Other Desserts
Baked Custards.—For each quart milk allow 4 large or 5 small eggs and 3 tablespoons sugar. Warm milk; pour over eggs and sugar beaten together. Fill small earthen cups or pudding-dish. Stand in pan of warm water; add flavoring to suit, and bake in moderate oven till firm in center. For chocolate custards melt chocolate with sugar.
Corn-starch Custard.—Scald 1 quart milk. Dissolve 2 level teaspoons corn-starch in little cold milk. Turn quickly into hot milk; stir till thickened, then cover and cook 10 minutes. Beat 2 eggs with 3 tablespoons sugar, add to custard, stir a moment longer, strain. Add flavoring when partly cooled.
Tapioca Custard.—Put 2 tablespoons fine tapioca in double boiler with 1 pint milk, cook and stir till tapioca is transparent. Add yolks 2 eggs beaten with 3 tablespoons sugar, and pinch salt; stir till thickened. Add whites whipped to stiff froth, stir lightly 3 minutes; take from fire; add flavoring when cooled. If pearl or lump tapioca is used, it must be soaked in cold water for several hours before cooking.
Apple Snow.—Core, quarter, and steam 3 large, sour apples. Rub through sieve, cool; whip whites 3 eggs to very stiff froth with ½ cup powdered sugar, gradually add apple, and whip long time till white and stiff. Pile in dish, garnish with dots currant jelly.
Snow Eggs.—To whites 5 eggs add pinch salt, and whip to very stiff froth; gradually add 1 tablespoon powdered sugar and few drops flavoring. Scald 1 quart milk in large pan. Shape whites in tablespoon, drop a few at a time in hot milk. Turn until cooked. Lift out with skimmer, lay on glass dish. When all are cooked make custard with egg yolks, milk, and 3 tablespoons sugar, and serve with eggs.
Charlotte Russe.—Mix 1 pint rich cream, ½ cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Have very cold and whip to stiff froth, turning under cream when it first rises. Line dish with sponge cake or ladyfingers, fill with whipped cream.
Chocolate Blanc-mange.—Quart milk. ½ box gelatine soaked in 1 cup water, 4 tablespoons grated chocolate rubbed smooth in a little milk, 3 eggs, extract vanilla to taste. Heat milk until boiling, then add other ingredients; boil 5 minutes. Pour into mold. Serve cold with sugar and cream, or custard.
Iced Fruits for Desserts.—Any desirable fruit may be easily iced by dipping first in the beaten white of an egg, then in sugar finely pulverized, and again in egg, and so on until you have the icing of the desired thickness. For this purpose oranges or lemons should be carefully pared, and all the white inner skin removed that is possible, to prevent bitterness; then cut either in thin horizontal slices iflemons, or in quarters if oranges. For cherries, strawberries, currants, etc., choose the largest and finest, leaving stems out. Peaches should be pared and cut in halves, and sweet, juicy pears may be treated in the same way, or look nice when pared, leaving on the stems, and iced. Pineapples should be cut in thin slices, and these again divided into quarters.
Floating Island.—1 quart milk, 4 eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately, 4 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons extract vanilla or bitter almonds, ½ cup currant jelly. Heat milk to scalding, but not boiling. Beat the yolks; stir into them the sugar, and pour upon them gradually, mixing well, a cup of the hot milk. Put into saucepan and boil until it begins to thicken. When cool, flavor and pour into a glass dish. Heap upon top meringue of whites whipped until you can cut it, into which you have beaten the jelly, a teaspoon at a time.
(Decorative Design)