Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/1161

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RECIPES FOR COLD SWEETS
1033

then pour it over the biscuits, pile the stiffly-whipped sweetened cream on the top, and garnish with shredded pistachios and fruits.

Time.—About 1 hour. Average Cost, 2s. 9d. Sufficient for 6 or 7 persons.

2133.—MARBLED MOULD.

Ingredients.—Blancmange, coffee essence, cochineal, saffron-yellow, spinach-green.

Method.—Prepare the blancmange according to the directions given (see Cornflour and Ground Rice Blancmanges, No. 2100 and 2124), divide it into 4 equal parts, and colour them respectively with coffee essence, cochineal, saffron-yellow and spinach-green. Mould separately, and, when cool, divide in irregularly-shaped pieces about the size of a walnut. Have ready some white blancmange on the point of setting. Place the coloured pieces in a mould, leaving spaces between them, fill these with white blancmange, and put aside until set.

Time.—About 12 hours. Average Cost, about 1s. for 1 large mould. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons.

2134.—MELON CANTALOUP.

Ingredients.—1 Rock melon, crushed ice, Krona pepper.

Method.—Allow the melon to remain imbedded in ice for at least 12 hours. Leave the skin on, cut the melon into slices, and arrange round a bowl of ice, as directed in Banana Cantaloup, No. 2081.

Time.—From 12 to 13 hours. Average Cost, 5s. to 7s. 6d. Sufficient for 8 or 9 persons.

2135.—MÉRINGUES.

Ingredients.—6 whites of eggs, ½ a lb. of castor sugar.

Method.—Put the whites of eggs in a bowl or basin with a pinch of salt, and whisk them stiffly. Sieve the sugar, stir in as lightly as possible with a spoon, folding it in, rather than mixing it with, the whites of eggs. Cover a ¾-inch thick board or a baking-tin with foolscap paper (slightly oiled). Put the preparation into a forcing-bag attached to a plain pipe, and press on to the paper small round or oval portions in about 1 inch apart. Dredge them well with castor sugar, and bake in a cool oven for about 2 hours, when they should have acquired a pale fawn colour, and be perfectly crisp. Turn them over, scoop out any portion not hardened, and let them remain in a warm place until dry. Use as required.

Time.—Altogether, about 2½ hours. Average Cost, 8d. Sufficient for 1 dish.

Note.—When a forcing-bag and pipe are not available, the mixture may be shaped in the form of an egg, by means of a spoon and knife, in the manner already described in reference to Quenelles of Veal. Méringue shells may be kept for a considerable time in an air-tight tin box.