A Little Cook Book for a Little Girl by Caroline French Benton (most interesting books to read TXT) 📖

over it the coffee, boiling hot. When it is dissolved, put in the sugar and boiling water and strain; put in little individual moulds, and turn out with whipped cream under each one. Or, set in a large mould, and have whipped cream around it.

Snow Pudding

1/2 box of gelatine. 1 pint of cold water. 3 eggs. Juice of three lemons. 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.

Pour the water over the gelatine and let it stand ten minutes; then put the bowl over the fire and stir till it is dissolved, and take it off at once. As soon as it seems nearly cold, beat to a froth with the egg-beater. Beat the whites of the eggs stiffly, and add to the gelatine, with the lemon juice and sugar, and mix well. Put in a mould and set on ice. Make a soft custard by the rule, and pour around the pudding when you serve it.

Velvet Cream

1/4 box of gelatine. 1 pint milk. 2 eggs. 3 tablespoonfuls of sugar. Small teaspoonful of vanilla.

Put the gelatine in the milk and soak fifteen minutes; put on the stove and heat till it steams, but do not let it boil; stir carefully often, as there is danger of its burning. Beat the yolks of the eggs with the sugar, and put these in the custard, and cook till it all thickens and is smooth, but do not boil it. Strain, cool, and add the vanilla, and last fold in the beaten whites of the eggs, and put in a mould on the ice.

Preserved peaches laid around this are very nice, or rich pineapple, or apricot jam; or a ring of whipped cream, with bits of red jelly, make a pretty border.

Easy Charlotte Russe

1/4 box gelatine. 1/2 pint of milk. 1 pint thick cream. 1/2 cup powdered sugar. 1 small teaspoonful vanilla.

Put the gelatine in the milk and stand on the stove till the gelatine is dissolved, stirring often. Then take it off, and beat with the egg-beater till cold. Beat the cream with the egg-beater till perfectly stiff, put in the sugar and vanilla, and mix with the milk, and set on ice in a mould. When you wish to use it, turn out and put lady-fingers split in halves all around it.

PUDDING SAUCES

Orange Sauce

3 egg-whites. 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Juice of 2 oranges. Grated rind.

Beat the egg-whites very stiff, add the sugar, then the grated orange-peel, then the juice; beat up lightly and serve at once.

Delicious Maple Sauce

2 egg-yolks. 1/4 cup maple syrup. 1/2 cup whipped cream.

Beat the yolks very light, putting in a pinch of salt; put in the syrup and cook till the spoon coats over when you dip it in; then cool and beat in the whipped cream, and serve very cold.

Hard Sauce

Beat together a half-cup of powdered sugar and a half-cup of butter with a fork till both are light and creamy. Flavor with a teaspoonful of vanilla and put on the ice to harden.

Foamy Sauce

1/2 cup butter. 1/2 cup boiling water. 1 cup powdered sugar. 1 teaspoonful vanilla. White of one egg.

Rub the butter and sugar to a cream; add vanilla and beat well. When it is time to serve, beat the egg stiff, stir the boiling water into the sugar and butter, and then put in the egg and beat till foamy, standing it on the stove as you do so, to keep it hot. Serve in the sauce-boat.

Grandmother's Sauce

1 cup sugar. 1/2 cup butter. Yolks of two eggs. 1/4 cup boiling water. A dusting of nutmeg.

Cream the butter and sugar, stir in the beaten yolk, and last the boiling water. Beat till foamy, and then dust with nutmeg.

Lemon Sauce

White of one egg. 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Juice of half a lemon.

Beat the egg, add the sugar and lemon, and beat again.

White Sauce

1 tablespoonful of corn-starch. 1/2 cup cold water. 1 cup boiling water. 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Pinch of salt. 2 whites of eggs. 1 teaspoonful alons extract.

Dissolve the corn-starch in the cold water, and then add the boiling water and sugar and salt, and cook for fifteen minutes, stirring all the time. Take from the fire and fold in the stiffly beaten egg-whites with the flavoring, and beat till perfectly cold. Any flavoring will do for this sauce; pistache is very nice.

Quick Pudding Sauce

1 egg. 1/2 cup powdered sugar. 1 teaspoonful vanilla.

Put the egg in a bowl without separating it and beat till very light; then pour in the sugar very slowly, beating all the time; add the vanilla and serve at once.

This is a very nice sauce, and so simple to make that Margaret learned it among the first of her rules.

Ice-creams and Ices

Margaret had a little ice-cream freezer which was all her own, and held only enough for two little girls to eat at a tea-party, and this she could pack alone. When she made ice-cream for all the family she had to use the larger freezer, of course, and this Bridget helped her pack. But the same rule was used for either the large one or the small. First break up the ice in a thick bag with a hammer until the pieces are as large as eggs, and all about the same size. Then put two big bowls or dippers of this into a tub or pail, and add one bowl or dipper of coarse salt, and so on, till you have enough, mixing it well with a long-handled spoon. Put the freezer in its pail and put the cover on; then fill the space between with the ice and salt till it is full, pressing it down as you work. Let it stand now in a cool place, till you know the inside is very cold, and then wipe off the top carefully and pour in the cream, which must be very cold, too. Put on the top and turn smoothly and slowly till it is stiff, which should be fifteen minutes. Then draw off the water from the pail, wipe the top of the cover again, so no salt can get in, and take out the dasher, pushing the cream down with a spoon from the sides and packing it firmly. Put a cork in the hole in the cover, and put it on tightly. Mix more ice with a little salt; only a cupful to two bowls this time, and pack the freezer again up to the top. Wring out a heavy cloth in the salty water you drew off the pail, and cover it over tightly with this, and then stand in a cool, dark place till you need it; all ice-creams are better for standing two hours.

