Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches by Eliza Leslie Published: 1840

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PASTRY, PUDDINGS, ETC

THE BEST PLAIN PASTE.

All paste should be made in a very cool place, as heat renders it
heavy. It is far more difficult to get it light in summer than in
winter. A marble slab is much better to roll it on than a paste-board.
It will be improved in lightness by washing the butter in
very cold water, and squeezing and pressing out all the salt, as
salt is injurious to paste. In New York and in the Eastern states,
it is customary, in the dairies, to put more salt in what is
called fresh butter, than in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and
Delaware. This butter, therefore, should always undergo the
process of washing and squeezing before it is used for pastry or
cakes. None but the very best butter should be taken for those
purposes; as any unpleasant taste is always increased by baking.
Potted butter never makes good paste. As pastry is by no means an
article of absolute necessity, it is better not to have it at all,
than to make it badly, and of inferior ingredients; few things
being more unwholesome than hard, heavy dough. The flour for paste
should always be superfine.

You may bake paste in deep dishes or in soup plates. For shells
that are to be baked empty, and afterwards filled with stewed
fruit or sweetmeats, deep plates of block tin with broad edges are
best. If you use patty-pans, the more flat they are the better.
Paste always rises higher and is more perfectly light and flaky,
when unconfined at the sides while baking. That it may be easily
taken out, the dishes or tins should be well buttered.

To make a nice plain paste,--sift three pints of superfine flour,
by rubbing it through a sieve into a deep pan. Divide a pound of
fresh butter into four quarters. Cut up one quarter into the
flour, and rub it fine with your hands. Mix in, gradually, as much
cold water as will make a tolerably stiff dough, and then knead it
slightly. Use as little water as possible or the paste will be
tough. Sprinkle a little flour on your paste-board, lay the lump
of dough upon it, and knead it a very short time. Flour it, and
roll it out into a very thin sheet, always rolling from you. Flour
your rolling-pin to prevent its sticking. Take a second quarter of
the butter, and with your thumb, spread it all over the sheet of
paste. If your hand is warm, use a knife instead of your thumb;
for if the butter oils, the paste will be heavy. When you have put
on the layer of butter, sprinkle it with a very little flour, and
with your hands roll up the paste as you would a sheet of paper.
Then flatten it with a rolling-pin, and roll it out a second time
into a thin sheet. Cover it with another layer of butter, as
before, and again roll it up into a scroll. Flatten it again, put
on the last layer of butter, flour it slightly, and again roll up
the sheet. Then cut the scroll into as many pieces as you want
sheets for your dishes or patty-pans. Roll out each piece almost
an inch thick. Flour your dishes, lay the paste lightly on them,
notch the edges, and bake it a light brown. The oven must be
moderate. If it is too hot, the paste will bake before it has
risen sufficiently. If too cold, it will scarcely rise at all, and
will be white and clammy. When you begin to make paste in this
manner, do not quit it till it is ready for the oven. It must
always be baked in a close oven where no air can reach it.

The best rolling-pins, are those that are straight, and as thick
at the ends as in the middle. They should be held by the handles,
and the longer the handles the more convenient. The common
rolling-pins that decrease in size towards the ends, are much less
effective, and more tedious, as they can roll so little at a time;
the extremities not pressing on the dough at all.

All, pastry is best when fresh. After the first day it loses much
of its lightness, and is therefore more unwholesome.


COMMON PIE CRUST.

Sift two quarts of superfine flour into a pan. Divide one pound of
fresh butter into two equal parts, and cut up one half in the
flour, rubbing it fine. Mix it with a very little cold water, and
make it into a round lump. Knead it a little. Then flour your
paste-board, and roll the dough out into a large thin sheet.
Spread it all over with the remainder of the butter. Flour it,
fold it up, and roll it out again. Then fold it again, or roll it
into a scroll. Cut it into as many pieces as you want sheets of
paste, and roll each not quite an inch thick. Butter your pie-dish.

This paste will do for family use, when covered pies are wanted.
Also for apple dumplings, pot-pies, &c.; though all boiled paste
is best when made of suet instead of butter. Short cakes may be
made of this, cut out with the edge of a tumbler. It should always
be eaten fresh.


SUET PASTE.

Having removed the skirt and stringy fibres from a pound of beef
suet, chop it as fine as possible. Sift two quarts of flour into a
deep pan, and rub into it one half of the suet. Make, it into a
round lump of dough, with cold water, and then knead it a little.
Lay the dough on your paste-board, roll it out very thin, and
cover it with the remaining half of the suet. Flour it, roll it
out thin again, and then roll it into a scroll. Cut it into as
many pieces as you want sheets of paste, and roll them out half an
inch thick.

Suet paste should always be boiled. It is good for plain puddings
that are made of apples, gooseberries, blackberries or other
fruit; and for dumplings. If you use it for pot-pie, roll it the
last time rather thicker than if wanted for any other purpose. If
properly made, it will be light and flaky, and the suet
imperceptible. If the suet is minced very fine, and thoroughly
incorporated with the flour, not the slightest lump will appear
when the paste comes to table.

The suet must not be melted before it is used; but merely minced
as fine as possible and mixed cold with the flour.

If for dumplings to eat with boiled mutton, the dough must be
rolled out thick, and cut out of the size you want them, with a
tin, or with the edge of a cup or tumbler.


DRIPPING PASTE.

To a pound of fresh beef-dripping, that has been nicely clarified,
allow two pounds and a quarter of flour. Put the flour into a
large pan, and mix the dripping with it, rubbing it into the flour
with your hands till it is thoroughly incorporated. Then make it
into a stiff dough with a little cold water, and roll it out
twice. This may be used for common meat pies.


LARD PASTE.

Lard for paste should never be used without an equal quantity of
butter. Take half a pound of nice lard, and half a pound of fresh
butter; rub them together into two pounds and a quarter of flour,
and mix it with a little cold water to a stiff dough. Roll it out
twice. Use it for common pies. Lard should always be kept in tin.


POTATO PASTE.

To two quarts of flour, allow fourteen good sized potatoes. Boil
the potatoes till they are thoroughly done throughout. Then peel,
and mash them very fine. Rub them through a cullender.

Having sifted the flour into a pan, add the potatoes gradually;
rubbing them well into the flour with your hands. Mix in
sufficient cold water to make a stiff dough. Roll it out evenly,
and you may use it for apple dumplings, boiled apple pudding,
beef-steak pudding, &c.

Potato paste must be sent to table quite hot; as soon as it cools
it becomes tough and heavy. It is unfit for baking; and even when
boiled is less light than suet paste.


FINE PUFF PASTE.

