Cold Sweets

2612—SAUCES AND ACCOMPANIMENTS OF COLD SWEETS

Cold sweets allow of the following sauces:—

(1) _English Custard_ (2397), flavoured according to fancy.

(2) _Syrups_ of apricot, of mirabelle plums, of greengages, of red-currant, &c., the particular flavour of which should always be intensified by the addition of a liqueur in keeping with the fruit forming the base of the syrup. Kirsch and Maraschino are admirably suited to this purpose.

(3) _Purées of fresh fruit_, such as strawberries, raspberries, red-currants, etc., combined with a little powdered sugar, and used plain or mixed with a little whipped cream.

(4) _Chantilly Cream_, flavoured as fancy may suggest.

Finally, certain entremets allow of the following sauce:—

2613—CHERRY SAUCE

Gently melt one lb. of raspberry-flavoured red-currant jelly. Pour it into a cold basin, and add to it an equal quantity of freshly-prepared cherry juice, the juice of two blood-oranges, a little powdered ginger, and a few drops of carmine; the latter with the view of giving the preparation a sufficiently strong and distinctive colour. Finally add a quarter of a lb. of half-sugared cherries, softened in a tepid, Kirsch-flavoured syrup.

These are of two kinds:—

(1) Bavarois with cream, and (2) Bavarois with fruit.

2614—CREAM BAVAROIS

_Preparation_: Work one lb. of castor sugar with fourteen egg-yolks in a saucepan, dilute with a pint and a half of boiled milk, in which a stick of vanilla has previously been infused, and two-thirds of an oz. of gelatine dipped in cold water.

Put the preparation on a mild fire until it properly veneers the withdrawn spoon, and do not let it boil. Pass it through the strainer into an enamelled basin; let it cool, stirring it from time to time; and, when it begins to thicken, add one and a half pints of whipped cream, three oz. of powdered sugar, and two-thirds oz. of vanilla sugar.

2615—BAVAROIS AUX FRUITS

_Constituents._—One pint of fruit purée, diluted with one pint of syrup at 30° (saccharom.). Add the juice of three lemons, one oz. of dissolved gelatine, strained through linen, and one pint of whipped cream. The preparation for fruit Bavarois may be combined with fruit of the same nature as that used for the purée; and this fruit may be added raw in the case of strawberries, raspberries, red-currants, etc., and poached in the case of pulpy fruits, such as pears, peaches, apricots, etc.

2616—THE MOULDING AND DISHING OF BAVAROIS

Bavarois are generally moulded in fancy moulds fitted with a central tube, slightly greased with sweet almond oil. When they are greased they are incrusted in broken ice after the preparation has been covered with a round sheet of white paper.

When about to serve, the mould is quickly plunged into tepid water, wiped, and turned out upon a dish, which may or may not be covered with a folded napkin.

Instead of oiling the moulds they may be covered with a thin coat of sugar cooked to the _caramel_ stage, which besides making the Bavarois sightly, also gives it an excellent taste. Another very advisable method is that of serving the Bavarois in a deep silver timbale or dish, surrounded with ice. In this case, the entremet not having to be turned out, the preparation does not need to be so cohesive, and is therefore much more delicate.

When the Bavarois is served after this last method it is sometimes accompanied by stewed fruit or a _Macédoine_ of fresh fruit; though, in reality, these fruit adjuncts are better suited to cold puddings, which, in some points, are not unlike Bavarois.

Finally, when the Bavarois is moulded, it may be decorated, just before being served, with Chantilly cream laid on by means of a piping-bag fitted with a grooved pipe.

2617—BAVAROIS CLERMONT

Take some vanilla-flavoured Bavarois preparation combined with three oz. of candied chestnut purée and three oz. of candied chestnuts, broken into small pieces, per pint of the preparation.

Having turned out the Bavarois, surround it with a crown of fine candied chestnuts.

2618—BAVAROIS DIPLOMATE

_Clothe_ a timbale mould with a layer of vanilla-flavoured Bavarois preparation. Fill it with chocolate and strawberry Bavarois preparations, spread in alternate and regular layers.

2619—BAVAROIS MY QUEEN

_Clothe_ a Bavarois mould with a preparation of slightly-sugared raw cream, combined with dissolved gelatine. Then fill up the mould with a Bavarois preparation, made from strawberry purée and combined with large strawberries, macerated in Kirsch. When the entremet is turned out surround it with a border of large strawberries, also macerated in sugar and Kirsch.