Plain Ice-cream

3 cups of cream. 1 cup of milk. 1 small cup of sugar. 2 teaspoonfuls vanilla.

Put the cream, milk, and sugar on the fire, and stir till the sugar dissolves and cream just wrinkles on top; do not let it boil. Take it off, beat it till it is cold, add the vanilla, and freeze.

French Ice-cream

1 pint of milk. 1 cup of cream. 1 cup of sugar. 4 eggs. 1 tablespoonful vanilla. 1 saltspoonful of salt.

Put the milk on the fire and let it just scald or wrinkle. Beat the yolks of the eggs, put in the sugar, and beat again; then pour the hot milk into these slowly, and the salt, and put it on the fire in the double boiler and let it cook to a nice thick cream. (This is a plain boiled custard, such as you made for floating island.) Take it off and let it cool while you beat the whites of the eggs stiff, and then the cup of cream. Put the eggs in first lightly when the custard is entirely cold, and then the whipped cream last, and the vanilla, and freeze.

Coffee Ice-cream

Make either of these creams, and flavor with half a cup of strong coffee in place of vanilla.

Chocolate Ice-cream

Make plain ice-cream; melt two squares of chocolate in a little saucer over the teakettle. Mix a little of the milk or cream with this, and stir it smooth, and then put it in with the rest. You will need to use a large cup of sugar instead of a small one in making this, as the chocolate is not sweetened.

Peach Ice-cream

Peel, cut up, and mash a cup of peaches. Make plain ice-cream, with a large cup of sugar, and when it is cold stir in the peaches and freeze.

Strawberry Ice-cream

Mix a large cup of berries, mashed and strained carefully so that there are no seeds, with the ice-cream, and freeze.

The Easiest Ice-cream of All—Vanilla Parfait

1 cup of sugar. 1 cup of water. Whites of three eggs. 1 pint of cream. 1 teaspoonful vanilla.

Put the sugar and water in a nice enamelled saucepan and cook it without stirring. You must shake the pan often to prevent its burning, but if you stir it, it will make it sugary. After about five minutes hold your spoon up in the air and drop one drop back into the saucepan; if a little thread is made which blows off to one side, it is done, but if not you must cook till it does. If your fire is very hot it may make the thread in less time, so try it every few moments. Have the whites of your eggs beaten very stiff, and slowly pour the syrup into them, beating hard with a fork all the time. You must keep on beating till this is cold. Have ready a pint of thick cream, whipped very stiff, either with a Dover egg-beater, or in a little tin cream-churn, and when the egg is cold, mix the two lightly and put in the vanilla. If you have a mould with a tight cover, put it in this, but if not, take a lard-pail; cover tightly, and stand in a pail on a layer of ice and salt, mixed just as for freezing ice-cream, and pile more ice and salt all over it, the more the better. Let this stand five hours, or four will do, if necessary, and turn the cream on a pretty dish. After you have made this once it will seem no trouble at all to make it.

If your mother would like a change from this recipe sometimes, try putting in the yolks of the eggs, well beaten, with the cream, and use some other flavoring.

Lemon Ice

1 quart of water. 4 lemons. 2 1/2 cups sugar. 1 orange.

Boil the sugar and water for ten minutes; strain it and add the juice of the lemons and orange; cool and freeze.

Orange Ice

1 quart of water. 6 oranges. 1 lemon. 2 1/2 cups sugar.

Prepare exactly as you did lemon ice.

Strawberry Ice

1 quart of water. 2 1/2 cups sugar. 1 1/2 cups strawberry juice, strained. Prepare like lemon ice.

Raspberry Ice

1 quart of water. 2 1/2 cups sugar. 1 1/2 cups raspberry-juice, strained. Prepare like lemon ice.

Peach Surprise

1 quart of peaches cut up in small bits. 2 cups of sugar. Whites of five eggs.

Do not beat the eggs at all; just mix everything together and put in the freezer and stir till stiff; this is very delicious, and the easiest thing to make there is.

When Margaret wanted to make her own freezer full of ice-cream, she just took a cup of cream and heated it with the sugar, and when it was cold put in three drops of vanilla and froze it.

CAKE

Next after the ices in her book, Margaret found the cake to eat with them, and first of all there was a rule for some little cakes which the smallest girl in the neighborhood used to make all alone.

Eleanor's Cakes

1/4 cup of butter. 1/2 cup of sugar. 1/4 cup of milk. 1 egg. 1 cup flour. 1 teaspoonful baking-powder. 1/2 teaspoonful of vanilla.

Rub the butter and sugar to a cream, beat the egg light without separating, and put it in next; then the milk, a little at a time; mix the baking-powder with the flour and stir in, and last the vanilla. Bake in small scalloped