To every pound of the best fresh butter allow a pound or a quart
of superfine flour. Sift the flour into a deep pan, and then sift
on a plate some additional flour to use for sprinkling and
rolling. Wash the butter through two cold waters; squeezing out
all the salt, and whatever milk may remain in it; and then make it
up with your hands into a round lump, and put it in ice till you
are ready to use it. Then divide the butter into four equal parts.
Cut up one of the quarters into the pan of flour; and divide the
remaining three quarters into six pieces, [Footnote: Or into nine;
and roll it in that number of times.] cutting each quarter in
half. Mix with a knife the flour and butter that is in the pan,
adding by degrees a very little cold water till you have made it
into a lump of stiff dough. Then sprinkle some flour on the paste-board,
(you should have a marble slab,) take the dough from the
pan by lifting it out with the knife, lay it on the board, and
flouring your rolling-pin, roll out the paste into a large thin
sheet. Then with the knife, put all over it, at equal distances,
one of the six pieces of butter divided into small bits. Fold up
the sheet of paste, flour it, roll it out again, and add in the
same manner another of the portions of butter. Repeat this process
till the butter is all in. Then fold it once more, lay it on a
plate, and set it in a cool place till you are ready to use it.
Then divide it into as many pieces as you want sheets of paste;
roll out each sheet, and put them into buttered plates or patty-pans.
In using the rolling-pin, observe always to roll from you.
Bake the paste in a moderate oven, but rather quick than slow. No
air must be admitted to it while baking.

The edges of paste should always be notched before it goes into
the oven. For this purpose, use a sharp penknife, dipping it
frequently in flour as it becomes sticky. The notches should be
even and regular. If you do them imperfectly at first, they cannot
be mended by sticking on additional bits of paste; as, when baked,
every patch will be doubly conspicuous. There are various ways of
notching; one of the neatest is to fold over one corner of each
notch; or you may arrange the notches to stand upright and lie
flat, alternately, all round the edge. They should be made small
and regular. You may form the edge into leaves with the little tin
cutters made for the purpose.

If the above directions for puff paste are carefully followed, and
if it is not spoiled in baking, it will rise to a great thickness
and appear in flakes or leaves according to the number of times
you have put in the butter.

It should be eaten the day it is baked.


SWEET PASTE.

Sift a pound and a quarter of the finest flour, and three ounces
of powdered loaf-sugar into a deep dish. Cut up in it ten ounces
of the best fresh butter and rub it fine with your hands. Make a
hole in the middle, pour in the yolks of two beaten eggs, and mix
them with the flour, &c. Then wet the whole to a stiff paste with
half a pint of rich milk. Knead it well, and roll it out.

This paste is intended for tarts of the finest sweetmeats. If used
as shells they should be baked empty, and filled when cool. If
made into covered tarts they may be iced all over, in the manner
of cakes, with beaten white of egg and powdered loaf-sugar. To
make puffs of it, roll it out and cut it into round pieces with
the edge of a large tumbler, or with a tin cutter. Lay the
sweetmeat on one half of the paste, fold the other over it in the
form of a half-moon, and unite the edges by notching them
together. Bake them in a brisk oven, and when cool, send them to
table handsomely arranged, several on a dish.

Sweet paste is rarely used except for very handsome
entertainments. You may add some rose water in mixing it.


SHELLS.

Shells of paste are made of one sheet each, rolled out in a
circular form, and spread over the bottom, sides, and edges of
buttered dishes or patty-pans, and baked empty; to be filled, when
cool, with stewed fruit, (which for this purpose should be always
cold,) or with sweetmeats. They should be made either of fine puff
paste, or of the best plain paste, or of sweet paste. They are
generally rolled out rather thick, and will require about half an
hour to bake. The oven should be rather quick, and of equal heat
throughout; if hotter in one part than in another, the paste will
draw to one side, and be warped and disfigured. The shells should
be baked of a light brown. When cool, they must be taken out of
the dishes on which they were baked, and transferred to plates and
filled with the fruit.

Shells of puff paste will rise best if baked on flat patty-pans,
or tin plates. When they are cool, pile the sweetmeats on them in
a heap.

The thicker and higher the paste rises, and the more it flakes in
layers or leaves, the finer it is considered.

Baking paste as empty shells, prevents it from being moist or
clammy at the bottom.

Tarts are small shells with fruit in them.


PIES.

Pies may be made with any sort of paste. It is a fault to roll it
out too thin; for if it has not sufficient substance, it will,
when baked, be dry and tasteless. For a pie, divide the paste into
two sheets; spread one of them over the bottom and sides of a deep
dish well buttered. Next put in the fruit or other ingredients,
(heaping it higher in the centre,) and then place the other sheet
of paste on the top as a lid or cover; pressing the edges closely
down, and afterwards crimping or notching them with a sharp small
knife.

In making pies of juicy fruit, it is well to put on the centre of
the under crust a common tea-cup, laying the fruit round it and
over it. The juice will collect under the cup, and not be liable
to run out from between the edges. There should be plenty of sugar
strewed among the fruit as you put it into the pie.

Preserves should never be put into covered pies. The proper way is
to lay them in baked shells.

All pies are best the day they are baked. If kept twenty-four
hours the paste falls and becomes comparatively hard, heavy, and
unwholesome. If the fruit is not ripe, it should be stewed with
sugar, and then allowed to get cold before it is put into the pie.
If put in warm it will make the paste heavy. With fruit pies
always have a sugar dish on the table, in case they should not be
found sweet enough.


STANDING PIES.

Cut up half a pound of butter, and put it into a sauce-pan with
three quarters of a pint of water; cover it, and set it on hot
coals. Have ready in a pan two pounds of sifted flour; make a hole
in the middle of it, pour in the melted butter as soon as it
boils, and then with a spoon gradually mix in the flour. When it
is well mixed, knead it with your hands into a stiff dough.
Sprinkle your paste-board with flour, lay the dough upon it, and
continue to knead it with your hands till it no longer sticks to
them, and is quite light. Then let it stand an hour to cool. Cut
off pieces for the bottom and top; roll them out thick, and roll
out a long piece for the sides or walls of the pie, which you must
fix on the bottom so as to stand up all round; cement them
together with white of egg, pinching and closing them firmly. Then
put in the ingredients of your pie, (which should be venison,
game, or poultry,) and lay on the lid or top crust, pinching the
edges closely together. You may ornament the sides and top with
leaves or flowers of paste, shaped with a tin cutter, and notch or
scollop the edges handsomely. Before you set it in the oven glaze
it all over with white of egg. Bake it four hours. These pies are
always eaten cold, and in winter will keep two or three weeks, if
the air is carefully excluded from them; and they may be carried
to a considerable distance.


A PYRAMID OF TARTS.

Roll out a sufficient quantity of the best puff paste, or sugar
paste; and with oval or circular cutters, cut it out into seven or
eight pieces of different sizes; stamping the middle of each with
the cutter you intend using for the next. Bake them all
separately, and when they are cool, place them on a dish in a
pyramid, (gradually diminishing in size,) the largest piece at the
bottom, and the smallest at the top. Take various preserved
fruits, and lay some of the largest on the lower piece of paste;
on the next place fruit that is rather smaller; and so on till you
finish at the top with the smallest sweetmeats you have. The upper
one may be not so large as a half-dollar, containing only a single
raspberry or strawberry.

Notch all the edges handsomely. You may ornament the top or
pinnacle of the pyramid with a sprig of orange blossom or myrtle.


