The Century Cook Book Part 94

2 tablespoonfuls of flour.

3/4 cupful of sugar.

1 egg.

1 teaspoonful of vanilla.

Scald the milk; turn it onto the beaten egg; return it to the fire; add the flour moistened with a little milk, and the sugar, and stir until thickened. Let it cool before adding it to the cake. Serve with whipped cream if desired.

=COCOANUT PIE=

Line a tin basin which is two inches deep with pie paste, and bake it as directed for tart pies (page 452). Make a custard of one pint of milk, three egg-yolks, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and two tablespoonfuls of corn-starch. Scald the milk and turn it onto the yolks and sugar beaten together; return it to the fire; add the corn-starch moistened with cold milk, and stir until well thickened; add one half teaspoonful of vanilla, and the whites of two eggs whipped to a froth; cook one minute to set the egg, then remove, and when nearly cold and stiffened stir in the half of a grated cocoanut. Brush the bottom of the baked pie-crust with white of egg; cover it with a thin layer of grated cocoanut and turn in the thickened custard. Cover the top with meringue made with the white of one egg. Return it to the oven one minute to color the meringue. Let the pie stand long enough to get firm and cold before serving. If the grated cocoanut is not added until the custard has stiffened, it will not sink to the bottom.

=CRANBERRY PIE=

Chop one cupful of cranberries and a half cupful of seeded raisins together into small pieces; add to them a cupful of sugar, a half cupful of water, a tablespoonful of flour, and a teaspoonful of vanilla. Bake with an upper and under crust. This resembles cherry pie.

=WASHINGTON PIE=

Make two round layer cakes, of sponge or of Genoese cake; spread between them a layer of pastry cream or of chocolate filling. Dust the top with powdered sugar in crossed lines to imitate strips of pastry.

_Pastry Cream_--Boil with a pint of milk or water five tablespoonfuls of sugar; add two tablespoonfuls of corn-starch, the yolks of five eggs, and a tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter; stir until thickened, add flavoring, and when partly cool spread it on the cake.

_Chocolate Filling_--Mix a half cupful of milk and a cupful of sugar, and stir until the sugar is dissolved; then add an ounce of shaved chocolate, and the beaten yolks of two eggs; stir until it is thickened; flavor with one half teaspoonful of vanilla, and let it partly cool before spreading it on the cake.

PUFF-PASTE

It is a mistake to consider the making of puff-paste too difficult for any but an experienced cook to undertake. No one need hesitate to attempt it, and if the few simple rules are strictly observed there will be success. The materials are few and inexpensive, and within the compa.s.s of the most moderate household. If light, good pastry can be subst.i.tuted for the sodden crust of the ordinary pie, it will be found not only more palatable, but far more digestible and wholesome.

Confections of puff-paste can be served on all occasions, and always make an acceptable dish, whereas ordinary pastry is excluded from any but the most informal service.

=GENERAL RULES=

The most important rule for making puff-paste, and the secret of success, is to have cold paste and a hot oven. It is well to have a marble slab to roll it on, but this is not positively essential. A warm, damp day should be avoided. The paste will keep on ice for a day or two before it is baked, and for several days in a dry place after it is baked, and if placed in the oven for a few moments just before serving, it will have the same crispness as when just baked. If there is no room colder than the kitchen to work in when mixing the paste, stand by an open window or in a current of air, for it is necessary to keep the paste cold during the whole time of preparing it. Use pastry flour if convenient (Plant's St. Louis Flour). It can be obtained at all first-cla.s.s grocers. It has a very fine grain, and can easily be distinguished from ordinary flour by rubbing a little between the thumb and forefinger.

=RECEIPT FOR PUFF-PASTE=

1/2 pound or 1 cupful of b.u.t.ter.

1/2 pound or 2 cupfuls of flour.

1/2 teaspoonful of salt.

1/4 to 1/2 cupful of ice-water.

1st. Put the b.u.t.ter in a bowl of ice-water, and work it with the hand until it becomes smooth and flexible; then place it in a napkin and knead it a little to free it from moisture. Pat it into a flat square cake, and place it on the ice until ready to use.

2d. Sift the flour and salt together on a board or marble slab; reserve a little flour to be used for dusting the slab. Make a well in the center, and pour in a part of the water. Work in the flour, and use enough water to make a smooth paste. The exact amount of water cannot be given, as at certain times the flour absorbs more than at others. Gather in all the crumbs, and work the paste as you would bread dough until it becomes smooth. Roll it in a napkin, and place it on ice for fifteen minutes, that it may become thoroughly cold.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THREE PANS ARRANGED FOR CHILLING PUFF PASTE--THE UPPER AND UNDER ONES HOLDING CRACKED ICE, THE CENTER ONE HOLDING THE PASTE WRAPPED IN A NAPKIN.]

