The housewife's referee

Apple Charlotte {Mrs. Eichenlauh). — Line a round pudding dish with buns one day old in finger-thick slices, cut into heart-shaped pieces; then dip in melted butter. Line the dish so that the point of the pieces reaches the middle of the bottom, and the broad side of the bread the broad side of the dish. They must fit very closely. Line the sides the same way, but with square pieces. After it is all fitted perfectly fill the form with sweet stewed apples, raisins, currants, and blanched almond. Bake about half an hour in not too hot an oven, turn over on a plate, sift sugar over it, and brown it with a salamander. Apple Muss. — Make a mus with fifteen large apples, peeled and cored very carefully, and let them boil in a stewpan with wine ; flavour it with vanilla and a liqueur glass of Kirschwasser. Whilst still hot, stir in four preserved peaches, the same of apricots, a quarter of a pound of mixed candied peel all chopped moderately fine. Hollow out a large sponge cake, and fill in with the fruit mixture ; when cold, sprinkle the cake with powdered chocolate, bake it in a hot oven for five minutes, and then serve hot. Apple Trifle. — Ten large apples ; the rind of half a lemon ; six ounces of pounded sugar ; half a pint of milk ; half a pint of whipped cream ; and two beaten eggs. Peel, core, and cut the apples into slices, put them into a saucepan with two tablespoonfuls of water, sugar, and minced rind. Boil all together until quite tender. Then pulp the apples through a sieve and add more sugar if re- quired. Lay at the bottom of a dish in a thick layer. Stir together cream, milk, and eggs, with a little sugar over the fire. Let the mixture thicken, but it must not reach boiling point. When thick take it oft' the fire, let it cool a little, and then pour it over the apples. Whip some more cream with sugar, lemon juice, etc., such as is always used for trifles, and heap it high over the custard. Banana Fritters {Oriental). — Peel some large bananas (not too ripe), cut them lengthwise in thick slices, make a smooth, thin batter with well-beaten flour and eggs and a small pinch of salt. Have ready some very hot butter in a frying-pan, dip the slices in the batter, and drop them immediately into the butter, fry them brown on both sides, and serve hot with sugar and cinnamon over them. Banana Salad. — Cut half-a-dozen bananas in slices ; also half-a-dozen oranges; mix them well together ; over all squeeze the juice of a lemon, and sprinkle well with castor sugar. Banana Sponge. — Soak one ounce of gelatine in a pint of cold water, add the juice of one lemon, and half a pint of castor sugar ; set over the fire till dissolved ; it must not boil. Strain through a wire sieve, and let it get cold. Take three bananas, whip them to a fine cream with an egg beater, whip as stiflly as possible the whites of two eggs, add to them the banana pulp and beat again till well mixed ; now put in the gelatine if cold, and add it to the rest a little at a time, beating all the while with an egg-beater. It takes about a quarter of an hour. Set in a cool place till wanted, and serve custard sauce with it. Bananas and Cream.^ — Slice bananas quite thin, dust with sugar, and serve with beaten cream. It is improved by the addition of strawberries.