English and French cookery

German Open Tart. — Well grease a shallow baking-tin, line it with a light pie-crust ; on this place a layer of thinly-sliced apple, followed by a layer of well- washed and picked currants ; sprinkle with sugar. Repeat the layers until the dish is full. Finish with pipe-paste and a rose or crown in centre. Hasty Pudding. — Stir 3 tablespoonfuls of cornflour into a little cold milk. Put 1 teaspoonful of salt into 1 quart of milk, bring it to boil, and pour it over the cornflour, when well mixed. Return to the saucepan, and boil, stirring frequently, for J hour ; then add 1 tablespoonful of butter. Serve at once, in a deep dish, with sugar or preserves. Jam Tarts. — Butter some patty -pans, and line with pastry rolled out to a i inch thick. Put them into a quick oven; when nearly baked take out, put a little jam in each, then return to the oven and finish. An ornament already baked should be placed upon each, or a little whipped cream. Time to bake, a few minutes. Jam Tart, Open. — Roll out some pastry to J inch thick ; butter a tart-pan, and line with the pastry ; trim the edges, and prick a few holes in the bottom. Bake in a moderate oven until lightly browned, then take out, let it cool a little, spread the jam on it, aud ornament the top with pastry which has been baked separately. Time to bake, about \ hour. Lard in Pastry. — The best quality of lard only should be used. Messrs. Bancroft and Co.’s, of Liverpool, is always of uniform consistency, and neither too hard nor too soft. It is of a fine silky texture, very different to the rough harsh quality, wonderfully suggestive of mutton fat, turned out by some makers. When put into the fryingpan it melts into oil without the sputtering so observable in inferior PIES, PUDDINGS, AND TARTS. makes. This may be accounted for by the fact that Messrs. Bancroft use no water in refining their lard. Cooks troubled in their cooking by sputtering lard should insist upon their tradesmen supplying Bancroft’s. The firm are the best known in the trade, both in this country and on the Continent, large quantities of their product being supplied to every important market in Europe. They were the first to refine lard, for which improvement they patented a process, and to them belongs the credit due to having revolutionized the trade. Lemon Bread Pudding. — Shred J pound of beef suet, 6 ounces of finely-grated breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 3 ounces of moist sugar, the finely-minced rind and strained juice of a lemon, ^ pint of milk, 2 eggs well beaten, and mix. Butter a basin, ornament the inside with raisins, candied fruit, or sliced lemon-rind, pour in the pudding, cover with a floured cloth, plunge into boiling water, and boil quickly for about 3 hours. Turn out on a dish, and send to table this sauce round it : Put the thin rind and juice of a lemon in h pint of water, add 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar, and simmer gently 20 minutes ; add 2 drops of cochineal and a tablespoonful of gin, and serve. Lentil Flour Pudding. — Mix 3 ounces lentil flour with a little cold milk, pour upon it slowly 1 pint boiling milk, stirring well, and add 3 ounces sugar, 1 ounce butter, a little powdered cinnamon, grated nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. Let it cool ; add 4 eggs well beaten, pour into a buttered dish, and bake in a moderate oven. Serve with sugar sifted over.