APPLE AND OTHER PIES.

Take fine juicy acid apples; pare, core, and cut them into small
pieces. Have ready a deep dish that has been lined with paste.
Fill it with the apples; strewing among them layers of brown
sugar, and adding the rind of a lemon pared thin, and also the
juice squeezed in, or some essence of lemon. Put on another sheet
of paste as a lid; close the edges well, and notch them. Bake the
pie in a moderate oven, about three quarters of an hour. Eat it
with cream and sugar, or with cold boiled custard.

If the pie is made of early green apples, they should first be
stewed with a very little water and plenty of brown sugar.

What are called sweet apples are entirely unfit for cooking, as
they become tough and tasteless; and it is almost impossible to
get them sufficiently done.

When you put stewed apples into baked shells, grate nutmeg over
the top. You may cover them with cream whipped to a stiff froth,
and heaped on them.

Cranberries and gooseberries should be stewed with sugar before
they are put into paste. Peaches should be cut in half or
quartered, and the stones taken out. The stones of cherries and
plums should also be extracted.

Raspberries or strawberries, mixed with cream and white sugar, may
he put raw into baked shells.


RHUBARB TARTS.

Take the young green stalks of the rhubarb plant, or spring fruit
as it is called in England; and having peeled off the thin skin,
cut the stalks into small pieces about an inch long, and put them
into a sauce-pan with plenty of brown sugar, and its own juice.
Cover it, and let it stew slowly till it is soft enough to mash to
a marmalade. Then set it away to cool. Have ready some fresh baked
shells; fill them with the stewed rhubarb, and grate white sugar
over the top.

For covered pies, cut the rhubarb very small; mix a great deal of
sugar with it, and put it in raw. Bake the pies about three
quarters of an hour.


MINCE PIES.

These pies are always made with covers, and should be eaten warm.
If baked the day before, heat them on the stove or before the
fire.

Mince-meat made early in the winter, and packed closely in stone
jars, will keep till spring, if it has a sufficiency of spice and
liquor. Whenever you take out any for use, pour some additional
brandy into the jar before you cover it again, and add some more
sugar. No mince-meat, however, will keep well unless all the
ingredients are of the best quality. The meat should always be
boiled the day before you want to chop it.


GOOD MINCE-MEAT.

Take a bullock's heart and boil it, or two pounds of the lean of
fresh beef. When it is quite cold, chop it very fine. Chop three
pounds of beef suet (first removing the skin and strings) and six
pounds of large juicy apples that have been pared and cored. Then,
stone six pounds of the best raisins, (or take sultana raisins
that are without stones,) and chop them also. Wash and dry three
pounds of currants. Mix all together; adding to them the grated
peel and the juice of two or three large oranges, two table-spoonfuls
of powdered cinnamon, two powdered nutmegs, and three
dozen powdered cloves, a tea-spoonful of beaten mace, one pound of
fine brown sugar, one quart of Madeira wine, one pint of French
brandy, and half a pound of citron cut into large slips. Having
thoroughly mixed the whole, put it into a stone jar, and tie it up
with brandy paper.


THE BEST MINCE-MEAT,

Take a large fresh tongue, rub it with a mixture, in equal
proportions, of salt, brown sugar, and powdered cloves. Cover it,
and let it lie two days, or at least twenty-four hours. Then boil
it two hours, and when, it is cold, skin it, and mince it very
fine. Chop also three pounds of beef suet, six pounds of sultana
raisins, and six pounds of the best pippin apples that have been
previously pared and cored. Add three pounds of currants, picked,
washed and dried; two large table-spoonfuls of powdered cinnamon;
the juice and grated rinds of four large lemons; one pound of
sweet almonds, one ounce of bitter almonds, blanched and pounded
in a mortar with half a pint of rose water; also four powdered
nutmegs; two dozen beaten cloves; and a dozen blades of mace
powdered. Add a pound of powdered white sugar, and a pound of
citron cut into slips. Mix all together, and moisten it with a
quart of Madeira, and a pint of brandy. Put it up closely in a
stone jar with brandy paper; and when you take any out, add some
more sugar and brandy.

Bake this mince-meat in puff paste.

You may reserve the citron to put in when you make the pies. Do
not cut the slips too small, or the taste will be almost
imperceptible.


VERY PLAIN MINCE-MEAT.

Take a piece of fresh beef, consisting of about two pounds of
lean, and one pound of fat. Boil it, and when it is quite cold,
chop it fine. Or you may substitute cold roast beef. Pare and core
some fine juicy apples, cut them in pieces, weigh three pounds,
and chop them. Stone four pounds of raisins, and chop them also.
Add a large table-spoonful of powdered cloves, and the same
quantity of powdered cinnamon. Also a pound of brown sugar. Mix
all thoroughly, moistening it with a quart of bottled or sweet
cider. You may add the grated peel and the juice of an orange.

Bake it in good common paste.

This mince-meat will do very well for children or for family use,
but is too plain to be set before a guest. Neither will it keep so
long as that which is richer and more highly seasoned. It is best
to make no more of it at once than you have immediate occasion
for.


MINCE-MEAT FOR LENT.

Boil a dozen eggs quite hard, and chop the yolks very fine. Chop
also a dozen pippins, and two pounds of sultana raisins. Add two
pounds of currants, a pound of sugar, a table-spoonful of powdered
cinnamon, a tea-spoonful of beaten mace, three powdered nutmegs,
the juice and grated peel of three large lemons, and half a pound
of citron cut in large strips. Mix these ingredients thoroughly,
and moisten the whole with a pint of white wine, half a pint of
rose-water, and half a pint of brandy. Bake it in very nice paste.

These mince pies may be eaten by persons who refrain from meat in
Lent.


ORANGE PUDDING.

Grate the yellow part of the rind, and squeeze the juice of two
large, smooth, deep-coloured oranges. Stir together to a cream,
half a pound of butter, and half a pound of powdered white sugar,
and add a wine-glass of mixed wine and brandy. Beat very light six
eggs, and stir them gradually into the mixture. Put it into a
buttered dish with a broad edge, round which lay a border of puff-paste
neatly notched. Bake it half an hour, and when cool grate
white sugar over it.

You may add to the mixture a Naples biscuit, or two finger
biscuits, grated.


LEMON PUDDING.

May be made precisely in the same manner as the above;
substituting lemons for oranges.


QUINCE PUDDING.

Take six large ripe quinces; pare them, and cut out all the
blemishes. Then scrape them to a pulp, and mix the pulp with half
a pint of cream, and half a pound of powdered sugar, stirring them
together very hard. Beat the yolks of seven eggs, (omitting all
the whites except two,) and stir them gradually into the mixture,
adding two wine glasses of rose water. Stir the whole well
together, and bake it in a buttered dish three quarters of an hour
Grate sugar over it when cold.

If you cannot obtain cream, you may substitute a quarter of a
pound of fresh butter stirred with the sugar and quince. A baked
apple pudding may be made in the same manner.


ALMOND PUDDING.

