Wholesome cookery

Take half a pound of fresh butter (made without any salt), heat it to a cream, then heat in, one after the other, 3 yolks of eggs, sweeten to taste with castor sugar. Have some very strong coffee ready ; add it by very small quantities to the other ingredients ; heat well all the time. Have a freshly made sponge cake, cut it in slices, spread each slice thickly with the above mixture, and put the slices together again to form a whole cake; spread some more mixture on the top and round the sides, smooth it well with a knife (dip the knife occasionally in hot water). When the top and sides are well covered and smooth, decorate the top with some more of the mixture, passed through a small funnel, which is made for the purpose. The cofiee must he very strong, for, if much liquid is used, the mixture will he thin, and will not lie on the cake. The mixture between the slices must he of the same thickness as the slices. 522a. — 'Chocolate Cake. Proceed as above, but use grated and pounded chocolate in place of coffee. 522b. — Pistachio Cake. Proceed as above, but use pounded pistachios in place of coffee or chocolate. N.B. — These three cakes are served as a “ sweet.” They are not cakes in the sense of tea-cakes. 523. — Maraschino Croustades. C.ut 8 slices of sponge cakes 2 inches thick and I 2 inches square, scoop out the inside of each slice so i as to make an empty case. Fry these cases in butter. 1 Have 8 tablespoonfuls of apricot jam ready ; melt it a over the fire, with 1 tablespoonful of maraschino ; fill the cases with this ; put them into the oven for a few minutes ; take them out ; sprinkle with sifted sugar, or decorate with some preserved cherries, and dish up at once. N.B. — The scoopings-out must not be thrown away, but saved towards making a bread-pudding. « 524. — Almond Sweet. 4 ounces of sweet almonds, half an ounce of bitter almonds, 5 yolks of eggs, 4 whites of eggs, 4 ounces of castor sugar, and a very little grated lemon-peel. J Put the almonds to soak in hot water until the peel can he easily removed, then soak them in cold water, dry them thoroughly, choj) them fine, then pound them smooth. Now beat up the 5 yolks of eggs ; then add by degrees, and beating all the time the castor sugar ; next add the lemon-peel, and then the pounded almonds; mix thoroughly all the time. Whisk the whites of eggs to a stiff froth, and add them to the above mixture. Butter a cake-tin or pie-dish, pour in the mixture, and bake half an hour to three-quarters ; the time will depend on the heat of the oven. Turn it out ; when cold, lay some stiffly whipped cream on the top and round (about 1 inch thick on the top). Decorate with cherries, glaces or crystallized, and serve it as soon as possible after it is decorated. If you are in doubt whether the cake is cooked enough, put a skewer in, and the cake is cooked sufficiently if the skewer comes out dry. N.B. — This cake for a change can be soaked in rum, and served without cream. To soak it with rum, the best way is to make some tiny holes with the* point of a skewer, and slowly pour a few tablespoonfuls of rum until the cake is slightly saturated. 525. — Chestnut Croquettes. Boast 12 to 16 chestnuts, peel them carefully, pound them up ; put them on the fire with 1 gill of