The Lady's Own Cookery Book, and New Dinner-Table Directory Part 56

_Sponge Cake._

Take seven eggs, leaving out three whites; beat them well with a whisk; then take three quarters of a pound of lump-sugar beat fine: put to it a quarter of a pint of boiling water, and pour it to the eggs; then beat it half an hour or more; when you are just going to put it in the oven, add half a pint of flour well dried. You must not beat it after the flour is in. Put a paper in the tin. A quick oven will bake this quant.i.ty in an hour. It must not be beaten with a spoon, as it will make it heavy.

_Another._

Take twelve eggs, leaving out half the whites; beat them to froth; shake in one pound of lump-sugar, sifted through a fine sieve, and three quarters of a pound of flour well dried; put in the peel of two lemons grated and the juice of one; beat all well in with a fork.

_Sugar Cakes._

Take half a pound of sugar, half a pound of b.u.t.ter, two ounces of flour, two eggs, but the white of one only, a little beaten mace, and a little brandy. Mix all together into a paste with your hands; make it into little cakes, and bake them on tins. You may put in six ounces of currants, if you like.

_Little Sugar Cakes._

Take double-refined sugar and sift it very fine; beat the white of an egg to a froth; take gum-dragon that has been steeped in juice of lemon or orange-flower water, and some ambergris finely beaten with the sugar.

Mix all these together in a mortar, and beat it till it is very white; then roll it into small k.n.o.bs, or make it into small loaves. Lay them on paper well sugared, and set them into a very gentle oven.

_Sweet Cakes._

Take half a pound of b.u.t.ter, and beat it with a spoon till it is quite soft; add two eggs, well beaten, half a pound of currants, half a pound of powdered sugar, and a pound of flour, mixed by degrees with the b.u.t.ter. Drop it on, and bake them. Blanched almonds, powdered to paste, instead of currants, are excellent.

_Tea Cakes._

Take loaf sugar, finely powdered, and b.u.t.ter, of each a quarter of a pound, about half a pound of flour, dried before the fire, a walnut-sh.e.l.lful of caraway seeds, just bruised, and one egg. Work all together into a paste, adding a spoonful of brandy. Roll the paste out to the thickness of a half-crown, and cut it with a tea-cup. Flour a tin, and lay the cakes upon it. Take the white of an egg, well beaten and frothed, dip a feather in this, and wash them over, and then grate upon them a little fine sugar. Put them into a slackish oven, till they are of a very pale brown.

_Dry Tea Cakes._

Boil two ounces of b.u.t.ter in a pint of skimmed milk; let it stand till it is as cold as new milk; then put to it a spoonful of light yest, a little salt, and as much flour as will make it a stiff paste. Work it as much, or more, than you would do brown bread; let it lie half an hour to rise; then roll it into thin cakes; p.r.i.c.k them very well quite through, to prevent their blistering, and bake them on tin plates in a quick oven. To keep crisp, they must be hung up in the kitchen, or where there is a constant fire.

_Thousand Cake._

One pound of flour, half a pound of b.u.t.ter, six ounces of sugar, five eggs, leaving out three whites; rub the flour, b.u.t.ter, and sugar, well together; pour the eggs into it; work it up well; roll it out thin, and cut them with a gla.s.s of what size you please.

_Tunbridge Cakes._

One pound and a half of flour, one pound of b.u.t.ter; rub the b.u.t.ter into the flour; strew in a few caraways, and add the yolks of two eggs, first beaten, and as much water as will make it into a paste: roll it out thin, and p.r.i.c.k it with a jagging iron; run the cakes into what shape you please, or cut them with a gla.s.s. Just as you put them into the oven, sift sugar on them, and a very little when they come out. The oven must be as hot as for manchets. Bake them on paper.

_Veal Cake._

Take thin slices of veal, and fat and lean slices of ham, and lay the bottom of a basin or mould with one slice of each in rows. Chop some sweet-herbs very small, and fill the basin with alternate layers of veal and ham, sprinkling every layer with the herbs. Season to your taste; and add some hard yolks of eggs. When the basin is full, pour in some gravy. Put a plate on the top, and a weight on it to keep the meat close. Bake it about an hour and a half, and do not turn it out till next day.

_Yorkshire Cakes._

Take two pounds of flour, three ounces of b.u.t.ter, the yolks of two eggs, three spoonfuls of yest that is not bitter; melt the b.u.t.ter in half a pint of milk; then mix them all well together; let it stand one hour by the fire to rise; then roll the dough into cakes pretty thin. Set them a quarter of an hour longer to the fire to rise; bake them on tins in a moderate oven; toast and b.u.t.ter them as you do m.u.f.fins.