Take half a pound of shelled sweet almonds, and three ounces of
shelled bitter almonds, or peach-kernels. Scald and peel them;
throwing them, as they are peeled, into cold water. Then pound
them one at a time in a marble mortar, adding to each a few drops
of rose water; otherwise they will be heavy and oily. Mix the
sweet and bitter almonds together by pounding them alternately;
and as you do them, take them out and lay them on a plate. They
must each be beaten to a fine smooth paste, free from the smallest
lumps. It is best to prepare them the day before you make the
pudding.

Stir to a cream half a pound of fresh butter and half a pound of
powdered white sugar; and by degrees pour into it a glass of mixed
wine and brandy. Beat to a stiff froth, the whites only, of twelve
eggs, (you may reserve the yolks for custards or other purposes,)
and stir alternately into the butter and sugar the pounded almonds
and the beaten white of egg. When the whole is well mixed, put it
into a buttered dish and lay puff paste round the edge. Bake it
about half an hour, and when cold grate sugar over it.


ANOTHER ALMOND PUDDING.

Blanch three quarters of a pound of shelled sweet almonds, and
three ounces of shelled bitter almonds, and beat them in a mortar
to a fine paste; mixing them well, and adding by degrees a tea-cup
full, or more, of rose water. Boil in a pint of rich milk, a few
sticks of cinnamon broken up, and a few blades of mace. When the
milk has come to a boil, take it off the fire, strain it into a
pan, and soak in it five stale rusks cut into slices. They must
soak till quite dissolved. Stir to a cream three quarters of a
pound of fresh butter, mixed with the same quantity of powdered
loaf-sugar. Beat ten eggs very light, yolks and whites together,
and then stir alternately into the butter and sugar, the rusk,
eggs, and almonds. Set it on a stove or a chafing dish, and stir
the whole together till very smooth and thick. Put it into a
buttered dish and bake it three quarters of an hour. It must be
eaten cool or cold.


COCOA-NUT PUDDING.

Having opened a cocoa-nut, pare off the brown skin from the
pieces, and wash them all in cold water. Then weigh three quarters
of a pound, and grate it into a dish. Cut up half a pound of
butter into half a pound of powdered loaf-sugar, and stir them
together to a cream; add to them a glass of wine and rose water
mixed. Beat the whites only, of twelve eggs, till they stand alone
on the rods; and then stir the grated cocoa-nut and the beaten
white of egg alternately into the butter and sugar; giving the
whole a hard stirring at the last. Put the mixture into a buttered
dish, lay puff paste round the flat edge, and bake it half an hour
in a moderate oven. When cool, grate powdered sugar over it.


ANOTHER COCOA-NUT PUDDING.

Peel and cut up the cocoa-nut, and wash, and wipe the pieces.
Weigh one pound, and grate it fine. Then, mix with it three stale
rusks or small sponge-cakes, grated also. Stir together till very
light half a pound of butter and half a pound of powdered white
sugar, and add a glass of white wine. Beat six whole eggs very
light, and stir them gradually into the butter and sugar in turn
with the grated cocoa-nut. Having stirred the whole very hard at
the last, put it into a buttered dish and bake it half an hour.


PUMPKIN PUDDING.

Take a pint of pumpkin that has been stewed soft, and pressed
through a cullender. Melt in half a pint of warm milk, a quarter
of a pound of butter, and the same quantity of sugar, stirring
them well together. If you can conveniently procure a pint of rich
cream it will be better than the milk and butter. Beat eight eggs
very light, and add them gradually to the other ingredients,
alternately with the pumpkin. Then stir in a wine glass of rose
water and two glasses of wine mixed together; a large tea-spoonful
of powdered mace and cinnamon mixed, and a grated nutmeg. Having
stirred the whole very hard, put it into a buttered dish and bake
it three quarters of an hour.


A SQUASH PUDDING.

Pare, cut in pieces, and stew in a very little water, a yellow
winter squash. When it is quite soft, drain it dry, and mash it in
a cullender. Then put it into a pan, and mix with it a quarter of
a pound of butter. Prepare two pounded crackers, or an equal
quantity of grated stale bread. Stir gradually a quarter of a
pound of powdered sugar into a quart of rich milk, and add by
degrees, the squash, and the powdered biscuit. Beat nine eggs very
light, and stir them gradually into the mixture. Add a glass of
white wine, a glass of brandy, a glass of rose water, and a table-spoonful
of mixed spice, nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon powdered. Stir
the whole very hard, till all the ingredients are thoroughly
mixed. Bake it three quarters of an hour in a buttered dish; and
when cold, grate white sugar over it.


YAM PUDDING.

Take one pound of roasted yam, and rub it through a cullender. Mix
with it half a pound of white sugar, a pint of cream or half a
pound of butter, a tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon, a grated
nutmeg, and a wine glass of rose water, and one of wine. Set it
away to get cold. Then beat six eggs very light. Stir them into
the mixture. Put it into a buttered dish and bake it half an hour.
Grate sugar over it when cold.


CHESTNUT PUDDING,

May be made in the above manner.


POTATO PUDDING.

Boil a pound of fine potatoes, peel them, mash them, and rub them
through a cullender. Stir together to a cream, three quarters of a
pound of sugar and the same quantity of butter. Add to them
gradually, a wine glass of rose water, a glass of wine, and a
glass of brandy; a tea-spoonful of powdered mace and cinnamon, a
grated nutmeg, and the juice and grated peel of a large lemon.
Then beat six eggs very light, and add them by degrees to the
mixture, alternately with the potato. Bake it three quarters of an
hour in a buttered dish.


SWEET POTATO PUDDING.

Take half a pound of sweet potatoes, wash them, and put them into
a pot with a very little water, barely enough to keep them from
burning. Let them simmer slowly for about half an hour; they must
be only parboiled, otherwise they will be soft, and may make the
pudding heavy. When they are half done, take them out, peel them,
and when cold, grate them. Stir together to a cream, half a pound
of butter and a quarter of a pound and two ounces of powdered
sugar, add a grated nutmeg, a large tea-spoonful of powdered
cinnamon, and half a tea-spoonful of beaten mace. Also the juice
and grated peel of a lemon, a wine glass of rose water, a glass of
wine, and a glass of brandy. Stir these ingredients well together.
Beat eight eggs very light, and stir them into the mixture in turn
with the sweet potato, a little at a time of each. Having stirred
the whole very hard at the last, put it into a buttered dish and
bake it three quarters of an hour.


CARROT PUDDING.

May be made in the above manner.


GREEN CORN PUDDING.

Take twelve ears of green corn, as it is called, (that is, Indian
corn when full grown, but before it begins to harden and turn
yellow,) and grate it. Have ready a quart of rich milk, and stir
into it by degrees a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and a
quarter of a pound of sugar. Beat four eggs till quite light; and
then stir them into the milk, &c. alternately with the grated
corn, a little of each at a time. Put the mixture into a large
buttered dish, and bake it four hours. It may be eaten either warm
or cold, For sauce, beat together butter and white sugar in equal
proportions, mixed with grated nutmeg.

