Original White House Cookbook

Lemon sponge is made from the juice of four lemons, four eggs, a cupful of sugar, half a package of gelatine and one pint of water. Strain lemon juice on the sugar ; beat the yolks of the eggs and mix with the remainder of the water, having used a half cupful of the pint in which to soak the gelatine. Add the sugar and lemon to this and cook until it begins to thicken, then add the gelatine. Strain this into a basin, which place in a pan of water to cool. Beat with a whisk until it has cooled but not hardened ; now add the whites of the eggs until it begins to thicken, turn into a mold and set to harden. Remember, the sponge hardens very rapidly when it commences to cool, so have your molds all ready. Serve with powdered sugar and cream. APPLE SNOW. Stew some fine-flavored sour apples tender, sweeten to taste, strain them through a fine wire sieve and break into one pint of strained apples the white of an egg ; whisk the apple and egg very briskly till quite stiff and it will be as white as snow ; eaten with a nice boiled custard it makes a very desirable dessert. More eggs may be used, if liked. QUINCE SNOW. Quarter five fair-looking quinces and boil them till they are tender in water, then peel them and push them through a coarse sieve. Sweeten to the taste and add the whites of three or four eggs. Then with an eggwhisk beat all to a stiff froth and pile with a spoon upon a glass dish and set away in the ice box, unless it is to be served immediately. ORANGE TRIFLE. Take the thin parings from the outside of a dozen oranges and put to steep in a wide-mouthed bottle ; cover it with good cognac and let it stand twenty-four hours ; skin and seed the oranges and reduce to a pulp ; press this through a sieve, sugar to taste, arrange in a dish and heap with whipped cream flavored with the ^orange brandy; ice two hours before serving, LEMON TRIFLE. The juice of two lemons and grated peel of one, one pint of cream, well sweetened and whipped stiff, one cupful of sherry, a little nutmeg. Let sugar, lemon juice and peel lie together two hours before you add wine and nutmeg. Strain through double tarlatan and whip gradually into the frothed cream. Serve very soon heaped in small glasses. Nice with cake. FRUIT TRIFLE. Whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth, two tablespoonfuls each of sugar, currant jelly and raspberry jam. Eaten with sponge cakes, it is a delicious dessert, GRAPE TRIFLE. Pulp through a sieve two pounds of ripe grapes, enough to keep back the stones, add sugar to taste. Put into a trifle dish and cover with whipped cream, nicely flavored. Serve very cold. APPLE TRIFLE. Peel, core and quarter some good tart apples of nice flavor, and stew them with a strip of orange and a strip of quince peel, sufficient water to cover the bottom of the stewpan, and sugar in the proportion of half a pound to one pound of fruit ; when cooked, press the pulp through a sieve, and, when cold, dish and cover with one pint of whipped cream flavored with lemon peel. Quinces prepared in the same manner are equally as good. PEACH TRIFLE.