3d. Sprinkle the slab lightly with flour. Roll the cold paste into a square piece; place the cold b.u.t.ter in the center, and fold the paste over it, first from the sides and then the ends, keeping the shape square, and folding so the b.u.t.ter is completely incased, and cannot escape through the folds when rolled. This must be absolutely guarded against at all times, and can be prevented if the paste is rolled evenly and folded properly. Turn the folded side down, and with a rolling-pin roll it lightly away from you into a long, narrow strip, keeping it as even as possible. Fold it over, making three even layers of paste. This is called "giving it one turn"; then roll the folded strip again, and fold as before. This must be repeated until it has had six turns, which is as many as it should receive to give it its greatest lightness. After each turn, if it shows signs of softening, otherwise after each two turns, wrap the paste in a napkin, and place it in a pan, which should be placed between two other pans containing cracked ice, and let it remain there twenty to thirty minutes. Great care must be used in rolling the paste to keep the edges even, so that the layers will be even, and to roll lightly and always away from you, so as not to break the air-bubbles which give the lightness to the paste. The rolling is made easier by lightly pounding as well as rolling the paste. After each folding press the edges gently with the rolling-pin to shut in the air, and turn the paste so as to roll in a different direction. The paste should slip on the slab. If it does not, it sticks, and must be put on the ice at once. When it has had six turns cut it into the desired forms, and place again on the ice for twenty to thirty minutes before putting it in the oven. The tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, put together and rolled, make a good bottom crust for tart bands, or a top crust for mince pies.

The baking of puff-paste is as important a matter as the rolling. The oven must be very hot, with the greatest heat at the bottom, so the paste may rise before it begins to brown; therefore put it on the bottom of the oven and lay a paper on the shelf for a few minutes. Do not open the door for the first five minutes. It is essential to have the oven very hot. It must not, however, scorch the paste, and if it scorches open the draughts at once, and place a basin of ice-water in the oven to lower the temperature. The amount given in this receipt makes about six pate sh.e.l.ls or one vol-au-vent case.

=PaTe Sh.e.l.lS=

Roll puff-paste which has had six turns to a quarter-inch thickness; cut it into circles with a fluted or plain cutter two and a quarter inches in diameter. It should be icy-cold when cut, for if it sticks on one side it will not rise evenly. From one half the circles cut a hole in the center with a cutter one inch in diameter. Moisten the edges of the whole circles, and place on them the rings. Brush over the top with egg.

(This is to glaze them, and the egg must not touch the edges.) Place them on the ice for half an hour, then bake in hot oven for twenty minutes. Bake the small circles cut from the center on a separate tin, as they do not require as much time; when baked pick out from the center any uncooked paste. Use the small pieces for covers after the cases are filled. If preferred, roll the paste one half inch thick, and with the small cutter cut half-way through the paste. When baked lift off the inner circle, and remove the uncooked paste from the interior.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PaTe Sh.e.l.lS.]

=TART BANDS=

Make a good short paste, using the receipt for tart paste. Roll it one eighth inch thick, and cut it into a circle six inches in diameter, using a basin for guide. Wet the edges and lay around it a band of puff-paste cut in a strip one and one half inches wide and one quarter inch thick. Place the strip neatly and carefully around the edge, using care not to press it; cut the edges that are to join in a sharp diagonal line, and moisten them so they will adhere. p.r.i.c.k the bottom crust in many places with a fork to prevent its puffing up; brush the top of the band with egg, but do not let the egg touch the edges; let it rest on ice for half an hour, then bake in hot oven thirty to forty minutes.

When ready to serve fill it with jam, preserves, puree, or any other mixture used for tart pies.

These tarts are very good, and can be served where pies would not be admissible.

=MILLEFEUILLES=

Roll puff-paste turned six times to the thickness of one half inch; cut it with a pastry wheel into pieces three inches long and one inch wide.

Brush the tops of the pieces with egg, and sprinkle them with sugar. Let them stand on ice one half hour, and then bake in a hot oven for twenty minutes, or until well browned; these are served in place of cakes. Or, cut the paste three and a half inches long and two inches wide, and when baked place two pieces together with a thin layer of apricot jam between them, and cover the top with meringue. These are served as a dessert dish for luncheon.

=TARTLETS=

Cut puff-paste into rings the same as for pate sh.e.l.ls. Use tart paste for the under crust. After they are baked fill the center with pineapple, with any preserves, or with apple puree covered with apricot jam.

=PAGANINI TARTLETS=

Roll puff-paste one eighth inch thick; cut it with a pastry wheel into squares of three and a half to four inches. Turn the points together in the middle, and press them down lightly. Bake; then put a spoonful of jam in the center of each, and cover the jam with meringue; place them in the oven a moment to brown.

=TO GLAZE PASTRY=

Take an egg and one tablespoonful of water, and beat the egg enough to break it, but not enough to make it froth. The yolk alone may be used with the water, but the white alone will not give it color. Brush it lightly over the pastry, using a brush or quill-feather, and dust it with a very little sugar. This will give a brown and polished surface to the pastry.

When two layers of pastry are to be stuck together, brush the top of one with water, and lay the other on it before baking them.