To make this pudding--you may, if more convenient, boil the corn
and cut it from the cob; but let it get quite cold before you stir
it into the milk. If the corn has been previously boiled, the
pudding will require but two hours to bake.


SAGO PUDDING.

Pick, wash, and dry half a pound of currants; and prepare a tea-spoonful
of powdered cinnamon; a half tea-spoonful of powdered
mace; and a beaten nutmeg. Have ready six table-spoonfuls of sago,
picked clean, and soaked for two hours in cold water. Boil the
sago in a quart of milk till quite soft. Then stir alternately
into the milk, a quarter of a pound of butter, and six ounces of
powdered sugar, and set it away to cool. Bent eight eggs, and when
they are quite light, stir them gradually into the milk, sago, &c.
Add the spice, and lastly the currants; having dredged them well
with flour to prevent their sinking. Stir the whole very hard, put
it into a buttered dish, and bake it three quarters of an hour.
Eat it cold.


ARROW ROOT PUDDING.

Take four tea-cups full of arrow root, and dissolve it in a pint
of cold milk. Then boil another pint of milk with some broken
cinnamon, and a few bitter almonds or peach-leaves. When done,
strain it hot over the dissolved arrow root; stir it to a thick
smooth batter, and set it away to get cold. Next, beat six eggs
very light, and stir them into the batter, alternately with a
quarter of a pound of powdered white sugar. Add a grated nutmeg
and some fresh lemon-peel grated. Put the mixture into a buttered
dish, and bake it an hour. When cold, cut some slices of preserved
quince or peach, and arrange them handsomely all over the top of
the pudding; or ornament it with strawberries, or raspberries
preserved whole.


GROUND RICE PUDDING.

Mix a quarter of a pound of ground rice with a pint of cold milk,
till it is a smooth batter and free from lumps. Boil three pints
of milk; and when it has boiled, stir in gradually the rice
batter, alternately with a quarter of a pound of butter. Keep it
over the fire, stirring all the time, till the whole is well
mixed, and has boiled hard. Then take it off, add a quarter of a
pound of white sugar; stir it well, and set it away to cool. Beat
eight eggs very light and stir them into the mixture when it is
quite cold. Then strain it through a sieve, (this will make it
more light and delicate,) add a grated nutmeg, and a large tea-spoonful
of powdered cinnamon. Stir in the juice and the grated
peel of a lemon, or a small tea-spoonful of essence of lemon. Put
it into a deep dish or dishes, and bake it an hour. As soon as it
comes out of the oven, lay slips of citron over the top; and when
cold, strew powdered sugar on it.


A RICE PLUM PUDDING.

Take three jills of whole rice; wash it, and boil it in a pint of
milk. When it is soft, mix in a quarter of a pound of butter, and
set it aside to cool; and when it is quite cold, stir it into
another pint of milk. Prepare a pound and a half of raisins or
currants; if currants, wash and dry them; if raisins, seed them
and cut them in half. Dredge them well with flour, to prevent
their sinking; and prepare also a powdered nutmeg; a table-spoonful
of mixed mace and cinnamon powdered; a wine glass of rose
water; and a wine glass of brandy or white wine. Beat six eggs
very light, and stir them into the mixture, alternately with a
quarter of a pound of sugar. Then add by degrees the spice and the
liquor, and lastly, stir in, a few at a time, the raisins or
currants. Put the pudding into a buttered dish and bake it an hour
and a half. Send it to table cool.

You may make this pudding of ground rice, using but half a pint
instead of three jills.


A PLAIN RICE PUDDING.

Pick and wash a pint of rice, and boil it soft. Then drain off the
water, and let the rice dry and get cold. Afterwards mix with it
two ounces of butter, and four ounces of sugar, and stir it into a
quart of rich milk. Beat four or five eggs very light, and add
them gradually to the mixture. Stir in at the last a table-spoonful
of mixed nutmeg and cinnamon. Bake it an hour in a deep
dish.


A FARMER'S RICE PUDDING.

This pudding is made without eggs. Wash half a pint of rice
through two cold waters, and drain it well. Stir it raw into a
quart of rich milk, or of cream and milk mixed; adding a quarter
of a pound of brown sugar, and a table-spoonful of powdered
cinnamon. Put it into a deep pan, and bake it two hours or more.
When done, the rice will be perfectly soft, which you may
ascertain by dipping a tea-spoon into the edge of the pudding and
taking out a little to try. Eat it cold.


RICE MILK.

Pick and wash half a pint of rice, and boil it in a quart of water
till it is quite soft. Then drain it, and mix it with a quart of
rich milk. You may add half a pound of whole raisins. Set it over
hot coals, and stir it frequently till it boils. When it boils
hard, stir in alternately two beaten eggs, and four large table-spoonfuls
of brown sugar. Let it continue boiling five minutes
longer; then take it off, and send it to table hot. If you put in
raisins you must let it boil till they are quite soft.


A BOILED RICE PUDDING.

Mix a quarter of a pound of ground rice with a pint of milk, and
simmer it over hot coals; stirring it all the time to prevent its
being lumpy, or burning at the bottom. When it is thick and
smooth, take it off, and pour it into an earthen pan. Mix a
quarter of a pound of sugar, and a quarter of a pound of butter
with half a pint of cream or very rich milk, and stir it into the
rice; adding a powdered nutmeg, and the grated rind of two lemons,
or half a tea-spoonful of strong oil of lemon. Beat the yolks of
six eggs with the whites of two only. When the eggs are quite
light, mix them gradually with the other ingredients, and stir the
whole very hard. Butter a large bowl, or a pudding mould. Put in
the mixture; tying a cloth tightly over the top, (so that no water
can get in,) and boil it two hours. When done, turn it out into a
dish. Send it to table warm, and eat it with sweetened cream,
flavoured with a glass of brandy or white wine and a grated
nutmeg.


A MARLBOROUGH PUDDING.

Pare, core and quarter six large ripe pippin apples. Stew them in
half a pint of water. When they are soft but not broken, take them
out, drain them through a sieve, and mash them to a paste with the
back of a spoon. Mix with them six large table-spoonfuls of sugar
and a quarter of a pound of butter, and set them away to get cold.
Grate two milk biscuits or email sponge cakes, or an equal
quantity of stale bread, and grate also the yellow peel, and
squeeze the juice of a large lemon. Beat six eggs light, and when
the apple is cold stir them gradually into it, adding the grated
biscuit and the lemon. Stir in a wine glass of rose water and a
grated nutmeg. Put the mixture into a buttered dish or dishes; lay
round the edge a border of puff paste, and bake it three quarters
of art hour. When cold, grate white sugar over the top, and
ornament it with slips of citron handsomely arranged.


ALMOND CHEESE CAKE.

This though usually called a cheese cake, is in fact a pudding.