2620—BAVAROIS A LA RELIGIEUSE

_Clothe_ a mould with some chocolate dissolved in a syrup containing a somewhat large proportion of gelatine. Garnish the inside of the mould with a vanilla-flavoured Bavarois preparation, made from plain instead of whipped cream.

2621—BAVAROIS RUBANNÉ

This kind of Bavarois is made from differently-coloured and differently-flavoured preparations, spread in alternate layers in the mould.

It is therefore governed by no hard and fast rules, and every kind of Bavarois preparation may be used.

2622—VARIOUS CREAM BAVAROIS

Almond, anisette, filbert, coffee, chocolate, Kirsch, fresh walnut, orange, and violet Bavarois, &c., may be prepared after No. 2614; the flavour alone undergoing any change.

2623—VARIOUS FRUIT BAVAROIS

After the generic recipe, Bavarois may be prepared from pine-apple, apricots, strawberries, raspberries, melon, etc.

2624—BLANC-MANGE

Blanc-mange is scarcely ever served nowadays, and this is a pity; seeing that, when it is well prepared, it is one of the best entremets that can be set before a diner. Blanc-mange, as it is prepared in England, is quite different from that generally served; but it is nevertheless an excellent and very wholesome entremet, and that is why I have given its recipe below.

As a matter of fact, in order to justify its name, blanc-mange ought always to be beautifully white; but, for a long time since, the compound word has lost its original meaning. The adjective and noun composing it have fused one with the other to form a single generic title, which may now be applied with equal propriety to both coloured and white preparations; and the verbal error is so old, dating as it does from pre-Carême times, that it would be futile to try and correct it.

2625—FRENCH BLANC-MANGE

_Preparation._—Skin one lb. of sweet almonds and four or five bitter almonds, and soak them well in fresh water that they may be quite white.

Pound them as finely as possible; adding to them the while (in spoonfuls at a time) one pint of water. Strain the whole through a strong towel, twisting the latter tightly; melt one lb. of loaf-sugar in the resulting milk (about one and half pints); add a bare oz. of gelatine dissolved in tepid syrup; strain the whole through muslin, and flavour according to taste.

_Moulding_:—Mould the blanc-mange in oiled moulds fitted with centre-tubes as for Bavarois. Incrust them in ice that their contents may set, and proceed for the turning-out as already directed.

N.B.—For the preparation of almond milk, modern Cookery has substituted for the procedure given above, which is antiquated, another which consists in pounding the almonds with only a few table-spoonfuls of water and some very thin cream.

2626—BLANC-MANGE WITH FRUIT AND LIQUEURS

All fruits, reduced to purées, may serve in the preparation of blanc-manges, and the apportionment of the ingredients should be as follows:—the purée of the selected fruit and the preparation given above (including the same amount of gelatine) should be mixed in equal quantities.

These blanc-manges take the name of the fruit with which they are prepared, _i.e._: strawberries, raspberries, apricots, peaches, etc. They may also be prepared with liqueurs, which should be in the proportion of one liqueur glassful to one quart of the preparation. The best liqueurs for the purpose are Kirsch, Maraschino and Rum.

Blanc-manges are also made from chocolate and coffee, although the flavour of the latter does not blend so well with that of almonds as do the other products.

2627—BLANC-MANGES “RUBANNÉS”

Prepare these as directed under No. 2621, spreading the differently flavoured and coloured blanc-mange preparations in alternate even and regular layers.

N.B.—Blanc-mange preparations may also be dished in silver timbales, in good china cases, or in deep dishes. By this means, to the great improvement of the preparation, the gelatine may be reduced to a minimum quantity, just enough to ensure the setting of the blanc-mange and no more. And the thing is quite possible inasmuch as there is no question of turning out the entremet.

In his book “The Parisian Cook,” Carême recommends the addition to the Blanc-mange of a quarter of its volume of very fresh, good cream; and the advice, coming as it does from such an authoritative source, is worth following.

2628—ENGLISH BLANC-MANGE

Boil one quart of milk, containing four oz. of sugar, and pour it over a quarter of a lb. of corn-flour diluted with half a pint of cold milk; stirring briskly the while.