_Calves' Foot Jelly._ No. 1.

To two calves' feet put a gallon of water, and boil it to two quarts; run it through a sieve, and let it stand till it is cold; then take off all the fat, and put the jelly in a pan, with a pint of white wine, the juice of two lemons, sugar to your taste, and the whites of six eggs.

Stir these together near half an hour, then strain it through a jelly-bag; put a piece of lemon-peel in the bag; let it pa.s.s through the bag till it is clear. If you wish this jelly to be very clear and strong, add an ounce of isingla.s.s.

_Calves' Foot Jelly._ No. 2.

Boil four calves' feet in three quarts of water for three or four hours, or till they will not hold together, now and then skimming off the fat.

The liquor must be reduced to a quart. When you have quite cleared it from the fat, which must be done by papering it over, add to it nearly a bottle of white wine, sherry is the best, the juice of four or five lemons, the peel also pared very thin, so that no white is left on it, and sugar to your taste. Then beat up six whites of eggs to a stiff froth, and with a whisk keep stirring it over the fire till it boils.

Then pour it into the jelly-bag, and keep changing it till it comes clear. This quant.i.ty will produce about a quart of jelly strong enough to turn out of moulds.

_Calves' Foot Jelly._ No. 3.

Take two feet to two quarts of water; reduce it to three pints of jelly.

Then add the juice and peel of four lemons, one ounce of isingla.s.s, the sh.e.l.ls and whites of four eggs, a little cinnamon, mace, and allspice, and a good half pint of Madeira.

_Calves' Foot Jelly._ No. 4.

Stew a calf's foot slowly to a jelly. Melt it with a little wine, sugar, and lemon-peel.

_Cheese, to make._

Strain some milk into a cheese tub, as warm as you can from the cow; put into it a large quant.i.ty of strong runnet, about a spoonful to sixty quarts; stir it well with a fleeting dish; and cover it close with a wooden cover, made to fit your tub. About the middle of June, let it stand thus three quarters of an hour, in hotter weather less, in cold weather somewhat longer. When it is come, break it pretty small with a dish, and stir it gently till it is all come to a curd; then press it down gently with your dish and hand, so that the whey do not rise over it white; after the whey is pretty well drained and the curd become tolerably hard, break it into a vat very small, heaped up as high as possible, and press it down, at first gently and then harder, with your hands, till as much whey as possible can be got out that way, and yet the curd continues at least two inches above the vat; otherwise the cheese will not take press, that is, will be sour, and full of eyes and holes.

Then put the curd into one end of a good flaxen cloth, and cover it with the other end, tucking it in with a wooden cheese knife, so as to make it lie smooth and keep the curd quite in; then press it with a heavy weight or in a press, for five or six hours, when it will be fit to turn into a dry cloth, in which press it again for four hours. Then take it out, salt it well over, or it will become maggoty, and put it into the vat again for twelve hours. Take it out; salt it a second time; and leave it in a tub or on a dresser four days, turning it every day. This done, wash it with cold water, wipe it with a dry cloth, and store it up in your cheese-loft, turning and wiping it every day till it is quite dry. The reason of mouldiness, cracks, and rottenness within, is the not well pressing, turning, or curing, the curd and cheese.

_The best Cheese in the world._

To make a cheese in the style of Stilton cheese, only much better, take the new milk of seven cows, with the cream from the milk of seven cows.

Heat a gallon of water scalding hot, and put into it three or four handfuls of marigolds bruised a little; strain it into the tub containing the milk and cream, and put to it some runnet, but not so much as to make it come very hard. Put the curd into a sieve to drain; do not break it all, but, as the whey runs out, tie up the cloth, and let it stand half an hour or more. Then cut the curd in pieces; pour upon it as much cold water as will cover it, and let it stand half an hour. Put part of it into a vat or a hoop nearly six inches deep; break the top of it a little, just to make it join with the other, and strew on it a very little salt; then put in the other part, lay a fifty-pound weight upon it, and let it stand half an hour. Turn it, and put it into the press. Turn it into wet clean cloths every hour of the day. Next morning salt it; and let it lie in the salt a night and a day. Keep it swathed tight, till it begins to dry and coat, and keep it covered with a clean cloth for a long time.

The month of August is the best time for making this cheese, which should be kept a year before it is cut.

_Cheese, to stew._

Sc.r.a.pe some rich old cheese into a saucepan, with a small piece of b.u.t.ter and a spoonful of cream. Let it stew till it is smooth; add the yolk of one egg; give it a boil all together. Serve it up on a b.u.t.tered toast, and brown it with a salamander.