The confectioner's and pastry-cook's guide, or, Confectionery made easy ...

a dish, and send to table. TARTS AND FRUIT PIES. TARTLETS. Put a layer of puff paste about half an inch thick, in your pans ; let it be thinner in the middle than at the edges, which is done by pressing your thumb round the centre, or, with a small piece of paste dipped in the dour, to prevent its sticking, press the paste in the centre of the pan, and trim it off close to the edge of the pan with a knife. Fill them either with preserved, bottled, or ripe fruit; let them be nicely strung: and bake them in a moderate oven. If the stringing does not adhere to the edge very readily, damp it with a moist brush. STRINGING. Take a piece of tart paste, large enough for your purpose, rub it with your hand on the board, until you can pull it into long strings: if the paste should be rather too tight, you cannot pull it into strings so freely as if it were of a proper consistence. In this case, use a little cold water in rubbing it down, and also afterwards to moisten it when it becomes short with using. STRINGING. (No. 2.) Half a pound of flour and one ounce of butter. Hub the butter in with the flour, mix it into a rather soft paste with cold water, and proceed as before directed. Experience alone will determine the consistence the paste is to be mixed. TO PREPARE APPLES OR PEARS FOR TARTLETS. If apples or pears are used to fill the tartlets, let them be peeled, cored, and cut in quarters; then boil them in water, till tender. Drain off nearly the whole of the water in which they were boiled, and reduce the fruit to a pulp, either by squeezing, or by passing it through a sieve or colander. Rub off the yellow rind of a lemon with some loaf sugar; scrape this off and mix with the pulp; add more sugar, if necessary, and a little lemon juice, to your palate. Put it on the fire in a well-tinned saucepan, let it simmer a few minutes, stirring it occasionally. When cold, it is ready for use. Apricots may be served in the same manner, leaving out the lemon juice. TO MAKE TARTLETS WITH FRUITS WHICH HAVE BEEN PRESERVED WITHOUT SUGAR, OR WITH FRESH RIPE FRUITS. If bottled, or ripe fruits without being preserved, are used, add sugar with the fruit; and dust them with finely powdered loaf sugar, before baking. SANDWICH PASTRY. Roll out some puff paste into a thin sheet, spread some raspberry or any other jam over it. Roll out another piece the same size and thickness as the former, and put over it; cut it out with cutters into rings, crescents, or other forms, or with a knife into diamonds, squares, triangles, or fingers; ice the tops as directed forCoventrys, or sift loaf sugar over them, bake them in a moderately warm oven, on a clean tin, keep the door shut, that the sugar may melt on the top and appsar shining, which is called French glazing; they are not to be done in this manner, or glazed, when iced as Coventrys. TRUE LOVERS* KNOTS. Roll out a piece of puff paste into a thia sheet, cut it into pieces three or four inches square, fold each corner over into the centre, and cut a piece out from each side, leaving it in the form of a true lover's knot; put them on a tin, and bake them in a moderate oven; when they are done, place some jam or preserve on each point, and some in the centre. PUITS D* AMOUR.