, at your discretion, and two spoonfuls of sack. First rub your flour and yest together, then rub in the butter, and make it into a stiff batter with the milk, eggs, and sack; and, when you are ready to put it into the oven, add the other ingredients. Butter your hoop and the paper that lies under. This cake will require about three quarters of an hour baking; if you make it larger, you must allow more time.
Take four quarts of flour, well dried, and rub into it a pound and a quarter of butter. Take a pound of almonds, ground with rose-water, sugar, and cream, half an ounce of mace, and a little cinnamon, beaten fine, half a pound of citron, six ounces of orange-peel, some dried apricots, twelve eggs, four of the whites only, half a pound of sugar, a pint of ale yest, a little sack, and a quart of thick cream, well boiled. When your cream is nearly cold, mix all these ingredients well together with the flour; set the paste before the fire to rise; put in three pounds of double-sugared caraways, and let it stand in the hoop an hour and a quarter before it is put into the oven.
Take one quart of fine flour, fourteen ounces of butter, five or six spoonfuls of ale yest, three yolks of eggs, and one white; mix all these together, with so much cream as will make it into a paste; lay it before the fire for half an hour; add to it a handful of sugar, and half a pound of caraway comfits; and when you have worked them into long cakes, wash them over with rose-water and sugar, and pick up the top pretty thick with the point of a knife. Your oven must not be hotter than for manchet.
Grate the cocoa-nut on a fine bread grater; boil an equal quantity of loaf-sugar, melted with six table-spoonfuls of rose-water; take off all the scum; throw in the grated cocoa-nut, and let it heat thoroughly in the syrup, and keep constantly stirring, to prevent its burning to the bottom of the pan. Have ready beaten the yolks of eight eggs, with two table-spoonfuls of rose-water; throw in the cocoa-nut by degrees, and keep beating it with a wooden slice one hour; then fill your pans, and send them to the oven immediately, or they will be heavy.
Take the currants before they are very ripe, and put them into water, scarcely enough to cover them; when they have boiled a little while, strain them through a woollen bag; put a pound and a quarter of fine sugar, boiled to a candy; then put a pint of the jelly, and make it scalding hot: put the whole into pots to dry, and, when jellied, turn them on glasses.
Beat eight eggs, leaving out half the whites, for half an hour; half a pound of lump-sugar, pounded and sifted, to be put in during that time; then, by degrees, mix in half a pound of flour. Bake as soon after as possible. Butter the tin.
Beat one pound of almonds, with three quarters of a pound of fine sugar, to a paste; then put a little musk, and roll it out thin. Cut it in what shape you please, and let it dry. Then beat up isinglass with white of eggs, and cover it on both sides.
Half a pound of butter beat to a cream, half a pound of sugar, four eggs, whites and yolks beat separately, half a quartern of French roll dough, two ounces of caraway seeds, andone tea-spoonful of grated ginger: if for a plum-cake, a quarter of a pound of currants.
To a pound of sugar put half an ounce of ginger, the rind of a lemon, and four large spoonfuls of water. Stir it well together, and boil it till it is a stiff candy; then drop it in small cakes on a wet table.
Take three pounds of flour, two pounds of sugar, one pound of butter, two ounces of ginger, pounded and sifted fine, and a nutmeg grated. Rub these ingredients very fine in the flour, and wet it with a pint of cream, just warm, sufficiently to roll out into thin cakes. Bake them in a slack oven.
Rub half a pound of butter into a pound of flour; add a quarter of a pound of powder-sugar, one ounce of ginger, beat and sifted, the yolks of three eggs, and one gill of cream. A slow fire does them best.
One ounce of butter, one ounce of sugar, twelve grains of ginger, a quarter of a pound of flour, and treacle sufficient to make it into a paste; roll it out thin, and bake it.
Take the gooseberries very green; just cover them with water, and, when they are boiled and mashed, strain them through a sieve or woollen bag, and squeeze it well. Then boil up a candy of a pound and a quarter of fine sugar to a pint of the jelly; put it into pots to dry in a stove, and, when they jelly, turn them out on glasses.
To a pound of flour take three quarters of a pound of fresh butter beaten to a cream, three quarters of a pound of lump sugar finely pounded, nine eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, nutmeg to your taste. Add a glass of brandy.
