Plain cookery recipes

Prepare the fruit the same as for a fruit tart. Grease a strong basin thoroughly, and line with the pastry, excluding all air from between pastry and basin. Put in half of the prepared fruit, add the sugar, then put in the rest of the fruit, pressing it well down, and having the basin quite full. Trim the pastry, and roll the scraps into a round ; wet the edges of the pastry, and put on the round to form a cover. Scald a pudding-cloth by dipping the centre in boiling water; dredge it with flour, and place it over the pudding, floured side down. Make a fold in the centre to admit of the pudding rising, and tie the cloth firmly on with a string. Gather up the ends of the cloth, and drop the pudding gently into a pan of fast-boiling water. There must be sufficient water to cover the pudding during the whole process of cook- ing, and it must boil steadily all the time. Time for cooking, two and a half to three hours. To dish the pudding, remove string and cloth. Dish on a deep ashet. Serve hot. Roly-poly* Suet pastry. Jam. Roll the pastry into an oblong-shaped piece. Spread with jam to within one inch of the edge. Wet the edge of the pastry with water, and roll it up carefully, pressing the edges together. Scald and flour a pudding-cloth, and roll the roly-poly in it. Tie firmly at each end, leaving a little room for swelling. Cook by steady boiling for two and a half to three hours. To dish — drain well, then undo the string at each end. Unroll carefully on to a hot dish. Serve hot. Note. — Instead of tying in a cloth and boiling, this pudding may be placed on a greased tin and baked in a moderate oven. Time required for baking, about one hour. Syrup Pudding* Suet pastry. Pinch of ground ginger, or a Three tablespoonfuls syrup. little grated lemon rind. Two tablespoonfuls bread crumbs. Mix the syrup, bread crumbs, and seasoning together. Roll the pastry out one-quarter inch in thickness. Cut into rounds of various sizes. Place a small round at the foot of a greased bowl, and place on it a teaspoonful of the mixture. Wet the edge of the round, and place another a size larger on the top. Put on more of the syrup, then another round, and so on till the basin is quite full. Cover with a scalded and floured cloth, and cook by steady boiling for two and a half to three hours. Remove the cloth, and turn out on a hot dish. A little melted syrup may be poured round as a sauce if wished. Serve hot. PASTRY, Flaky Pastry* Three-quarters pound flour. Pinch of salt. Half-pound butter. Cold water to bind. Wash the butter, dry it well in a floured cloth, and divide it into three equal-sized pieces. Sieve the flour and salt into a basin, and mix to an elastic dough with cold water ; knead this till smooth on a floured board, and roll out into a strip. Take one portion of butter and spread it in small pats equally over two-thirds of the dough, fold in three, seal the edges, and turn the rough edges to the right hand. Roll out, and add second and third portions of butter in same way, then roll the pastry to the size required. Rice Pudding* One and a half ounces rice. I One dessertspoonful granu- One pint milk. | lated sugar. A little grated nutmeg.