Bring the milk to the scalding-point without boiling; then take from the fire, and pour it slowly into the eggs and sugar, which have been beaten together to a cream; stir all the time; replace on the fire, and stir until the custard coats the spoon, or a smooth creamy consistency is attained; then immediately strain it into a cold dish, and add the flavoring. If vanilla bean, peach leaves, or lemon zest are used for flavoring, they can be boiled with the milk. If by accident the custard begins to grain, arrest the cooking at once by putting the saucepan in cold water; add a little cold milk, and beat it vigorously with a Dover beater. Five egg yolks to a quart of milk will make a good boiled custard, but six or eight make it richer. It is smoother when the yolks only are used, yet the whole egg makes a good custard, and in the emergency of not having enough eggs at hand a little corn-starch may be used.

Boiled custard may be flavored with vanilla, almond, rose, maraschino, noyau, caramel, coffee, chopped almonds, grated cocoanut, or pounded macaroons. The cocoanut makes a delicious custard, but must be rich with eggs and stiff enough to keep the cocoanut from settling to the bottom.

BOILED CUSTARD NO. 2.

Make a boiled custard (see preceding receipt), using a pint of milk, three egg yolks, three tablespoonfuls of sugar, dash of salt, and any flavoring preferred. Let it get entirely cold; just before serving mix in lightly the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth. This will give a sponge-like texture, and make a very delicate custard. As the whites are not cooked it will not keep long after they are added.

Ornament the top with bits of jelly on small pieces of the whipped egg.

=FLOATING ISLAND=

Whip the whites of two or three eggs very stiff; add a tablespoonful of powdered sugar (see page 389) to each egg; flavor with essence of almond, and add a few chopped almonds. Turn it into an oiled pudding-mold which has a fancy top; cover and place it in a saucepan of boiling water to poach for twenty minutes. Leave enough room in the mold for the meringue to swell. Let it stand in the mold until cold; it will contract and leave the sides. When ready to serve, unmold the meringue and place it on boiled custard served in a gla.s.s dish.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FLOATING ISLAND. (SEE PAGE 395.)]

=CHOCOLATE CUSTARD=

Make a boiled custard No. 1, using the whites as well as the yolks of the eggs; add one bar of melted chocolate (see page 388). Mix thoroughly and strain into cups.

=BAKED CUSTARD=

Use the same proportions as for boiled custard. Beat the eggs, sugar, and salt together to a cream; stir in the scalded milk; turn into a pudding-dish or into cups; grate a little nutmeg over the top; stand it in a pan of hot water, and bake in a moderate oven until firm in the center. Test by running a knife into the custard. If it comes out clean, it is done; if milky, it needs longer cooking; but it must be carefully watched, for it will separate if cooked too long.

A custard, to be smooth and solid, must be baked very slowly. The holes often seen in baked custard are caused by escaping bubbles of steam, which rise through the mixture when the heat reaches the boiling-point.

=CARAMEL CUSTARD=

Put a cupful of granulated sugar into a small saucepan with a tablespoonful of water; stir until melted; then let it cook until a light brown color (see caramel, page 78). Turn one half the caramel into a well-b.u.t.tered mold which has straight sides and flat top, and let it get cold. Into the rest of the caramel turn a half cupful of hot water, and let it stand on the side of the range until the caramel is dissolved. This is for the sauce.

Stir four yolks and two whole eggs, with three tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one half saltspoonful of salt, to a cream, but do not let it froth; add a pint of scalded milk and a half teaspoonful of vanilla. Strain this into the mold onto the cold hardened caramel. Place the mold in a pan of hot water, and bake in a very moderate oven until firm in the center; test by running in a knife (see baked custard), and watch it carefully. The water in the pan must not boil, and the oven should be so slow that it will take at least an hour to cook the custard. It will then be very firm and smooth. Unmold the custard when ready to serve. It will have a glaze of caramel over the top, and some will run down the sides. Serve the caramel sauce in another dish. This dish is recommended.

=CHOCOLATE CREAM CUSTARD=

Use the same proportions as for caramel custard. Add one and one half ounces of melted chocolate (see page 388). Strain it into a b.u.t.tered mold, and bake slowly the same as caramel custard. Unmold when cold, and serve with or without whipped cream.

Both the caramel and the chocolate cream custards may be baked in individual timbale-molds, if preferred.

