The art of cookery

Boiled Custard No. 4. — To three cups of boiling milk add two tablespoonfuls of flour, four tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar, and a pinch of salt, well mixed together. Simmer ten minutes, then add slowly — stirring rapidly meanwhile — the yolks of three eggs beaten light with one tablespoonful of cold milk. As soon as the mixture is cooked to a creamy consistency pour out, and when cool flavor to taste and pour into a glass or china bowl. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, drop it, in large spoonfuls, upon boiling water in a shallow pan, and when cooked lift with a skimmer to a sieve, and place upon the boiled custard. This preparation, which is sometimes called "floating island," is frequently made by putting the beaten whites of the eggs in a china dish and pouring the boiling custard over them. There is a decided advantage in using more or less flour in making a boiled custard. But whenever flour, cornstarch, or arrow-root is used in conjunction with eggs, it should be well cooked before the eggs are added, and the mixture should be removed from the fire as soon as the eggs are cooked to a creamy consistency. Flour has a richer flavor than cornstarch or arrow-root, and is preferable to either in all liquid or semi-liquid sauces or custards. But in mixtures for lemon, cream, or custard pies it is better to use cornstarch or arrow-root, as they cause them to stiffen like jelly when cold. Baked Custard. — To two cups of rich milk add a pinch of salt and four eggs beaten with four tablespoon- 232 The Art of Cookery. fuls of sugar. Stir well together, pour into cups brushed with melted butter, or into a pudding dish, bake in a pan of water, in a slow oven, or cook in a steamer. As soon as the custard becomes stiff in the center it is sufficiently done, and should be removed from the oven, as over-cooking will harden the eggs and produce whey. Caramel Custard. — Use half a cup of caramel to four eggs, instead of sugar, and follow the recipe for baked custard. Baked Sago Custard. — Sprinkle carefully into two cups of boiling milk one fourth of a cup of sago. Simmer ten minutes, add a fourth of a teaspoonful of salt, and half a cup of granulated sugar. Let it cool slightly, add two well-beaten eggs, flavor with lemon or orange extract, pour into a buttered baking dish, and bake, like custard, in a moderate oven. Serve cold, with or without cream. Baked Tapioca Custard. — To three cups of boiling milk add half a cup of tapioca that has been soaked several hours in cold water and drained. Cook until the tapioca is transparent, then add half a cup of sugar and half a teaspoonful of salt. Let stand until it becomes lukewarm, add three eggs, well beaten, flavor with lemon or orange extract, and bake, like custard, in a buttered pudding dish. Serve cold with sweet cream. Baked Corn-meal Pudding No. i. — To one cup of wellboiled corn-meal mush add one teaspoonful of butter, and one teaspoonful of ginger mixed with two tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar. Stir in gradually one cup of sweet milk, then add two well-beaten eggs. Bake in a buttered pudding dish until it is firm in the center, and remove Puddings. 233 from the oven before it is wheyed. Serve warm, with sweet cream.