Paul Richards' book of breads, cakes, pastries, ices and sweetmeats

597.—ALASKA SOUFFLE PUDDING. BAKED ICE CREAM. Prepare one quart of frozen custard ice cream (or use ready frozen brick ice cream). Cut into square portions, steeple form. Have ready prepared the meringue No. 93. For each portion prepare a bed of ladyfingers in the dish the pudding is to be served in; put on the ice cream. Put the meringue in the dressing bag; use plain or star tube, and cover the cream in pyramid fashion. Decorate with candied fruit; dust with powdered sugar. Set the dish in another platter in a very hot oven or range, to brown lightly, and serve at once. 598.—LARGE AND SMALL CHARLOTTES. The Charlottes are made in various ways, with fillings of fruit and creams. The large Charlottes are the most attractive, because they admit of more decoration. The casing may be built around the creams after it is turned from the mold. It may be formed of iced strips of cake, fancy macaroons, meringues, and of fancy rolled wafers, placed around the base of the creams, and further decorated with whipped cream. Another way is to build the case from ladyfingers, macaroons, or meringues, around the outside of the Charlotte mold, fastening the pieces together with sugar boiled to the caramel degree, or with royal icing. Let it dry well, and set the prepared case over the cream after it is turned from the mold. For the small Charlottes, the cases may be lined with the special crusts given in Nos. 97 and 98. Ladyfingers and rolled wafers are also used for the lining. The commercial way is to serve the Charlottes in the paper cases, which are lined with sponge cake or ladyfingers, cut to fit; and some caterers serve large Charlottes in one- and two-quart glass bowls, lined with ladyfingers, filled with simple whipped cream, sweetened and flavored. The small ones in sherbet or wine glasses lined with ladyfingers or wafers, the centre decorated with cherries and angelica. The CHARLOTTE RUSSE and other cream mixtures in the following chapters are for creams which are to be turned from the molds. The amount of gelatin given is sufficient for this purpose. For Charlottes served in the case, less gelatin may be used; and in the small Charlottes, if they do not have to stand very long before serving, it may be left out altogether. The gelatins vary in strength, and the cheaper grades possess a strong flavor of glue, which often mars the delicate flavor of the creams, if too much is used. The most difficult and delicate part in preparing creams, to make them perfect, is the bringing together at the right moment the part which contains the gelatin and the whipped cream. If the part which contains the gelatin is added too soon, before it begins to set, it injures the lightness of the whipped cream, and the preparation loses much of its beauty. If it sets too much, the gelatin part forms lumps, which cannot be properly amalgamated with the lighter whipped cream. As soon as the mixture is prepared, it should be filled into the forms while it is still in a flowing condition, before the gelatin is firmly set. This point must be observed in all the creams in which gelatin is used, because it is essential to make them perfect. 599.— CHARLOTTE RUSSE MIXTURE NO. 1. I quart plain cream, i quart double cream, 12 ozs. sugar, 2 ozs. gelatin, vanilla flavor. Soak the gelatin in the plain cream for half an hour, add the sugar, and warm in hot water till gelatin and sugar are dissolved. (Do not overheat, as this may cause the cream and gelatin to curdle ) Strain, let cool, and add the flavor. Stir till it begins to thicken, and draw it into one quart of whipped cream; then till into the lined molds.