This is made same as almond custard, but using cocoanut cream instead of the almond meal. This cocoanut cream, which is put up in tablets, is exceedingly useful for almost every variety of pudding, icing for cakes, &c.
It has only to be chopped down or melted, and serves the double purpose of giving flavour and substance.
Canary Pudding.
Four ozs. flour, 4 ozs. b.u.t.ter or 3 ozs. Table Nut b.u.t.ter, 2 eggs, 3 ozs. sugar, 1 teaspoonful baking powder.
Melt b.u.t.ter in saucepan. Add the sugar and eggs beaten up, the flour and baking powder; lastly, 2 tablespoonfuls milk. Mix thoroughly. b.u.t.ter well a plain mould, and put into it some jam or marmalade. Pour in pudding, cover with b.u.t.tered paper, and steam for 2 hours.
Artox Queen Pudding.
2 oz. Artox bread crumbs, 2 oz. sugar, 1/2 pint milk, rind of half a lemon, 2 eggs, and a little raspberry jam. Boil the milk, pour over crumbs, and add yolks of the eggs, sugar and lemon rind. Bake in a greased pie-dish 20 minutes in a moderate oven, then spread over about 2 tablespoonfuls of hot raspberry jam. Beat up the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth and place over the jam, then put in oven for about three minutes to set.
Appel-Moes (Dutch Recipe).
Peel, core, and slice quant.i.ty of apples required. Stew or steam in covered jar with sugar and flavouring of cinnamon. Pulp through a sieve with whipped cream or as a sauce for steamed pudding.
Lemon Sponge.
Soak 1/8 oz. vegetable gelatine in a tumbler of water for an hour. Strain and put in saucepan with a tumbler fresh water and 5 ozs. loaf sugar. Stir till gelatine is dissolved. Add juice of 2 lemons, and strain through sieve. When cool add the whites of two eggs, and switch till quite light and spongy throughout--about three quarters of an hour. Put in mould, or when set pile up in rocky spoonfuls.
Lemon Cream Mould.
1 large lemon, 3 eggs, 6 ozs. sugar, 3/4 pint (3 teacupfuls) milk, 1/6 oz.
vegetable gelatine.
Soak gelatine in cold water for at least an hour. Drain and put to come slowly to boil in the milk. Separate whites from yolks of eggs, and put the latter in large basin with the sugar and yellow part of lemon rind grated.
Beat thoroughly and strain boiling milk over, stirring all the time. Return to saucepan, bring just to boil, and set aside to cool. Beat up whites of eggs very stiff and mix in lightly, adding the strained juice of lemon. Put in mould or gla.s.s dish, and set in cool place till quite firm.
Cobden Pudding.
Four ozs. grain granules, 2 ozs. sugar, 1 oz. cocoanut cream, 3 ozs.
stoned raisins, 2 eggs, 3 gills milk.
Put grain granules, sugar, raisins, and cocoanut cream in large basin.
Bring milk to boil and pour over. Cover and let stand till cool. Beat up yolks and add, and lastly the whites beaten stiff. Pour into b.u.t.tered pudding-dish and bake in moderate oven for an hour.
JAMS AND JELLIES.
We have not s.p.a.ce to go into these at any length. The following are one or two of my "very own," as the children say, which are voted a great success.
Apple Jam.
Take quant.i.ty required--say 7 lbs.--tart crisp apples. Wash well and dry.
Pare and core, putting the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs in water to cover. Cut up the best of the apples into small pieces--not too thin--and set aside, also covered with cold water. Put on the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs to boil with some lemon rind and either a few sticks of cinnamon or some cloves. Simmer for an hour or longer, till all the goodness is drawn out, mashing freely with a wooden spoon. Turn into jelly-bag and allow to drain without pressure. Pour the water off the apples, measure that and the drained juice, and put into preserving pan.
Measure the apple chips also, and add when the liquid boils. Allow 14 ozs.
loaf sugar to each breakfast cupful, and boil till the apples are clear, but not broken down--about 20 minutes. Skim and pot as usual. If ginger flavouring is preferred, shave down about 6 ozs. preserved ginger, and add when the juice is put on to boil.
Marmalade Jelly.
Take 3 lbs. fruit--6 bitter oranges, 3 sweet ones and 3 lemons. Remove the rinds and grate them small, or put through a mincer. Cut up the oranges, removing the seeds, which put in a tumbler of water. Cover the oranges, &c., with 17 tumblers cold water, and let stand for at least 24 hours. Put all in jelly-pan, including the water drained from the seeds, and let boil gently, for about 2 hours, mashing frequently with a wooden spoon. Let drain without pressure. Measure the juice, and to each pint allow 14 ozs.
sugar, which add after the liquid boils. Boil fast for a few minutes, try if it will set. Skim and pot. But the pulp must not be thrown out, for it makes an excellent, if rather homely,
Marmalade,
which comes in specially useful for steamed puddings, &c. Weigh the pulp, and allow equal weight of sugar. Boil gently, taking great care not to burn, till clear--20 to 30 minutes.
Green Gooseberry and Strawberry Jam.
This will be appreciated by those who find the ordinary strawberry jam rather sweet and heavy. Take equal quant.i.ties of gooseberries and strawberries--say 3 lbs. of each. Trim the gooseberries, which must be firm and freshly pulled, and wash well. Put on to boil with a teacupful water to each lb. of gooseberries, and boil for 10 minutes. Add the strawberries and the sugar lb. for lb., and boil for 20 minutes longer, or till it will "jell," as Meg would say.
Green Gooseberry Jam
is made with the gooseberries alone, prepared as above. A little grated lemon rind, &c., might be used for flavouring. Then if one is making
Green Gooseberry Jelly,
top and tail the fruit very carefully, removing every tough or discoloured one. Put on to boil, well covered with water. Add flavouring or not as preferred, and simmer gently for an hour or so. Drain without pressure.
Allow 14 ozs. to pint of juice, and boil rapidly about 10 minutes. Allow 1 lb. sugar to each lb. of the pulp. Boil together for about 20 minutes, and this will give a very good, if rough and ready, jam.
Jelly without Boiling.
Everyone who can get good red or white currants should try making the jelly without boiling. I got the recipe from a friend many years ago, and can recommend it as a way in which the fresh flavour of the fruit is preserved to perfection. Wring the currants in usual way, and to each pint of juice allow 14 ozs. loaf sugar, which must be pure cane. I believe crystalised will do, but I have never tried it. Granulated or beet sugar will not do.
Put juice and sugar in a strong basin and beat with the back of a wooden spoon till the sugar is quite dissolved, which will take about half-an-hour.
Skim and pot. It should be quite firm by next day, and will keep for a year or longer--if it escapes consumption.
Bramble Jelly.
This is one of the finest preserves one can make--especially if we have gathered the fruit. The brambles should not be too ripe, but should have a good proportion of hard red ones. Wash well in cold water and put on with water to barely cover. Simmer gently for an hour or longer, bruising well with wooden spoon. Drain without pressure. Measure, and allow 14 ozs.
sugar to pint, _i.e._, breakfast cupful. Allow the juice to boil up well. Add the sugar, boil fast for a few minutes, skim and pot.
NOTE.--Only pure cane sugar should be used for preserves. Add the sugar when the preserve is boiling--nearly ready indeed. It only requires to be thoroughly dissolved and boiled through. This method goes far to prevent burning and loss of flavour.