The school cookery book

Break the corn-flour in a basin with a little of the cold milk. Place the rest of the milk with the sugar in a pan on the fire; bring it nearly but not quite to the boil ; pour the corn-flour and cold milk into it, and let it boil for five minutes after it thickens, stirring all the time. Have a basin or mould standing filled with cold water ; pour away the water, but do not dry the mould. Pour the corn-flour into this shape, let it become, cold, and turn it out on a dish. It can be eaten either with stewed fruit, jam, treacle, or cold milk. Custard Pudding. — Required: 3 eggs; ¼ pint milk; 2 oz. sugar; ¼ oz. butter; 1 pinch grated nutmeg. Stir the eggs and sugar well together; add the milk and nutmeg ; stir well. Butter a small pie-dish ; pour in the custard. Bake in a slow oven for about twenty minutes. Do not move the dish till the custard is set, as it might curdle. A piece of paste (see page 103) may be put round the edge, or a piece of dry toast in the bottom of the dish. Yorkshire Pudding. — Required: ½ lb. flour; 1 egg; ½ pint of milk; ½ teaspoonful salt. Place the flour and salt in a basin; break the egg into a teacup, beat it well with a fork, pour it into the flour. Mix thoroughly together with a wooden spoon ; add the milk very gradually, beating the batter all the time. The batter is sufficiently beaten when bells of air rise. Grease a baking-tin, pour the batter in, and bake in rather a quick oven for half an hour. Cut into square pieces, and serve with roast beef. The batter is improved by being allowed to stand in the basin for two hours before it is baked. Stir well before pouring it into the tin. To make the pudding richer add a second egg. Hasty Pudding. — Prepare as in the last recipe, but use 1 dessert-spoonful sugar instead of salt. Pour the batter into greased cups, and steam for half an hour. Black Cap Pudding.— Prepare in the same way as Hasty Pudding, adding 1 oz. of well-cleansed currants. XX.— BOILED & MISCELLANEOUS PUDDINGS. Suet Dumpling. — Required: ½ lb. flour; 2 oz. suet; about 1 gill of cold water; ½ oz. sugar; ¼ teaspoonful baking powder; ½ teaspoonful salt. Chop the suet finely, removing all pieces of skin and fibre; mix thoroughly in a basin with all the other dry ingredients. Add enough of water to moisten it, and stir well together. Dip a pudding cloth in boiling water, wring, dredge with flour, tie the pudding in it, leaving room for it to swell, put into boiling water and boil for two hours, or longer if convenient. Should the dumpling be wanted richer, milk may be used instead of water, and an egg added. If an egg is added only half the quantity of milk or water is required. If it is to be eaten with meat omit the sugar. This dumpling is lighter, and only requires one and a half hours to boil, when made with 2 oz. stale bread crumb and 2 oz. flour, instead of % lb. flour. Lemon Dumpling.— The same as suet dumpling with the addition of the grated rind and the juice of half a lemon. Currant Dumpling. — The same as suet dumpling with the addition of 2 oz. currants carefully picked and cleaned, and % teaspoonful mixed spice or grated nutmeg. Carrot Dumpling. — The same as suet dumpling with the addition of one small or half a large carrot, cleaned, scraped, and grated; and teaspoonful ground ginger ; also 2 oz. stale bread crumbs.