FRUIT FOAM DESSERT.--Soak half a package of gelatine in half a cup of cold water until soft. Heat to boiling two and one half cups of red raspberry, currant, strawberry, or grape juice, sweetened to taste, and pour over the soaked gelatine. Stir until perfectly dissolved, then strain, and set the dish in ice water to cool. When it is cold and beginning to thicken, beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth and stir into the thickening gelatine. Beat thoroughly for fifteen minutes with an egg beater, or whip till the whole is of a solid foam stiff enough to retain its shape. Turn into molds previously wet with cold water, or pile roughly in large spoonfuls in a gla.s.s dish. Set away in the refrigerator until needed. Serve with a little whipped cream piled lightly around it.

FRUIT SHAPE.--Take a quart of nicely canned red raspberries, sweetened to taste; turn into a colander and drain off the juice, taking care to keep the fruit as perfect as possible. Put two thirds of a box of gelatine to soak in just enough of the juice to cover. When the gelatine is ready, heat the remainder of the juice to boiling and pour over it. When well dissolved, add the fruit, turn into cups, and mold.

Serve with cream. Peaches, strawberries, apricots, and other canned fruit may be used in place of the raspberries, if preferred.

GELATINE CUSTARD.--Soak a quarter of a box of gelatine in one fourth of a cup of cold water till soft; then pour over it three fourths of a cup of boiling water, and stir until dissolved. Beat the yolks of two eggs and three tablespoonfuls of sugar to a cream; pour over it slowly, stirring continuously, a pint of boiling milk, and cook in a double boiler until it thickens. Then add the gelatine mixture, which should first be strained, the whites of the two eggs beaten stiff, and a little vanilla for flavoring. Beat all well together, turn into molds previously wet in cold water, and place on ice to harden. Serve with fruit sauce.

LAYER PUDDING.--Divide a package of gelatine into three portions, and put each to soak in one third of a cup of cold water. Heat one and one fourths cups of water to boiling, add the juice of one lemon and two thirds of a cup of sugar. Turn this slowly, stirring well meanwhile, over the well-beaten yolks of two eggs. Cook in a double boiler five minutes, or until the mixture thickens. Pour the hot custard over one portion of the soaked gelatine, and stir it until dissolved. Strain, add a little grated lemon rind for flavoring, and turn into a broad, shallow dish to mold. A square granite-ware baking tin is admirable for this purpose.

Take one and one half cups of raspberry, strawberry, grape, or currant juice, sweetened to taste; heat to boiling and pour over the second portion of the soaked gelatine. Stir till well dissolved, strain, and turn into a shallow mold like that containing the first portion.

Heat one and one half cups of rich milk to boiling, add one half cup of sugar, and pour over the third portion of soaked gelatine. Strain and cool a little, flavor with vanilla or a few chopped bananas; or, if preferred, flavor the milk with cocoanut before using, as directed on page 298. Pour into a third mold like the others to cool. When all are cold, arrange in layers, the yellow at the bottom and the white at the top. The whites of the eggs may be used for meringue, or for making a whipped cream sauce to serve with the pudding.

LEMON JELLY.--Soak one half box of gelatine in a scant cup of cold water until soft. Then pour over it one pint of boiling water and stir until well dissolved. Add one cup of sugar, the yellow rind of one lemon, and one half cup of lemon juice. Strain, put into molds previously wet in cold water, and place in the ice chest to harden. If preferred, the above may be cooled in a shallow dish and cut into irregular shapes to be served with a custard sauce. Use only the yolks of eggs in making the custard, that it may have a rich color, using two yolks in place of one whole egg.

JELLY WITH FRUIT.--Soak a package of gelatine in a cup of cold water until soft; then pour over it one quart and a cup of boiling water. Strain, add the juice of four lemons and twelve tablespoonfuls of sugar. Cool a little of the gelatine in a mold, and as soon as set, scatter in some nice currants or seedless raisins; add another layer of gelatine, and when set, scatter in more fruit; continue until the mold is full, having gelatine at the top. Fresh fruit, currants, grapes, cherries, plums, peaches, etc., may be used in place of raisins, if preferred.

ORANGE DESSERT.--Soak one third of a cup of gelatine in one third of a cup of cold water until soft; then pour over it one third of a cup of boiling water. Add a scant cup of sugar, the juice of one lemon, and a cupful of orange juice and pulp. Set the dish containing the mixture in a pan of ice water until it begins to harden. Have ready the whites of three eggs well whipped, add to the jelly, and beat all together until light and stiff enough to drop. Pour into molds wet in cold water, and lined with sections of oranges, from which seeds and white fiber have been removed.