Smooth the preparation with the whisk, and cook it over an open fire for a few minutes, without ceasing to stir.

On taking it off the fire, flavour it according to taste; and pour it, very hot, into moulds previously moistened with syrup, that the mouldings may turn out glossy and smooth.

Let the contents of the moulds set; turn them out, and serve them very cold either plain or with an accompaniment of stewed fruit.

Charlottes.

2629—CHARLOTTE A L’ARLEQUINE

Line the bottom of a Charlotte mould with a round piece of paper, and garnish the sides with upright pieces of _Génoise_, glazed white, pink and pale-green; alternating the colours and pressing the uprights snugly one against the other. Meanwhile, take some strawberry, chocolate, pistachio and apricot Bavarois preparations, and let them set in flawn-rings, lying on pieces of oiled paper.

Cut the Bavarois preparations into large dice, and mix them with an ordinary, and somewhat liquid, cream Bavarois preparation. Pour the whole into the mould, and leave to cool. When about to serve, turn out the Charlotte; remove the piece of paper and replace it by a thin _Génoise_ top, glazed with “fondant” and decorated with candied fruit.

2630—CHARLOTTE CARMEN

Line the Charlotte with _gaufrettes_, and garnish it with the following preparation:—eight oz. of stewed tomatoes; four oz. of stewed red-capsicums, a pinch of powdered ginger, three oz. of candied ginger cut into dice, the juice of three lemons, half a pint of hot syrup at 32° (saccharom.), and five dissolved gelatine leaves.

Mix up the whole, and, when the preparation begins to thicken, add to it one and three-quarter pints of whisked cream.

2631—CHARLOTTE A LA CHANTILLY

Prepare the Charlotte with _gaufrettes_, stuck directly upon a round base of dry paste, either with apricot jam cooked to the _small-thread_ stage or with sugar cooked to the _small-crack_ stage. As a help, a Charlotte mould may be used for this operation; it may be laid on the dry-paste base and removed when the _gaufrettes_ are all stuck.

Garnish with whisked, sugared and vanilla-flavoured cream built up in pyramid-form, and decorate its surface, by means of a spoon, with the same cream, slightly tinted with pink.

2632—BAQUET ET PANIER A LA CHANTILLY

A “Baquet” (bucket) is made with lady’s-finger biscuits, well trimmed and stuck upon a base of dry paste with sugar cooked to the _large-crack_ stage.

In the middle, and on either side of the baquet, set a biscuit, somewhat higher than the rest, with a hole in its top end, cut by means of a small round cutter; and surround the baquet with small threads of chocolate-flavoured almond paste, in imitation of iron hoops.

The “Panier” (basket) is made in the same way, but with biscuits all of the same size, and without the imitation iron-hoops. On the base and by means of sugar cooked to the _large-crack_ stage, fix a handle of pulled sugar, decked with sugar flowers.

The baquet and the panier are garnished with the same cream as the Chantilly Charlotte, and are finished in the same way, with a decoration of pink-tinted cream.

2633—CHARLOTTE MONTREUIL

Line the bottom and sides of the mould with lady’s-finger biscuits. Garnish with a Bavarois preparation consisting of one pint of peach purée per quart of English custard, and the usual quantity of whisked cream.

Add some very ripe, sliced and sugared peaches, on putting the preparation into the mould.

2634—OPERA CHARLOTTE

Line a mould with Huntley and Palmer’s sugar wafers and garnish it with a vanilla-flavoured Bavarois preparation, combined with one-quarter of its bulk of a smooth purée of candied chestnuts, and a _salpicon_ of candied fruit, macerated in Maraschino.

2635—CHARLOTTE PLOMBIÈRE

Line the Charlotte with lady’s-finger biscuits or with _gaufrettes_. When about to serve, garnish it with a Plombière ice (No. 2795) and turn it out upon a napkin.

2636—CHARLOTTE RENAISSANCE

Line the bottom of the mould with a round piece of white paper, and the sides with rectangles of _Génoise_, glazed white and pink. Set the glazed sides of the rectangles against the mould.

Fill the mould, thus lined, with a vanilla-flavoured Bavarois preparation, combined with raw peeled and sliced apricots and peaches, pine-apple cut into dice, and wild strawberries, all these fruits having been previously macerated in Kirsch. Let the preparation set in the cool or on ice.

