Handbook of practical cookery

over them rub them therein until the stems are all separated, and adhering to the cloth ; then the raisins must be picked out and thrown into the bowl with the rest, and the sherry poured over all. Put the remaining ounce of sugar into a small sauce-pan over the fire and let the sugar brown. Pour the milk over the sugar when brown, and drawing the sauce-pan aside from the fire, stir the milk until the sugar dissolves and colours it. Drop the yolks of eggs into a small bowl, and over these pour the coloured milk, stirring all together as the milk is poured in. Over the dry preparation in the large bowl pour the liquid from the small bowl ; grease a proper sized pudding-mould, and into this put the pudding . ; secure over the top a greased piece of kitchen-paper, place- the -mould into a sauce-pan containing sufficient boiling watet* to reach half-way up its sides, and allow the pudding to boil therein for one hour and a half. When done, turn the pudding out upon a hot platter, and serve with a German sweet sauce poured around. (See page 179.) Trifle.— Four small sponge-cakes, one quarter pound ratafia, one quarter pound macaroons, one half pint sherry, one pint cream, one quarter ounce pistachio nuts, four large table -spoonfuls strawberry jam. Break up in rough pieces four stale penny sponge-cakes, place them in the trifle dish, add the macaroons, and pour over the sherry. Allow this to soak for two hours. Place then the pistachio nuts in a small sauce-pan, cover them with cold water, and boil them for two minutes; pour away the water, and skin the nuts, place them on a board and chop them very finely. Place the cream in a basin, and with an egg- whisk whip into a stiff froth. At the end of two hours place over the soaked cake and macaroons the jam, then pile very high the whipped cream over the top, arrange round the edges the ratifias, and sprinkle over all the pistachio nuts. [illustration: RAILWAY PUDDING — CHOCOLATE PUDDING. 153] Eailway Pudding. — One tea-cupful of powdered sugar, one tea-cupful of flour, one ounce of butter, one dessertspoonful of baking-powder, three eggs, one half dozen drops of essence of almonds, one table-spoonful of milk. Grease thoroughly with the butter the inside of a breadtin. Mix -together in a large bowl the flour and sugar, and add to these, when mixed, the baking-powder. Break the eggs into a small bowl, and beat them until very light, pour in with them the milk, drop into this the essence of almonds ; and when these are well stirred together pour all over the preparation in the large bowl. Now stir all together, and when this is done pour the mixture into the bread-tin, and placing this in a very quick oven bake it for ten minutes. When baked, take tue pudding from the oven, cut it into six or eight equal pieced, and arranging these upon a flat dish, sprinkle over them a little powdered sugar. A wine sauce should be sent to the table with this, to be poured in ladlef uls over the pieces of pudding as they are served. (See "Sauces," page 181.) NOTES. — This pudding should be put into the oven immediately after it is mixed. The baking-powder begins to ferment the instant that it is moistened, and it is this process which must be taken advantage of in baking quickly, to raise the pudding and make it light.