ORANGES IN JELLY.--Pare divide, and take out the seeds from four or five sweet oranges, being careful to remove all the white rind and shreds. Place in a deep dish and pour over them a syrup prepared as for Apples in Jelly, using the juice of a whole lemon. Set in the ice box over night. A very little orange peel may be grated into the syrup if liked; and if the oranges are very sweet, less sugar will be required.

If one can afford to use orange juice in place of the water in making the syrup, the dessert will be greatly improved.

ORANGE JELLY.--Soak one quarter of a box of gelatine until soft in just enough cold water to cover. Then pour over it one half cup of boiling water. Stir until well dissolved, add the juice of one small lemon, one cupful of orange juice, and one half cup of sugar. Strain, turn into molds previously wet in cold water, and set on ice to harden.

Strawberry, raspberry, and other fruit juices may be used in a similar manner.

SNOW PUDDING.--Soak one fourth of a box of gelatine until soft in an equal measure of cold water. Then pour over it one cup of boiling water, and add one fourth of a cup of strained lemon juice and one cup of sugar; stir till the sugar is all dissolved. Strain into a large china dish, and set in ice water to cool. Let it stand until cold and beginning to thicken. Have ready the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth, and add to the gelatine as it begins to thicken; beat all together for fifteen or twenty minutes, until it is of a solid foam and stiff enough to hold its shape. Turn into molds and keep in a cool place till needed. A half dozen finely sliced or chopped bananas stirred in toward the last, makes a nice variation. Serve with custard sauce made with the yolks of the eggs and flavored with rose or vanilla. Orange, quince, or pineapple juice may be subst.i.tuted for lemon, for a change.

This dessert is best if made several hours before it is needed and set in the refrigerator to keep cold.

DESSERTS WITH CRUSTS.

_RECIPES._

APPLE TART.--Pare and slice some quick-cooking, tart apples, and place them in the bottom of a pudding dish, with a tablespoonful of water. Cover with a crust prepared in the following manner: Into a cup of thin cream stir a gill of yeast and two cups of flour; let this become very light, then add sufficient flour to mix soft. Knead for fifteen or twenty minutes very thoroughly, roll evenly, and cover the apples; put all in a warm place until the crust has become very light, then bake. If the apples do not bake easily, they may be partially cooked before putting on the crust. Dish so that the fruit will be uppermost, and serve cold with cream and sugar, cocoanut sauce, or mock cream.

GOOSEBERRY TART.--Fill a pudding dish with well prepared green gooseberries, adding a tablespoonful or two of water. Cover with a crust as for Apple Tart, and when light, bake in a moderately quick oven. Cut the crust into the required number of pieces, and dish with gooseberries heaped on top. Serve cold with sugar and cream.

CHERRY TART.--Prepare the same as for Apple Tart, with stoned cherries, only omitting the water, as the cherries will be sufficiently juicy of themselves. If the fruit is very juicy, sprinkle a tablespoonful of flour over it before putting on the crust. Plum and peach tart may be made in the same manner, and are both very nice.

STRAWBERRY AND OTHER FRUIT SHORTCAKES.--Beat together one cup of thin cream, slightly warmed, a tablespoonful of yeast, and two small cups of flour. Set in a warm place till very light. Add sufficient warm flour to mix soft, and knead thoroughly for fifteen or twenty minutes.

Divide into two equal portions, and roll into sheets about one half inch in thickness, making the center a very little thinner than the edges, so that when risen, the center will not be highest. Place in tins, and set in a warm place until perfectly risen, or until they have doubled their first thickness. Bake quickly. When cold, spread one cake with fruit, and cover with the other. If the fruit is large, it may be chopped fine with a knife, or mashed with a spoon. A little lemon juice added to peaches is an addition for shortcake.

BANANA SHORTCAKE.--Prepare the crust as previously directed. Fill with sliced bananas, for every three of which add the juice of one orange, a little of the grated rind, and a half cup of sugar.