Cut a piece of rennet about two inches square, wash off the salt
in cold water, and wipe it dry. Put it into a tea-cup, pour on it
sufficient lukewarm water to cover it, and let it soak all night,
or at least several hours. Take a quart of milk, which must be
made warm, but not boiling. Stir the rennet-water into it. Cover
it, and set it in a warm place. When the curd has become quite
firm, and the whey looks greenish, drain off the whey, and set the
curd in a cool place. While the milk is turning, prepare the other
ingredients. Wash and dry half a pound of currants, and dredge
them well with flour. Blanch three ounces of sweet and one ounce
of bitter almonds, by scalding and peeling them. Then cool them in
cold water, wiping them dry before you put them into the mortar.
If you cannot procure bitter almonds, peach kernels may be
substituted. Beat them, one at a time, in the mortar to a smooth
paste, pouring in with every one a few drops of rose water to
prevent their being oily, dull-coloured, and heavy. If you put a
sufficiency of rose water, the pounded almond paste will be light,
creamy, and perfectly white. Mix, as you do them, the sweet and
bitter almonds together. Then beat the yolks of eight eggs, and
when light, mix them gradually with the curd. Add five table-spoonfuls
of cream, and a tea-spoonful of mixed spice. Lastly,
stir in, by degrees, the pounded almonds, and the currants
alternately. Stir the whole mixture very hard. Bake it in buttered
dishes, laying puff paste round the edges. If accurately made, it
will be found delicious. It must be put in the oven immediately.


COMMON CHEESE CAKE.

Boil a quart of rich milk. Beat eight eggs, put them to the milk,
and let the milk and eggs boil together till they become a curd.
Then drain it through a very clean sieve, till all the whey is
out. Put the curd into a deep dish, and mix with it half a pound
of butter, working them well together. When it is cold, add to it
the beaten yolks of four eggs, and four large table-spoonfuls of
powdered white sugar; also a grated nutmeg. Lastly, stir in, by
degrees, half a pound of currants that have been previously
picked, washed, dried, and dredged with flour. Lay. puff paste
round the rim of the dish, and bake the cheese cake half an hour.
Send it to table cold.


PRUNE PUDDING.

Scald a pound of prunes; cover them, and let them swell in the hot
water till they are soft. Then drain them, and extract the stones;
spread the prunes on a large dish, and dredge them with flour.
Take one jill or eight large fable-spoonfuls from a quart of rich
milk, and stir into it, gradually, eight spoonfuls of sifted
flour. Mix it to a smooth batter, pressing out all the lumps with
the back of the spoon. Beat six eggs very light, and stir them, by
degrees, into the remainder of the milk, alternately with the
batter that you have just mixed. Then add the prunes one at a
time, stirring the whole very hard. Tie the pudding in a cloth
that has been previously dipped in boiling water and then dredged
with flour. Leave room for it to swell, but secure it firmly, so
that no water can get in. Put it into a pot of boiling water, and
boil it two hours. Send it to table hot, (not taking it out of the
pot till a moment before it is wanted,) and eat it with cream
sauce; or with butter, sugar, and nutmeg beaten together, and
served up in a little tureen. A similar pudding may be made with
whole raisins.


EVE'S PUDDING.

Pare, core, and quarter six large pippins, and chop them very
fine. Grate stale bread till you have six ounces of crumbs, and
roll fine six ounces of brown sugar. Pick, wash, and dry six
ounces of currants, and sprinkle them with flour. Mix all these
ingredients together in a large pan, adding six ounces of butter
cut small, and two table-spoonfuls of flour. Beat six eggs very
light, and moisten the mixture with them. Add a grated nutmeg, and
a tea-spoonful of powdered cinnamon. Stir the whole very well
together. Have ready a pot of boiling water. Dip your pudding
cloth into it, shake it out, and dredge it with flour. Then put in
the mixture, and tie it very firmly; leaving space for the pudding
to swell, and stopping up the tying place with a paste of wetted
flour. Boil it three hours; keeping at the fire a kettle of
boiling water, to replenish the pot, that the pudding may be
always well covered. Send it to table hot, and eat it with
sweetened cream flavoured with wine and nutmeg.


CINDERELLAS OR GERMAN PUFFS.

Sift eight table-spoonfuls of the finest flour. Cut up in a quart
of rich milk, half a pound of fresh butter, and set it on the
stove, or near the fire, till it has melted. Beat eight eggs very
light, and stir them gradually into the milk and butter,
alternately with the flour. Add a powdered nutmeg, and a tea-spoonful
of powdered cinnamon. Mix the whole very well to a fine
smooth batter, in which there must be no lumps. Butter some large
common tea-cups, and divide the mixture among them till they are
half full or a little more. Set them immediately in a quick oven,
and bake them about a quarter of an hour. When done, turn them out
into a dish and grate white sugar over them. Serve them up hot,
with a sauce of sweetened cream flavoured with wine and nutmeg; or
you may eat them with molasses and butter; or with sugar and wine.
Send them round whole, for they will fall almost as soon as cut.


A BOILED BREAD PUDDING.

Boil a quart of rich milk. While it is boiling, take a small loaf
of baker's bread, such as is sold for five or six cents. It may be
either fresh or stale. Pare off all the crust, and cut up the
crumb into very small pieces. You should have baker's bread if you
can procure it, as home-made bread may not make the pudding light
enough. Put the bread into a pan; and when the milk boils, pour it
scalding hot over the bread. Cover the pan closely, and let it
steep in the hot steam for about three quarters of an hour. Then
remove the cover, and allow the bread and milk to cool. In the
mean time, beat four eggs till they are thick and smooth. Then
beat into them a table-spoonful and a half of fine wheat flour.
Next beat the egg and flour into the bread and milk, and continue
to beat hard till the mixture is as light as possible; for on this
the success of the pudding chiefly depends.

Have ready over the fire a pot of boiling water. Dip your pudding-cloth
into it, and shake it out. Spread out the cloth in a deep
dish or pan, and dredge it well with flour. Pour in the mixture,
and tie up the cloth, leaving room for it to swell. Tie the string
firmly and plaster up the opening (if there is any) with flour
moistened with water. If any water gets into it the pudding will
be spoiled.

See that the water boils when you put in the pudding, and keep it
boiling hard. If the pot wants replenishing, do it with boiling
water from a kettle. Should you put in cold water to supply the
place of that which has boiled away, the pudding will chill, and
become hard and heavy. Boil it an hour and a half.

Turn it out of the bag the minute before you send it to table. Eat
it with wine sauce, or with sugar and butter, or molasses.

It will be much improved by adding to the mixture half a pound of
whole raisins, well floured to prevent their sinking. Sultana
raisins are best, as they have no seeds.

If these directions are exactly followed, this will be found a
remarkably good and wholesome plain pudding.

For all boiled puddings, a square pudding-cloth which can be
opened out, is much better than a bag. It should be very thick.


A BAKED BREAD PUDDING.

Take a stale five cent loaf of bread; cut off all the crust, and
grate or rub the crumb as fine as possible. Boil a quart of rich
milk, and pour it hot over the bread; then stir in a quarter of a
pound of butter, and the same quantity of sugar, a glass of wine
and brandy mixed, or a glass of rose water. Or you may omit the
liquor and substitute the grated peel of a large lemon. Add a
table-spoonful of raised cinnamon and nutmeg powdered. Stir the
whole very well, cover it, and set it away for half an hour. Then
let it cool. Beat seven or eight eggs very light, and stir them
gradually into the mixture after it is cold. Then butter a deep
dish, and bake the pudding an hour. Send it to table cool.


A BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING.

Cut some slices of bread and butter moderately thick, omitting the
crust; stale bread is best. Butter a deep dish, and cover the
bottom with slices of the buttered bread. Have ready a pound of
currants, picked, washed and dried. Spread one third of them
thickly over the bread and butter, and strew on some brown sugar.
Then put another layer of bread and butter, and cover it also with
currants and sugar. Finish with a third layer of each, and pour
over the whole four eggs, beaten very light and mixed with a pint
of milk, and a wine glass of rose water. Bake the pudding an hour,
and grate nutmeg over it when done. Eat it warm, but not hot.

You may substitute for the currants, raisins seeded, and cut in
half.

This pudding may be made also with layers of stewed gooseberries
instead of the currants, or with pippin apples pared, cored and
minced fine.


A SUET PUDDING.

Mince very finely as much beef suet as will make two large
table-spoonfuls. Grate two handfuls of bread-crumbs; boil a quart
of milk and pour it hot on the bread. Cover it, and set it aside
to steep for half an hour; then put it to cool. Beat eight eggs
very light; stir the suet, and three table-spoonfuls of floor
alternately into the bread and milk, and add, by degrees, the
eggs. Lastly, stir in a table-spoonful of powdered nutmeg and
cinnamon mixed, and a glass of mixed wine and brandy. Pour it into
a bag that has been dipped in hot water and floured; tie it
firmly, put it into a pot of boiling water, and boil it two hours.
Do not take it up till immediately before it is wanted, and send
it to table hot.

Eat it with wine sauce, or with molasses.


A CUSTARD PUDDING.

Take five table-spoonfuls out of a quart of cream or rich milk, and
mix them with two large spoonfuls of fine flour. Set the rest of
the milk to boil, flavouring it with half a dozen peach leaves, or
with bitter almonds broken up. When it has boiled hard, take it
off, strain it, and stir in the cold milk and flour. Set it away
to cool, and beat very light ten yolks and four whites of eggs;
add them to the milk, and stir in, at the last, a glass of brandy,
or white wine, a powdered nutmeg, and a quarter of a pound of
sugar. Butter a large bowl or mould; pour in the mixture; tie a
cloth tightly over it; put it into a pot of boiling water, and
boil it two hours, replenishing the pot with hot water from a tea-kettle.
When the pudding is done, let it get cool before you turn
it out. Eat it with butter and sugar stirred together to a cream,
and flavoured with lemon.


FLOUR HASTY PUDDING.

Tie together half a dozen peach leaves, put them into a quart of
milk, and set it on the fire to boil. When it has come to a hard
boil, take out the leaves, but let the pot remain boiling on the
fire. Then with a large wooden spoon in one hand, and some wheat
flour in the other, thicken and stir it till it is about the
consistence of a boiled custard. Afterwards throw in, one at a
time, a dozen small bits of butter rolled in a thick coat of
flour. You may enrich it by stirring in a beaten egg or two, a few
minutes before you take it from the fire. When done, pour it into
a deep dish, and strew brown sugar thickly over the top. Eat it
warm.


INDIAN MUSH.

Have ready on the fire a pot of boiling water. Stir into it by
degrees (a handful at a time) sufficient Indian meal to make it
very thick, and then add a very small portion of salt. You must
keep the pot boiling on the fire all the time you are throwing in
the meal; and between every handful, stir very hard with the mush-stick,
(a round stick flattened at one end,) that the mush may not
be lumpy. After it is sufficiently thick, keep it boiling for an
hour longer, stirring it occasionally. Then cover the pot, and
hang it higher up the chimney, so as to simmer slowly or keep hot
for another hour. The goodness of mush depends greatly on its
being long and thoroughly boiled. If sufficiency cooked, it is
wholesome and nutritious, but exactly the reverse, if made in
haste. It is not too long to have it altogether three of four
hours over the fire; on the contrary it will be much the better
for it.

Eat it warm; either with milk, or cover your plate with mush, make
a hole in the middle, put some butter in the hole and fill it up
with molasses.

Cold mush that has been left, may be cut into slices and fried in
butter.

Burgoo is made precisely in the same manner as mush, but with
oatmeal instead of Indian.


A BAKED INDIAN PUDDING.

Cut up a quarter of a pound of butter in a pint of molasses, and
warm them together till the butter is melted. Boil a quart of
milk; and while scalding hot, pour it slowly over a pint of sifted
Indian meal, and stir in the molasses and butter. Cover it, and
let it steep for an hour. Then take off the cover, and set the
mixture to cool. When it is cold, beat six eggs, and stir them
gradually into it; add a table-spoonful of mixed cinnamon and
nutmeg; and the grated peel of a lemon. Stir the whole very hard;
put it into a buttered dish, and bake it two hours. Serve it up
hot, and eat it with wine sauce, or with butter and molasses.


A BOILED INDIAN PUDDING.

Chop very fine a quarter of a pound of beef suet, and mix it with
a pint of sifted Indian meal. Boil a quart of milk with some
pieces of cinnamon broken up; strain it, and while it is hot, stir
in gradually the meal and suet; add half a pint of molasses. Cover
the mixture and set it away for an hour; then put it to cool. Beat
six eggs, and stir them gradually into the mixture when it is
cold; add a grated nutmeg, and the grated peel of a lemon. Tie the
pudding in a cloth that has been dipped in hot water and floured;
and leave plenty of room for it to swell. Secure it well at the
tying place lest the water should get in, which will infallibly
spoil it. Put it into a pot of boiling water, (which must be
replenished as it boils away,) and boil it four hours at least;
but five or six will be better. To have an Indian pudding _very
good_, it should be mixed the night before, (all except the
eggs,) and put on to boil early in the morning. Do not take it out
of the pot till immediately before it is wanted. Eat it with wine
sauce, or with molasses and butter.


INDIAN PUDDING WITHOUT EGGS.

Boil some cinnamon in a quart of milk, and then strain it. While
the milk is hot, stir into it a pint of molasses, and then add by
degrees a quart or more of Indian meal so as to make a thick
batter. It will be much improved by the grated peel and juice of a
large lemon or orange. Tie it very securely in a thick cloth,
leaving room for it to swell, and pasting up the tying-place with
a lump of flour and water. Put it into a pot of boiling water,
(having ready a kettle to fill it up as it boils away,) hang it
over a good fire, and keep it boiling hard for four or five hours.
Eat it warm with molasses and butter.

This is a very economical, and not an unpalatable pudding; and may
be found convenient when it is difficult to obtain eggs.


A BAKED PLUM PUDDING.