Onepound of flour, two ounces of butter, the same of sugar, a spoonful of brandy, and five eggs. When well mixed, roll out and make into fancy shapes, and boil in hot lard. The Jersey shape is a true-lover’s knot.
Take a quarter of a peck of flour; put to it half a pound of sugar, and as much caraways, smooth or rough, as you like; mix these, and set them to the fire to dry. Then make a pound and half of butter hot over a gentle fire; stir it often, and add to it nearly a quart of milk or cream; when the butter is melted in the cream, pour it into the middle of the flour, and to it add a couple of wine-glasses of good white wine, and a full pint and half of very good ale yest; let it stand before the fire to rise, before you lay your cakes on the tin plates to bake.
Slice onions thin; set them in butter till they are soft, and, when they are cold, put into a pan to a quart basin of these stewed onions three eggs, three spoonfuls of fine dried bread crumbs, salt, and three spoonfuls of cream. Put common pie-crust in a tin; turn it up all round, like a cheesecake, and spread the onions over the cake; beat up an egg, and with a brush spread it in, and bake it of a fine yellow.
Put the Seville oranges you intend to use into water for two days. Pare them very thick, and boil the rind tender. Mince it fine; squeeze in the juice; take out all the meat from the strings and put into it. Then take one-fourth more than its weight in double-refined sugar; wet it with water, and boil it almost to sugar again. Cool it a little; put in the orange, and let it scald till it looks clear and sinks in the syrup, but do not let it boil. Put it into deep glass plates, and stove them till they are candied on the tops. Turn them out, and shape them as you please with a knife. Continue to turn them till they are dry; keep them so, and between papers.
Lemon cakes are made in the same way, only with half the juice.
Take three large oranges; pare and rub them with salt; boil them tender and cut them in halves; take out the seeds; then beat your oranges, and rub them through a hair sieve till you have a pound; add one pound and a quarter of double-refined sugar, boiled till it comes to the consistency of sugar, and put in a pint of strong juice of pippins and juice of lemon; keep stirring it on the fire till the sugar is completely melted.
Make a very strong jelly of apples, and to every pint of jelly put in the peel of an orange. Set it on a quick fire, and boil itwell; then run it through a jelly-bag and measure it. To every pint take a pound of fine sugar; set it on the fire, make it scalding hot, and strain it from the scum. Take the orange-peel, boiled very tender, shred it very small, and put it into it; give it another scald, and serve it out.
Lemon clove cake may be done the same way, but you must scald the peel before the sugar is put in.
Dip sugar in water, and let it boil over a quick fire till it is almost dry sugar again. To half a pound of sugar, when it is perfectly clear, add seven spoonfuls of water; then put in the orange-flowers: just give the mixture a boil up; drop it on china or silver plates, and set them in the sun till the cakes are dry enough to be taken off.
Take eight pounds and three quarters of fine flour well dried and sifted, one ounce of beaten mace, one pound and a half of sugar. Mix them together, and take one quart of cream and six pounds of butter, put together, and set them over the fire till the butter is melted. Then take thirty-three eggs, one quart of yest, and twelve spoonfuls of sack; put it into the flour, stir it well together, and, when well mixed, set it before the fire to rise for an hour. Then take ten pounds of currants washed and dried, and set them to dry before the fire, one pound of citron minced, one pound of orange and lemon-peel together, sliced. When your oven is ready, stir your cake thoroughly; put in your sweetmeats and currants; mix them well in, and put into tin hoops. The quantity here given will make two large cakes, which will take two hours’ baking.
One pound of fine flour well dried and sifted, three quarters of a pound of fine sugar, also well dried and sifted. Work one pound to a cream with a noggin of brandy; then add to it by degrees your sugar, continuing to beat it very light. Beat the yolks of ten eggs extremely light; then put them into the butter and sugar, a spoonful at a time; beat the whites very light, and when you add the flour, which should be by degrees, put in the whites a spoonful at a time; add a grated nutmeg and a little beaten mace, and a good pound of currants, washed, dried, and picked, with a little of the flour rubbed about them. Work them into the cake. Cut in thin slices a quarter of a pound of blanched almonds, and two ounces of citron and candied orange-peel. Between every layer of cake, as youput it into the hoop, put in the sweetmeats, and bake it two hours.