LEMON SHORTCAKE.--Prepare the crust as for Fruit Shortcake. For the filling, grate the yellow portion only of the lemon, and squeeze the juice into a bowl; add a cupful of sugar. Braid a tablespoonful of flour smooth with two tablespoonfuls of water, add enough boiling water, stirring well meanwhile, to make a teacupful. Add this to the other ingredients, beat well together, and place the bowl in a basin of boiling water or over the teakettle. Cook until about as thick as boiled custard. Fill this between the shortcakes and serve.

BERRY SHORTCAKE WITH PREPARED CREAM.--Prepare the shortcake as previously directed. Sweeten the berries and spread on the lower crust, then pour over them a "cream" prepared as follows, and add top crust:--

CREAM.--Heat one half cup of milk and the same of thin cream to boiling, add two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and thicken with one teaspoonful of cornstarch rubbed smooth in a little cold milk. Turn the hot sauce over the beaten white of two eggs, stirring rapidly meanwhile, until the egg is thoroughly mingled with the whole. Allow it to become cold before using.

RAISED PIE.--Prepare the dough as for shortcake. Divide in two portions, spread one on the tin, and cover with a layer of easy-cooking tart apples sliced in eighths. Put two or three spoonfuls of rather thick sweet cream over the apples, and cover with the top crust. Let the crusts rise until very light, and bake. Peaches may be used in the same manner.

BAKED APPLE LOAF.--Prepare some dough as for buns on page 347, leaving out the sugar, and when ready for the last melding, cut it into three portions. Put some flour on the bread board, mold the dough well, and roll as thin as pie crust in such shape as will fit a shallow baking tin. Spread over the tin, and cover the dough with a layer of easy-cooking, sour apples sliced very thin, or with very stiff apple marmalade. Cover this with a second layer of dough, then add another layer of apples, and cover with the third portion of the dough. Pinch the edges of the dough well together, let the loaf rise till very light, then bake. Eat cold with sugar and cream. If the apples will not cook quickly, they may be first steamed until nearly tender. If the crust appears too hard when taken from the oven, cover with a wet napkin and allow it to steam for a little time until softened.

CUSTARD PUDDINGS.

Very much depends upon the baking in all puddings made with milk and eggs.

A custard pudding made with one egg, and slowly baked, will be much thicker and nicer than one made with more eggs, baked in too hot an oven.

A custard pudding baked too quickly or too long will have the eggs mixed with the farinaceous substance and the milk turned to whey, while one more carefully baked will have eggs and milk formed into a thick custard on the top.

Custard puddings and all other baked puddings which require to be cooked slowly, are best cooked in an earthen dish set in the oven in a pan of hot water, and baked only till the pudding is set. If it is desirable to use with eggs any ingredient which requires a lengthy cooking, it is much better to cook it partially before adding the eggs. Many custard desserts are much more dainty and more easily served when cooked in cups than when baked in a large dish. The blue willow pattern stoneware cups and the blue and white j.a.panese ware are very suitable for this purpose.

When cooking, set the cups, allowing one for each person, in the oven in a dripping pan containing hot water, and bake. Serve without removing from the cups.

If desired to stir beaten eggs into heated milk, add a few spoonfuls of cold milk to the eggs, and pour the mixture, a little at a time, into the hot milk, taking care to stir it constantly.

A nice way to flavour custards and meringues for custard puddings is to beat fruit jelly with the whites of the eggs; red raspberry, quince, and pineapple jellies give especially nice flavours.

_RECIPES._

APPLE CUSTARD.--Bake good tart apples; when done, remove the pulp, and rub through a sieve; sweeten, and flavour with grated pineapple or grated orange or lemon rind. Put in a gla.s.s dish, and cover with a plain custard prepared as directed on page 328. Bits of jelly may be scattered over the top of the custard.

APPLE CUSTARD NO. 2.--Peel, halve, and core eight or ten medium-sized sour apples. Have prepared a syrup made with a cup of water, the juice of one lemon, a little grated rind, and a half cup of sugar. When the sugar is dissolved, add the fruit, and simmer till tender but not fallen to pieces. Skim out the apples, draining thoroughly, and lay them in a gla.s.s dish. Boil up the syrup until thick, and poor it over the apples. Make a soft boiled custard with a pint of milk, yolks of three eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of sugar. When cold, spread over the apples; whip the whites to a stiff froth, flavor with lemon, and pile irregularly upon the top. Brown lightly in the oven.

