Handbook of practical cookery

sieve, and Jet them get quite cold. Then with a tea-spoon scoop out the centre, making as large a hole as possible without breaking the edges. Rub over the outsides the red currant jelly, and in the cavity of each place an equal quantity of apricot jam ; then pour over the sherry, and allow them to soak for a few minutes. In the meantime, place in a small basin the cream, and with a couple of forks whip it to a froth, and then pile an equal quantity over the apricot jam in each cake. Place them carefully in a glass dish, and chop very finely the nuts, and sprinkle them over. NOTE. — Prepare the pistachio nuts in the following manner before chopping them: — Place them in a small sauce-pan, cover them with cold water, and allow them to boil for two minutes ; strain them from the water, place them in a basin of cold water, then remove the skins. The nuts when skinned ought to have a bright-green colour. Fairy Butter. — Two ounces of butter, the rind of one lemon, one half tea-spoonful lemon-juice, ten macaroons, three ounces ratifia biscuit, one wine-glassful of sherry, two ounces of sugar. Place the macaroons and ratifias in a crystal dish, pour over them in spoonfuls the sherry, and allow them to soak for an hour ; sprinkle then over them the sugar. Place then in a basin the butter, grate over it the lemon-rind, add the juice, and with the back of a spoon beat all together till very smooth. Place a wire sieve over the crystal dish, and rub the butter through with the spoon, allowing it to fall over the macaroons. Solid Custard. — One quarter pint cream, one quarter pint milk, one quarter ounce gelatine, the yolks of two eggs, two ounces of sugar, one small tea-spoonful essence of vanilla. Soak the gelatine in a small basin with one gill of milk for ten minutes, then add the sugar and the remainder of the milk. Pour all into a sauce-pan, and stir over the fire [illustration: RUSSIAN PANCAKES— FRENCH PUDDING. 171] until boiling. Take the pan from the fire, and when the mixture is almost cold add the cream and vanilla. Break now in a basin the eggs when beaten till very light, pour over them the mixture in the sauce-pan ; pour all back into the pan, return the pan to the fire, and stir the contents until very hot, but do not let it boil. Take the pan again from the fire, and allow the custard to become quite cold ; stir it frequently while it is cooling, to prevent the gelatine settling to the bottom. Dip a mould in cold water, and pour into it the custard, to allow it to set. When set, turn out into a glass dish, and arrange round a little red currant jelly. Russian Pancakes. — One and one-half ounce of butter, two ounces of flour, two ounces of sugar, two eggs. Grease well with butter four breakfast saucers. Place in a basin the butter, and beat it to a cream with the back of a spoon ; add the sugar, then by degrees the flour. When the butter, sugar, and flour are thoroughly mixed, beat in a separate basin the eggs until very light. Add the eggs lightly and quickly to the other ingredients, and half fill the saucers with the mixture. Place the saucers in rather a quick oven, and bake for twenty minutes. When ready, turn them out of the saucers, fold them together, and, if desired, place a little jam in each. Very good only with sugar.