Bread, cakes, and biscuits

Feuillantines. — Roll out some rich puff paste a quarter of an inch (or less) thick, and cut or stamp it out in rounds or fingers ; put half of these on a buttered tin, allowing a good space between them, spread them with warmed and sieved jam, creme patissiere, &c., as you choose, then cover these with the rest of the pastry, pressing them lightly together, and bake quickly in a very sharp oven. If preferred, roll the paste out into two circles the size of a dinner plate, spread with any filling to taste, and cover with the second circle, then mark it out in segments with the back of a knife and bake. When ready, cut through at these marks. Some cooks dust these cakes with white of egg and caster sugar just at the last, before taking them from the oven. Petits Fours Milanais. — Beat 12oz. fresh butter to a cream with 12oz. caster sugar ; now mix in four whole eggs, one by one, working each in well separately ; then work in thoroughly lib. fine sifted flour, and, when perfectly mixed, put the paste aside for four hours or so in a cool place. Then roll it out half an inch thick, and cut into little fancy cakes with a cutter. Put these cakes on an iron baking sheet, brush each over with egg yolk beaten up with milk, put a preserved cherry, a strip of angelica, or a blanched nut, or a dragee on each, and bake in a hot oven. Petits Fours a V Anglaise. — Cut a rich pound cake into inch thick squares and ice with the following glace : Mix 4oz. of cane icing sugar with half a tablespoonful of strong coffee or coffee essence, and the same of hot water, and stir this all over the stove till warm and well blended. Place a strip of candied peel, an almond, or any small glace fruit to taste on each. Othellos and Desdemonas. — Cream 4oz. fresh butter (or use rather less clotted cream) with Jib. caster sugar (previously beaten with four well-beaten egg yolks) till light, then stir in, in alternate spoonfuls, lib. of fine flour, previously sifted with a teaspoonful of baking powder, and the stiffly-whipped whites of the eggs. Bake this paste in very small buttered patty pans, or little bouche moulds, for twelve to fifteen minutes, and when perfectly cold mask half the number with vanilla chocolate, just enough melted to pour, and the other half with royal icing, or any white, flavoured glace. Praline Fingers. — Blanch lib. of almonds (or any nuts to taste), then lay these, when dry and chopped, in a pan in which you have dissolved lib. of caster sugar, and let them brown slowly over a low fire. When coloured and crisp crush them in a mortar with a whole egg. Now work this to a smooth paste with, for each pound of this praline, lib. of fresh butter, ljlb. of fine sifted flour, a tiny dust of salt, four whole eggs, and the yolks of eight more. Wrhen thoroughly blended shape this paste into little fingers or sticks, brush them over with beaten egg, place them on a buttered baking sheet, and bake in a cool oven. If liked, these cakes may be brushed over with any nice fruit jelly, rolled in caster sugar, and dried in the oven.