APPLE CUSTARD NO. 3.--Pare and remove the cores from a dozen tart apples, and fill the cavities with black raspberry, quince, or grape jelly. Put them in a covered baking dish with a tablespoonful of water, and steam in the oven till tender but not fallen to pieces. Then cover the apples with a raw custard made by cooking two tablespoonfuls of flour rubbed smooth with a little milk, in a quart of milk, till just thickened, and adding, when cold, the yolks of two eggs well beaten with two heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar, and lastly the whites of the eggs whipped to a stiff froth. Bake in a dish set in a pan of hot water, until the custard has set, but not till it separates.

APPLE CORNSTARCH CUSTARD.--Cover the bottom of a small earthen-ware pudding dish an inch or more in depth with apples stewed until very dry, sweetened and flavored with a teaspoonful of rose water. Heat a cup of milk to boiling, and stir into it a tablespoonful of cornstarch rubbed smooth in a little cold milk, and one fourth cup of sugar; cook until thickened, then add the yolk of one egg, and pour the whole over the apple. Meringue the top with the white of the egg beaten stiff with a tablespoonful of sugar, and flavored with a little rose water.

APPLE AND BREAD CUSTARD.--For this is required one cup of finely rolled bread crumbs, two eggs, one half cup of sugar, one cup minced sour apples, and one quart of milk. Beat the sugar and yolks together, add the milk, bread, and fruit, and lastly the well-beaten whites of the eggs. Bake in a dish set in a pan of hot water till firm but not dry.

ALMOND CORNSTARCH PUDDING.--Blanch one and one half ounces of sweet almonds, and reduce them to a paste as directed on page 298; or if obtainable, almondine may be used instead of the prepared almonds. Heat a quart of milk, and while boiling, stir into it four tablespoonfuls of cornstarch which has been braided smooth with a little cold milk; let it thicken over the fire, stirring all the time. Then add two tablespoonfuls of thick, sweet cream. Lastly, stir in two or three well-beaten eggs and a tablespoonful of rose water. Let it come just to the boiling point, and remove from the stove. Keep in a cold place till needed. Serve with hot mock cream or with grape pulp as dressing.

ALMOND CREAM.--Heat a pint of milk, and when boiling stir into it two tablespoonfuls of cornstarch rubbed smooth in a little cold milk, also one fourth cup of sugar and three tablespoonfuls of almondine. Cook until thickened, and pour it, stirring constantly meanwhile, over the beaten whites of two eggs. Set on ice to cool, and serve with grape pulp as dressing. A cupful of blanched and chopped almonds may be used instead of almondine if that is not obtainable. The pudding will then require an additional one fourth cup of sugar.

APPLE CHARLOTTE.--Take three cups of nicely stewed tart apples which have been beaten smooth or rubbed through a colander and sweetened to taste. If the sauce is thin and very juicy, place it upon the range, and simmer slowly till it is of the consistency of thick marmalade or jelly. Add to the apples four tablespoonfuls of grated fresh or canned pineapple for flavoring. Remove the hard crusts from slices of light whole-wheat bread, spread them quite thickly with the prepared apple, and pack in layers in a pudding mold. Cover with a simple custard made of a quart of milk, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and two eggs. Let it stand half an hour, then bake. Do not press the bread or beat it after the custard is turned on, as that will be likely to make the pudding heavy. Other fruit marmalade may be used in place of the apple preparation if preferred.

BANANA CUSTARD.--Prepare a custard as directed for Plain Custard with a quart of milk, two well-beaten eggs, four tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one of cornstarch. When the custard is cool, pour it over four thinly sliced yellow bananas, over which a tablespoonful of sugar and a teaspoonful of water have been sprinkled. Serve cold.

BOILED CUSTARD.--Beat thoroughly together one pint of milk, two eggs, and a tablespoonful or two of sugar, until thoroughly mingled.

Turn the mixture into a double boiler, and cook until the custard is set.

BOILED CUSTARD BREAD PUDDING.--Crumble enough of the soft portion of stale whole-wheat bread to lightly fill a pint bowl. Heat a pint of milk to boiling. Stir into it, as soon as it boils, two eggs, yolks and whites well beaten separately, two heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar, a little grated lemon rind, and the light bread crumbs; stir rapidly till the whole thickens, pour into a deep dish, and when cold, dot the top with bits of currant or cranberry jelly.

BREAD AND FRUIT CUSTARD.--Take for this, two cups of grated bread crumbs, two cups of finely chopped tart apples, one cup of English currants or stoned raisins, mixed with a very little chopped citron for flavor, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, three cups of milk, and two eggs.