Original White House Cookbook

Peel and cut a pineapple in slices, put the slices into a stewpan with half a pound of fine white sugar, half an ounce of isinglass, or of patent gelatine (which is better), and half a teacupful of water ; stew it until it is quite tender, then rub it through a sieve, place it upon ice, and stir it well ; when it is upon the point of setting, add a pint of cream well whipped, mix it well, and pour it into a mold lined with sponge cake, or prepared in any other way you prefer. COUNTRY PLUM CHARLOTTE. Stone a quart of ripe plums ; first stew and then sweeten them. Cut slices of bread and butter and lay them in the bottom and around the sides of a large bowl or deep dish. Pour in the plums boiling hot, cover the bowl and set it away to cool gradually. When quite cold, send it to table and eat it with cream. VELVET CREAM, WITH STRAWBERRIES. Dissolve half an ounce of gelatine in a gill of water ; add to it half a pint of light sherry, grated lemon peel and the juice of one lemon and five ounces of sugar. Stir over the fire until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Then strain and cool. Before it sets beat into it a pint of cream ; pour into molds and keep on ice until wanted. Half fill the small molds with fine strawberries, pour the mixture on top, and place on ice until wanted. CORNSTARCH MERINGTJE. Heat a quart of milk until it boils, add four heaping teaspoonfuls of cornstarch which has previously been dissolved in a little cold milk. Stir constantly while boiling for fifteen minutes. Remove from the fire, and gradually add while hot the yolks of five eggs, beaten together with three-fourths of a cupful of sugar, and fiavored with lemon, vanilla or bitter almond. Bake this mixture for fifteen minutes in a well-buttered pudding-dish or until it begins to “set.” Make a meringue of the whites of five eggs, whipped stiff with a half cupful of jelly, and spread evenly over the custard, without removing the same farther than the edge of the oven. Use currant jelly if vanilla is used in the custard, crab apple for bitter * almond and strawberry for lemon. Cover and bake for five minutes, after which take off the lid and brown the meringue a very little. Sift powdered sugar thickly over the top. To be eaten cold. WASHINGTON PIE. This recipe is the same as “ Boston Cream Pie ” (adding half an ounce of buttter), which may be found under the head of Pastry, Pies and Tarts. In summer time, it is a good plan to bake the pie the day before wanted ; then when cool, wrap around it a paper and place it in the ice box so as to have it get very cold ; then serve it with a dish of fresh strawberries or raspberries. A delicious dessert. CREAM PIE. Make two cakes as for Washington pie, then take one cup of sweet cream and three tablespoonfuls of white sugar. Beat with egg-beater or fork till it is stiff enough to put on without running off and flavor with vanilla. If you beat it after it is stiff it will come to butter. Put between the cakes and on top. DESSERT PUFFS.