196
PORTUGUESE CAKE
(Focaccia alla Portoghese)
Sweet almonds, five ounces.
Granulated sugar, five ounces.
Potato meal, one and a half ounce.
Three eggs.
One big orange or two small.
First mix the yolks of the eggs with the sugar, then add the flour, then the almonds skinned and chopped fine, then the orange juice (through a colander) then a taste of orange peel. Finally add to the mixture the whites of the eggs well beaten. Put in a paper mold greased evenly with b.u.t.ter, with a thickness of about an inch and bake in a very moderately hot oven. After baked, cover with a white glaze or frost, made with powdered sugar, lemon juice and the white of eggs.
197
MACAROONS
(Amaretti)
I
Granulated sugar, nine ounces.
Sweet almonds, three and a half ounces.
Bitter almonds, half of the above quant.i.ty.
Whites of egg, two.
Skin and dry the almonds, then chop them very fine. Mix the sugar and the whites of egg and stir for about half an hour, then add the almonds to form a rather hard paste. Of this make little b.a.l.l.s, as large as a small walnut. If the paste is too soft add a little b.u.t.ter, if too hard add a little white of egg, this time beaten. Were it desired to give the macaroons a brownish color, mix with the paste a little burnt sugar.
As you form the little ball, that you will flatten to the thickness of one third of an inch, put them over wafers or on pieces of paper or in a baking tin greased with b.u.t.ter and sprinkled with half flour and half powdered sugar. Dispose them at a certain distance from one another as they will enlarge and swell, remaining empty inside.
Bake in an oven moderately hot.
II
Powdered sugar, ten and a half ounces.
Sweet almonds, three ounces.
Bitter almonds, one ounce.
Two whites of egg.
Skin the almonds and dry them in the sun or on the fire, then chop and grind very fine with one white of egg poured in various times. When this is done, put half of the sugar, stirring and kneading with your hand.
Then pour everything in a large bowl and, always mixing, add half of the other white of egg, then the other half of the sugar and finally the other half of the white.
In this way an h.o.m.ogenous mixture will be obtained of the right firmness. Shake into a kind of a stick and cut it in rounds all equal, one third of an inch thick. Take them up one by one with moistened fingers and make little b.a.l.l.s as large as a walnut. Flatten them to the thickness of a third of an inch and for the rest proceed as said above, but dust with powdered sugar before putting in a hot oven.
With this dose about thirty macarons can be obtained.
198
FARINA CAKES
(Pasticcini di semolino)
Farina, six and a half ounces.
Sugar, three and a half ounces.
Pine-seeds, two ounces.
b.u.t.ter, a small piece.
Milk, one quart.
Four eggs.
A pinch of salt.
Taste of lemon peel.
Cook the farina in the milk and when it begins to thicken pour the pine-seeds, previously chopped fine and pounded with the sugar, then the b.u.t.ter and the rest, less the eggs which must be put in last when the mixture has completely cooled. Then place the whole well mixed in little molds, greased evenly with b.u.t.ter and sprinkled with bread crumbs ground fine, and bake.
199
RICE TART
(Torta di riso)
Milk, one quart.
Rice, seven ounces.
Sugar, five and a half ounces.
Sweet almonds with four bitter ones, three and a half ounces.
Candied cedar (angelica), one ounce.
Three whole eggs.
Five egg-yolks.
Taste of lemon peel.
A pinch of salt.
Skin the almonds and grind or pound them with two tablespoonfuls of the sugar.
Cut the candied cedar in very small cubes. Cook the rice in the milk until it is quite firm, put in all the ingredients except the eggs, which are added when the mixture is cold. Put the entire mixture in a baking tin greased with b.u.t.ter and sprinkled with bread crumbs ground fine, harden in the oven and after 24 hours cut the tart into diamonds.
When serving dust with powdered sugar.
200
FARINA TART
(Torta di semolino)
Milk, one quart.
Farina finely ground, four and a half ounces.
Sugar, four and a half ounces.
Sweet almonds with three bitter, three and a half ounces.