Soyer's standard cookery

INGREDIENTS. — Four ounces of finely-grated chocolate, six ounces of flour, four ounces of sugar, two ounces of butter, one pint of milk, six yolks of eggs, eight whites of eggs, one teaspoonful of vanilla essence, custard, or other suitable sweet sauce. METHOD. — Place the milk and chocolate in a small stewpan and simmer gently until dissolved. Melt the butter, stir in the flour, add the chocolate mixture, and boil well. Let it cool a little, add the vanilla, sugar, the yolks of eggs one at a time, give the whole a good beating, then stir in as lightly as possible the stiffly-whisked whites of eggs. Turn into a well-buttered mold, and steam gently from forty-five to fifty minutes. Serve the sauce round the dish. Orange Souffle. INGREDIENTS. — Two oranges, six ounces of cakecrumbs, six ounces of breadcrumbs, four ounces of castor sugar, two ounces of butter, four eggs, one and a half pints of milk, one small glass of noyeau, a few glace cherries. METHOD. — Boil the milk, pour it over the crumbs, and let them soak while the other ingredients are being prepared. Cream the butter and sugar as usual, add the yolks and two whites of eggs, and beat well. Now add the rind of one orange, grated or finely chopped, a dessertspoonful of orange juice, noyeau, and the cakecrumbs. Turn the mixture into a buttered souffle dish, and bake from twenty-five to thirty minutes in a moderately hot oven. Have ready the remaining white whisked to a stiff froth, spread it lightly over the surface of the souffle, dredge with castor sugar, and garnish with the cherries. Replace in the oven until the meringue acquires a little color, and serve. Prune Souffle INGREDIENTS. — One pound of prunes, eight ounces of castor sugar, two ounces of flour, one ounce of butter, one ounce of almonds blanched and shredded, two lemons, six eggs. METHOD. — Wash the prunes and soak them in cold water for three or four hours. Then place them in a jar with the lemon rind pared as thinly as possible, and a little cold water, and cook until tender. When cold, remove the stones, and cut the prunes into small pieces. Cream the yolks of the eggs and sugar together, stir in the flour, add half of the prepared almonds, two teaspoonfuls of lemon juice and the prunes, and mix well. Whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, add half of it lightly to the rest of the ingredients, and pour the mixture into a buttered souffle dish or pie-dish. Bake for about fifteen minutes in a moderate oven, then pile the remainder of the white of eggs on the top, dredge with castor sugar, and scatter on the almonds. Replace in the oven, bake from fifteen to twenty minutes longer, and serve hot. Raspberry Souffle. INGREDIENTS. — One pound of ripe raspberries, four ounces of cakecrumbs or breadcrumbs, four ounces of castor sugar, four ounces of rice flour or cornflour, one ounce of butter, one gill of cream, eight eggs. METHOD. — Put the raspberries, cream, rice, flour, and sugar into a bowl, and reduce them to a pulp by means of a wooden spoon. Beat in the yolks of the eggs, add the cakecrumbs, stir in lightly the stiffly-whisked whites of eggs, and turn the mixture into a well-buttered mold. Bake in a hot oven from twenty-five to thirty minutes, and serve as quickly as possible. Rice and Apple Souffle.