Original White House Cookbook

Puffs for dessert are delicate and nice ; take one pint of milk and cream each, the whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth, one heaping cupful of sifted flour, one scant cupful of powdered sugar, add a little grated lemon peel and a little salt ; beat these all together till very light, bake in gem-pans, sift pulverized sugar over them and eat with sauce flavored with lemon. PEACH CAKE FOR DESSERT. Bake three sheets of sponge cake, as for jelly cake ; cut nice ripe peaches in thin slices, or chop them ; prepare cream by whipping, sweetening and adding flavor of vanilla, if desired ; put layers of peaches between the sheets of cake ; pour cream over each layer and over the top. To be eaten soon after it is prepared. FRUIT SHORT-CAKES. For the recipes of strawberry, peach and other fruit short-cakes, look under the head of Biscuits, Bolls and Muffins. They all make a very delicious dessert when served with a pitcher of fresh sweet cream, when obtainable. t SALTED OR ROASTED ALMONDS. Blanch half a pound of almonds. Put with them a tablespoonful of melted butter and one of salt. Stir them till well mixed, then spread them over a baking-pan and bake fifteen minutes, or till crisp, stirring often. They must be bright yellow-brown when done. They are a fashionable appetizer and should be placed in ornamental dishes at the beginning of dinner, and are used by some in place of olives, which, however, should also be on the table, or some fine pickles may take their place. ROAST CHESTNUTS. Peel the raw chestnuts and scald them to remove the inner skin; put them in a frying pan with a little butter and toss them about a few moments ; add a sprinkle of salt and a suspicion of cayenne. Serve them after the cheese. Peanuts may be blanched and roasted the same. AFTER-DINNER CROUTONS. These crispy croutons answer as a substitute for hard-water crackers and are also relished by most people. Cut sandwich bread into slices one-quarter of an inch thick ; cut each slice into four small triangles ; dry them in the oven slowly until they assume a delicate brownish tint, then serve either hot or cold. A nice way to serve them is to spread a paste of part butter and part rich creamy cheese, to which may be added a very little minced parsley. ORANGE FLOAT. To MAKE orange float, take one quart of water, the juice and pulp of two lemons, one coffeecupful of sugar. When boiling hot, add four tablespoonfuls of cornstarch. Let it boil fifteen minutes, stirring all the time. When cold, pour it over four or five oranges that have been sliced into a glass dish and over the top spread the beaten whites of three eggs, sweetened and flavored with vanilla. A nice dessert. LEMON TOAST. This dessert can be made very conveniently without much preparation. f Take the yolks of six eggs, beat them well and add three cupfuls of sweet milk ; take baker’s bread, not too stale, and cut into slices ; dip them into the milk and eggs and lay the slices into a spider, with sufficient melted butter, hot, to fry a delicate brown. Take the whites of the six eggs and beat them to a froth, adding a large cupful of white sugar ; add the juice of two lemons, heating well and adding two cupfuls of boiling water. Serve over the toast as a sauce and you will find it a very delicious dish. SWEET OMELET. No. 1.