When the Charlotte is turned out, remove the round piece of paper, and in its place lay a slice of pine-apple, cut from the thickest part of the fruit and decorated with candied fruit.

2637—CHARLOTTE RUSSE

Make a rosette on the bottom of the mould with some heart-shaped lady’s-finger biscuits, and line the sides with the same biscuits trimmed, set upright and close together.

This Charlotte may be garnished with a vanilla-, _pralin_-, coffee-, orange- or chocolate-flavoured cream Bavarois preparation; or a Bavarois preparation made from a purée of such fruits as apricots, pine-apple, bananas, peaches, strawberries, etc.

The flavour or product which determines the character of the Charlotte should always be referred to on the menu, thus: _Charlotte Russe à l’Orange_ or _Charlotte Russe aux Fraises_, etc.

2638—CREAMS

Cold creams, served as entremets, belong to two very distinct classes:

(1) _Cooked Creams_, which are, in short, but a variety of custard.

(2) _The Creams derived from natural, fresh cream_, whipped and sugared, the generic type of which is Chantilly cream.

_Cooked Creams_ are prepared either in special little pots, in small silver or porcelain bowls, or in moulds. Those prepared in moulds are turned out when they are quite cold, and are called “Crèmes renversées” to distinguish them from the first two kinds which are always served in the utensil in which they have cooked.

For all that, the term “Crème renversée” has grown somewhat obsolete, and the modern expression for this kind of custards is “Crème moulée.”

_Crème au Caramel_ represents a perfect type of this class.

The custards served in their cooking-receptacles are more delicate than the others, because their preparation does not demand such a large quantity of eggs; but they are only served in the home, like English custard. For a stylish luncheon or dinner, moulded custards (Fr. crèmes moulées) are best.

2639—CRÈME A LA VANILLE, MOULÉE

Boil one quart of milk containing one-half lb. of sugar; add a stick of vanilla, and let the latter infuse for twenty minutes. Pour this milk, little by little, over three eggs and eight yolks, previously whisked in a basin, and whisk briskly the while. Pass the whole through a fine sieve; let it rest for a moment or two; then completely remove all the froth lying on its surface, and pour the preparation into buttered moulds or into vases specially made for this purpose. Set to poach in a _bain-marie_, in a moderate oven, keeping lids on the utensils.

Not for one moment must the water in the _bain-marie_ boil while the poaching is in progress; for the air contained by the preparation would then become over-heated, and the result would be an infinity of small holes throughout the depth of the custard, which would greatly mar its appearance.

As a matter of fact, the custard should poach, that is to say, coagulate, as the result of the surrounding water being kept at a constant temperature of 185° F. As soon as it is poached, let the custard cool.

When it is poached in the utensils in which it is served, one egg and eight yolks per quart of milk will be found sufficient. The utensils should be carefully wiped and dished on a napkin.

If the custard is to be turned out, carefully overturn the mould upon a dish, and pull it off a few minutes later. Moulded and potted custards admit of all the flavourings proper to entremets; but those which suit them best are vanilla, almond milk, almond and filbert _pralin_, coffee, chocolate, etc. Unless used in the form of very concentrated essences, fruit flavours are less suited to them.

2640—CRÈME AU CARAMEL

_Clothe_ the bottom and sides of a mould with sugar cooked to the _golden-caramel_ stage, and fill it up with a vanilla-flavoured, moulded-custard preparation. Poach and turn it out as directed.

2641—CRÈME A LA VIENNOISE, MOULÉE

This is a custard with caramel, but instead of _clothing_ the mould with the latter, it is dissolved in the hot milk. The custard should be treated exactly like the vanilla-flavoured kind.

2642—CRÈME A LA FLORENTINE

Make a preparation of _pralin_-flavoured custard with caramel and poach it.

When it is quite cold, turn it out on a dish; decorate it with Kirsch-flavoured Chantilly cream, and sprinkle its surface with chopped pistachios.

2643—CRÈME A L’OPÉRA

Poach, in an ornamented border-mould, a preparation of _pralin_-flavoured custard. When it is turned out, garnish its midst with a dome of Chantilly cream, aromatised with _pralined_ violets. Upon the border set a crown of fine strawberries, macerated in a Kirsch-flavoured syrup, and cover with a veil of sugar cooked to the _large-crack_ stage.