=RENNET CUSTARD=

Sweeten and flavor the milk; heat it until lukewarm; then turn it into the gla.s.s dish in which it is to be served. Add to each quart of milk a tablespoonful of liquid rennet (which comes prepared for custards), and mix it thoroughly. Let it stand where it will remain lukewarm until a firm curd is formed; then remove carefully to a cold place. If jarred the whey is likely to separate. Brandy or rum make the best flavoring for this custard, but any flavoring may be used. It may be served without sauce, but a whipped cream, colored pink, improves it, and also takes away the suggestion of soured milk which curds give.

=CORN-STARCH PUDDINGS=

(NO. 1.) A PLAIN CORN-STARCH PUDDING

1 pint of milk.

2 heaping tablespoonfuls of corn-starch.

3 tablespoonfuls of sugar.

Whites of 3 eggs.

1/2 teaspoonful of vanilla.

Beat the eggs to a stiff froth. Dissolve the corn-starch in a little of the cold milk. Stir the sugar into the rest of the milk, and place it on the fire. When it begins to boil, add the dissolved corn-starch. Stir constantly for a few moments. When it becomes well thickened, stir in the beaten whites of the eggs, and let it remain a little longer to cook the eggs. Remove from the fire; flavor with vanilla, and turn it into a mold.[397-*]

This pudding is quickly and easily made. It gives about a quart of pudding, or enough to serve six to eight persons. It may or may not be served with a custard made of the yolks of the eggs, but it requires a good sauce and flavoring, or it is rather tasteless. Several variations of this receipt are given below.

FOOTNOTES:

[397-*] Corn-starch has a raw taste unless it is thoroughly cooked.

After the mixture has thickened it can be left to cook in a double boiler for half an hour without changing its consistency, and this length of time for cooking is essential to its flavor. A mold of corn starch should not be very firm, but have a trembling jelly-like consistency. The eggs may be omitted from above receipt if desired, but the pudding will not be as delicate.--M. R.

(NO. 2.) CORN-STARCH WITH CANNED FRUIT

When the corn-starch is sufficiently set to hold the fruit in place, stir into it lightly one half can of well-drained fruit (cherries, raspberries, strawberries, or any other fruit), and turn it into a mold to harden. Serve the juice of the fruit with it as a sauce.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CORNSTARCH PUDDING MOLDED IN RING MOLD WITH WHITE CALIFORNIA CANNED CHERRIES AND CENTER FILLED WITH CHERRIES.]

(NO. 3.) COCOANUT PUDDING

When the corn-starch is removed from the fire, and partly cooled, add half a cocoanut grated. Mix it well together and turn into a mold; serve with a custard or, better, with whipped cream. Sprinkle sugar over the half of the grated cocoanut not used, and spread it on a sieve to dry.

It will keep for some time when dried.

(NO. 4.) CHOCOLATE PUDDING

When the corn-starch is taken from the fire and flavored, turn one third of it into a saucepan, and mix with it one and a half ounces or squares of chocolate melted, a tablespoonful of sugar if unsweetened chocolate is used, and a half cupful of stoned raisins. Let it cook one minute to set the chocolate. Turn into a plain cylindrical mold one half of the white corn-starch. Make it a smooth, even layer, keeping the edges clean; then add the chocolate; smooth it in the same way; then add the rest of the white corn-starch, making three even layers, alternating in color; after each layer is in wipe the sides of the mold so no speck of one color will deface the other. (See ill.u.s.tration.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: CORNSTARCH PUDDING IN LAYERS. (SEE PAGE 398.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: CORNSTARCH PUDDING WITH PANSIES MOLDED IN A LAYER OF JELLY ON TOP--GARNISHED WITH PANSIES.]

=CORN-STARCH CHOCOLATES=

(VERY SIMPLE, AND QUICKLY MADE)

Scald a pint of milk and four tablespoonfuls of sugar; add an ounce of chocolate shaved thin, so it will dissolve quickly; then add two heaping tablespoonfuls of corn-starch which has been diluted with a little of the cold milk. Stir over the fire until the mixture is thickened, add a half teaspoonful of vanilla, and turn it into small cups to cool and harden. Unmold the forms when ready to serve, and use sweetened milk for a sauce. By using a little less corn-starch, this mixture will be a smooth, thick custard, and may be served in the cups.