À la mode cookery

The pink colouring is made by adding white cream to the jelly, which is coloured with cochineal ; white by mixing cream with the jelly ; blue by mixing damson-blue with cream ; brown with essence of coffee and cream worked into the jelly ; black, blackcurrant jelly in which a little gelatine has been mixed. Have eight ballet-moulds ready and fill them, a different colour in each. Put on ice ; when frozen, turn out and serve. [illustration: See Plate XVIII.] Banana Blanc Mange Soak an ounce of gelatine in a pint of cold water add the strained juice of a lemon with half a pint of L 2 castor sugar ; set over till dissolved, taking care it does not boil. Strain, and let it get cold. Take three bananas, mash them well and beat them ; then whip as stiffly as possible the whites of two eggs, which add to the banana pulp and beat again till well mixed. Now put in the gelatine, adding a little gradually, stirring and beating the whole time, for at least fifteen minutes. Set in a cool place till wanted, and serve with it custard sauce flavoured with blackberry brandy or plain brandy. Surprise Mushrooms (Champignons en Surprise) Take some mushroom-moulds, line the bottom part with a cream flavoured with either vanilla or curagoa. The upper part of the mould should be made with chocolate cream, and in the little cavity white cream must be placed. Put the parts separately on ice, and when set turn out the upper or chocolate-moulds and place them on the top of the lower moulds ; put on ice again, and turn out on a bed of green jelly flavoured with curacoa. If green curagoa is used to flavour the jelly, it will not require any more flavouring. [illustration: See Plate XX.] Barberry Cream (Creme a I'Epine Vinette) Take half a pint of barberry jelly and half a tablet of Chivers' calfs-foot jelly ; mix it with a pint of whipped cream. Stir over a slow fire till the jelly is dissolved. When removed from the fire, add a little cochineal, sweeten to taste, beat to a froth, and pour into a mould to set. Brandy Cherries in Masquerade Take a bottle of brandy cherries, drain the brandy from them, and dust them over with sugar and flour mixed. Make an icing with the white of one egg and enough icing sugar to be sufficiently stiff, dip each cherry into this, holding the fruit by the stem. Lay them in the screen or some warm place to set. Should the cherries not be all well covered, retouch with the icing. When they are firm, arrange them tastefully in a dish with asparagus fern or maidenhair. [illustration: See Plate XXIII.] Bordure à la Beaconsfield The moulds for this entremet are to be procured at Jones Brothers. Make a cake mixture by beating up three eggs and four ounces of castor sugar to a cream, add four ounces of flour and four ounces of dissolved butter, which must be nearly cold ; mix well and put into the little Savarin-moulds and bake. For the decoration of the mould prepare a custard with two yolks of eggs in a gill of milk and a piece of sugar, warm it on the fire, add a leaf of gelatine and some red