Rub one pound of butter into two pounds of flour; take one pound of sugar, one pound of currants, and mix them with four eggs; make them into little round cakes, and bake them on tins. Half this quantity is sufficient to make at a time.
Make apple jelly rather strong, and strain it through a woollen bag. Put as many white pear plums as will give a flavour to the jelly; let it boil; strain it again through the bag, and boil up as many pounds of fine sugar for a candy as you had pints of jelly; and when your sugar is boiled very high, add your jelly; just scald it over the fire; put it in little pots, and let it stand with a constant fire.
Put one pound of fine sugar, well beaten and sifted, one pound of fresh butter, five eggs, and a little beaten mace, into a flat pan: beat it up with your hand until it is very light; then put in by degrees one pound of fine flour well dried and sifted, half a pound of currants picked, washed, and well dried; beat them together till very light; bake them in heart pans in a slack oven.
Roast or bake mealy potatoes, as they are drier and lighter when done that way than boiled; peel them, and beat them in a mortar with a little cream or melted butter; add some yolks of eggs, a little sack, sugar, a little beaten mace, and nutmeg: work it into a light paste, then make it into cakes of what shape you please with moulds. Fry them brown in the best fresh butter; serve them with sack and sugar.
Take a pound of flour and a pound of butter; beat to a cream eight eggs, leaving out the whites of four, and beat them up with the butter. Put the flour in by degrees, one pound of sugar, a few caraway seeds, and currants, if you like; half a pound will do.
Take half a pound of butter, and half a pound of powdered lump-sugar; beat them till they are like a cream. Then take three eggs, leaving out the whites of two; beat them very well with a little brandy; then put the eggs to the butter and sugar;beat it again till it is come to a cream. Shake over it half a pound of dried flour; beat it well with your hand; add half a nutmeg, half an ounce of caraway seeds, and what sweetmeat you please. Butter the mould well.
Beat up well ten eggs and half a pound of sugar with a little rose-water; mix in half a pound of flour, and bake it in a pan.
Take the apple quince, pare and core it; take as many apples as quinces; just cover them with water, and boil till they are broken. Strain them through a sieve or woollen bag, and boil up to a candy as many pounds of sugar as you have of jelly, which put in your jelly; just let it scald over the fire, and put it into paste in a stove. The paste is made thus: Scald quinces in water till they are tender; then pare and scrape them fine with a knife and put them into apple jelly; let it stand till you think the paste sufficiently thickened, then boil up to a candy as many pounds of sugar as you have of paste.
Bitter and sweet almonds, of each a quarter of a pound, blanched and well dried with a napkin, finely pounded with the white of an egg; three quarters of a pound of finely pounded sugar mixed with the almonds. Have the whites of three eggs beat well, and mix up with the sugar and almonds; put the mixture with a tea-spoon on white paper, and bake it in a slow heat; when the cakes are cold, they come off easily from the paper. When almonds are pounded, they are generally sprinkled with a little water, otherwise they become oily. Instead of water take to the above the white of an egg or a little more; to the whole of the above quantity the whites of four eggs are used.
Ground rice, flour and loaf-sugar, of each six ounces, eight eggs, leaving out five of the whites, the peel of a lemon grated: beat all together half an hour, and bake it three quarters of an hour in a quick oven.
Take one pound of sifted rice flour, one pound of fine sugar finely beaten and sifted, and sixteen eggs, leaving out half the whites; beat them a quarter of an hour at least, separately; then add the sugar, and beat it with the eggs extremely well and light. When they are as light as possible, add by degreesthe rice-flour; beat them all together for an hour as light as you can. Put in a little orange-flower water, or brandy, and candied peel, if you like; the oven must not be too hot.
One pound of flour, half a pound of clarified butter, half a pound of currants, half a pound of sugar; mix and pinch into small cakes.
Take three pounds of very fine flour, one pound and a half of butter, and as much currants, seven yolks and three whites of eggs, a nutmeg grated, a little rose-water, one pound and a half of sugar finely beaten; knead it well and light, and bake on tins.