Grate all the crumb of a stale six cent loaf; boil a quart of rich
milk, and pour it boiling hot over the grated bread; cover it, and
let it steep for an hour; then set it out to cool. In the mean
time prepare half a pound of currants, picked, washed, and dried;
half a pound of raisins, stoned and cut in half; and a quarter of
a pound of citron cut in large slips; also, two nutmegs beaten to
a powder; and a table-spoonful of mace and cinnamon powdered and
mixed together. Crush with a rolling-pin half a pound of sugar,
and cut up half a pound of butter. When the bread and milk is
uncovered to cool, mix with it the butter, sugar, spice and
citron; adding a glass of brandy, and a glass of white wine. Beat
eight eggs very light, and when the milk is quite cold, stir them
gradually into the mixture. Then add, by degrees, the raisins and
currants, (which must be previously dredged with flour) and stir
the whole very hard. Put it into a buttered dish, and bake it two
hours. Send it to table warm, and eat it with wine sauce, or with
wine and sugar only.

In making this pudding, you may substitute for the butter, half a
pound of beef suet minced as fine as possible. It will be found
best to prepare the ingredients the day before, covering them
closely and putting them away.


A BOILED PLUM PUDDING.

Grate the crumb of a twelve cent loaf of bread, and boil a quart
of rich milk with a small bunch of peach leaves in it, then strain
it and set it out to cool. Pick, wash and dry a pound of currants,
and stone and cut in half a pound of raisins; strew over them
three large table-spoonfuls of flour. Roll fine a pound of brown
sugar, and mince as fine as possible three quarters of a pound of
beef suet. Prepare two beaten nutmegs, and a large table-spoonful
of powdered mace and cinnamon; also the grated peel and the juice
of two large lemons or oranges. Beat ten eggs very light, and
(when it is cold) stir them gradually into the milk, alternately
with the suet and grated bread.

Add, by degrees, the sugar, fruit, and spice, with a large glass
of brandy, and one of white wine. Mix the whole very well, and
stir it hard. Then put it into a thick cloth that has been scalded
and floured; leave room for it to swell, and tie it very firmly,
pasting the tying-place with a small lump of moistened flour. Put
the pudding into a large pot of boiling water, and boil it
steadily five hours, replenishing the pot occasionally from a
boiling kettle. Turn the pudding frequently in the pot. Prepare
half a pound of citron cut in slips, and half a pound of almonds
blanched and split in half lengthways. Stick the almonds and the
citron all over the outside of the pudding as soon as you take it
out of the cloth. Send it to table hot, and eat it with wine
sauce, or with cold wine and sugar.

If there is enough of the pudding left, it may be cut in slices,
and fried in butter next day.

All the ingredients of this plum pudding (except the eggs) should
be prepared the day before, otherwise it cannot be made in time to
allow of its being sufficiently boiled.

We have known of a very rich plum pudding being mixed in England
and sent to America in a covered bowl; it arrived perfectly good
after a month's voyage, the season being winter.


A BAKED APPLE PUDDING.

Take nine large pippin apples; pare and core them whole. Set them
in the bottom of a large deep dish, and pour round them a very
little water, just enough to keep them from burning. Put them into
an oven, and let them bake about half an hour. In the mean time,
mix three table-spoonfuls of flour with a quart of milk, a quarter
of a pound of brown sugar, and a tea-spoonful of mixed spice. Beat
seven eggs very light, and stir them gradually into the milk. Then
take out the dish of apples, (which by this time should be half
baked,) and fill up the holes from whence you extracted the cores,
with brown sugar; pressing down into each a slice of fresh lemon.
Pour the batter round the apples; put the dish again into the
oven, and let it bake another half hour; but not long enough for
the apples to fall to pieces; as they should, when done, be soft
throughout, but quite whole. Send it to table warm.

This is sometimes called a _Bird's Nest Pudding_.

It will be much improved by previously boiling in the milk a small
handful of peach leaves. Let it get cold before you stir in the
eggs.


BOILED APPLE PUDDING.

Pare, core, and quarter as many fine juicy apples as will weigh
two pounds when done. Strew among them a quarter of a pound of
brown sugar, and add a grated nutmeg, and the juice and yellow
peel of a large lemon. Prepare a paste of suet and flour, in the
proportion of a pound of chopped suet to two pounds of flour. Roll
it out of moderate thickness; lay the apples in the centre, and
close the paste nicely over them in the form of a large dumpling;
tie it in a cloth and boil it three hours. Send it to table hot,
and eat with it cream sauce, or with butter and sugar.

Any fruit pudding may be made in a similar manner.


AN EASTERN PUDDING.

Make a paste of a pound of flour and half a pound of minced suet;
and roll it out thin into a square or oblong sheet; trim off the
edges so as to make it an even shape. Spread thickly over it some
marmalade, or cold stewed fruit, (which must be made very sweet,)
either apple, peach, plum, gooseberry or cranberry. Roll up the
paste, with the fruit spread on it, into a scroll. Secure each end
by putting on nicely a thin round piece rolled out from the
trimmings that you cut off the edges of the sheet. Put the pudding
into a cloth, and boil it at least three hours. Serve it up hot,
and eat it with cream sauce, or with butter and sugar.


APPLE DUMPLINGS.

Take large fine juicy apples. Pare them, and extract the cores
without dividing the apple. Fill each hole with brown sugar, and
some chips of lemon peel. Also squeeze in some lemon juice. Or you
may fill the cavities with raspberry jam, or with any sort of
marmalade. Have ready a paste, made in the proportion of a pound
of suet, chopped as fine as possible, to two pounds and a half of
sifted flour, well mixed, and wetted with as little water as
possible. Roll out the paste to a moderate thickness, and cut it
into circular pieces, allowing two pieces to each dumpling. Lay
your apple on one piece, and put another piece on the top, closing
the paste round the sides with your fingers, so as to cover the
apple entirely. This is a better way than gathering up the paste
at one end, as the dumpling is less liable to burst. Boil each
dumpling in a small coarse cloth, which has first been dipped in
hot water. There should always be a set of cloths kept for the
purpose. Tie them tightly, leaving a small space for the dumpling
to swell. Plaster a little flour on the inside of each tying place
to prevent the water from getting in. Have ready a pot of boiling
water. Put in the dumplings and boil them from three quarters to
an hour. Send them to table hot in a covered dish. Do not take
them up till a moment before they are wanted.

Eat them with cream and sugar, or with butter and sugar.

You may make the paste with butter instead of suet, allowing a
pound of butter to two pounds and a quarter of flour. But when
paste is to be boiled, suet will make it much lighter and finer
than butter.

Apple dumplings may be made in a very plain manner with potato
paste, and boiled without cloths, dredging the outside of each
dumpling with flour. They should boil about three quarters of an
hour when without cloths.

The apples for dumplings should always be whole, (except the
cores;) for if quartered, the pieces will separate in boiling and
break through the crust. The apples should never be sweet ones.


RICE DUMPLINGS.

Pick and wash a pound of rice, and boil it gently in two quarts of
water till it becomes dry; keeping the pot well covered, and not
stirring it. Then take it off the fire, and spread it out to cool
on the bottom, of an inverted sieve; loosening the grains lightly
with a fork, that all the moisture may evaporate. Pare a dozen
pippins or other, large juicy

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