Cookery for every household

2057. Floating Island (Ile Flottante) A sponge or Savoy cake. Apricot or raspberry jam. Whipped cream. Sugar. Flavouring. Some sherry or liqueur. Shred almonds. Pistachio nuts. Some custard. Choose a sponge cake or Savoy cake as high in form as possible. Cut it in slices, spread the pieces with a little apricot or raspberry jam, and soak them with a little sherry or liqueur. Then put the cake back into shape, and stand it in a deep china or crystal dish. Mask it with a little whipped cream, which has been sweetened and flavoured, stick some shred almonds all over the top and sides, and sprinkle with some finely-chopped pistachio nuts. Pour some good custard round the base, and the floating island is ready to serve. 2058. Gâteau à la Princesse 8 wafer biscuits. Pink royal icing A piece of white cake. \ pt. double cream. Sugar and flavouring. Preserved or fresh fruit. Choose the oblong wafer biscuits about 2 inches in width, such as are used for serving with ices. Cut a slice of Genoese pastry or any white cake about inches square and 1 inch thick. Then make it octagonal in shape by cutting off the four corners. Each side of the octagon should be the width of a wafer biscuit. Spread the sides of the cake with pink royal icing, and stand the biscuits Gâteau à la Princesse round it, pressing them well against the icing, which ought to be stiff enough to make them adhere. Join the biscuits together with more of the icing, put through a forcing bag, and thus make a little case or basket of the wafer biscuits. Allow this to stand some time until the icing is set, and do not fill with the cream until a few minutes before serving, as the wafers soon lose their crispness. For Filling. — Whip the cream, sweeten and flavour it to taste, and then mix in some fruit, either fresh or preserved, cut in small pieces. Stand the wafer case on the dish on which it is to be served, with a dish paper under it. Pile up the cream mixture in the centre, and decorate, if wished, with more of the fruit or with violets and pistachio nuts. Tie a piece of white ribbon round the gateau, and it is ready, for serving. Notes. — The colouring can, of course, be varied to suit individual taste and the decoration of the table. A larger gateau may be made by using 2 biscuits for each side of an octagon. A square of cream pastry may be used instead of the cake. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Probable cost. Is. 6 d. 2059. Gâteau de Pommes à la Crème Pastry. 6 oz. flour. 3 oz. butter. 1 egg. A squeeze of lemon juice. Mixture. \ pt. apple puree. 1 gill lemon or wine jelly 1 gill double cream. 2 sheets of gelatine. 1 table sp. liqueur. To Make the Pastry Case. — First make the pastry according to directions given for Short Crust (see Recipe 1439), using enough beaten egg to bind, and keeping it rather stiff. Grease a plain souffle tin, and line it with this pastry rolled out rather