Miss Corson's practical American cookery and household management

SECOND-COURSE SWEETS (Entremts). THE sweets called entremets upon bills of fare arranged according to European style include those served in this country as dessert, such as puddings, cakes, pies, and tarts, and sometimes moulded jellies ; the few jellies of this kind for which there is space are given in the next chapter with the frozen puddings. The breads, both large and small, including those suitable for. breakfast and luncheon, are given in this chapter, as are the fritters and griddle-cakes, and a fair variety of pudding-sauces. There is not room enough to give recipes for many cakes : this need not be a matter of regret, for usually American cookery-books are chiefly made up of them ; the few that are given are good, and the reader is referred to the author's other works for a greater variety. ST. HONORE CAKE. A St. Honor^ cake is a combination of candied fruit, pastry, and cream custard. To make the pastry, put over the fire in a thick saucepan one pint of water, a quarter of a pound of butter, and half an ounce of sugar ; when the water boils, throw in half a pound of flour, and beat the paste until it cleaves away from the sides of the saucepan ; take the saucepan off the fire, let the paste cool for five minutes, and beat in eight eggs, two at a time, thoroughly mixing them before adding more ; the paste should be soft enough to drop easily from the mixing-spoon, but not soft enough to spread when dropped ; drop part of the paste upon a buttered and floured pan in pieces as large as a hickory-nut ; form a ring of more of it, as large as the cake is desired, and about an inch broad and high ; put more of it in a thin round the size of the cake, to use as a bottom when it is not intended to take the trouble to make a bottom round of what is called pâte d'office ; some cooks make the bottom of a thin round of cake, but this is not advisable, for if the St. Honore custard stands in the cake it saturates and softens it. Bake the little balls and ring in a moderate oven ; when they are cool, cut a small place in each, and fill them with cold St. Honoré custard. ST. HONOR^ CUSTARD. After the St. Honoré cakes are put into the oven, make the custard as follows : For a cake of medium size, put in a thick saucepan over the fire the yolks of six raw eggs, an ounce and a half of potato or rice flour, and half a pint of milk, and stir them constantly until the mixture is quite smooth, and begins to thicken ; then take it off the fire, stir with an egg-whip for a minute ; mix half a pound of sifted powdered sugar with the whites of six eggs beaten to 1 stiff froth, and then whip this meringue with the custard, return it to the fire, and beat it for a moment with the eggwhip ; when it is quite smooth, pour it into an earthen dish, and cool it ; it will be ready to use for the St. Honoré cake as soon as it is cold. After the custard is made, blanch some almonds by pouring boiling water upon the kernels, and then rubbing them on a wet towel to remove the skins ; cut some white grapes in clusters of two and three, and make ready some quarters of mandarin oranges, or French candied fruits, and some cherries, and put each one on the end of a long wire skewer. TO GLACÉ FRUIT.