The encyclopædia of practical cookery

Cherry Cakes. — (1) Prepare 1lb. of tart-paste, cut into halves, and roll it out thin. Put small groups of preserved Cherries all over the paste, leaving a short space between each ; brush all round them with beaten egg, then put the other half of the paste on the top, and press it gently round each group of Cherries. Cut out the cakes, prick them, and brush them over with a paste-brush dipped in beaten egg. Butter a baking-sheet, place the cakes on it a short distance from each other, and bake in a quick oven. When cooked, take the cakes off the tin, arrange on a folded napkin or an ornamental dish-paper, and serve. They may be served cold if preferred. [illustration: Fig. 439. Cherry Cakes.] (2) Well beat six eggs, mix with them ½lb. of crumb of bread that has been soaked in milk, ½lb. of sugar, 4oz. of butter that has been slightly warmed, 2oz. of blanched and pounded almonds, and a small quantity of powdered cinnamon. Work the ingredients until well mixed, and add 1½lb. of Cherries. Thickly butter the interior of a shallow tin, and put in the mixture ; ornament it tastefully on the top with a few split almonds, sift caster sugar and a small quantity of powdered cinnamon on the top, and bake in a moderate oven. Turn the cake out of the tin before it gets cold. (3) Butter a tin and line it with plain paste ; cover it with Cherries that have been freed from their stalks. Well beat two eggs, mix with them 2 table-spoonfuls of flour, 2 tablespoonfuls of caster sugar, and sufficient milk to bring the whole to the consistency of thick cream. Well stir the mixture, pour it over the Cherries, and bake the cake in a moderate oven. Serve hot or cold. Cherry Caramel Tablets. — Boil ½lb. of sugar in a teacupful of water, and just before it comes to the crack (see Sugarboiling) stir in 8 drops of acetic acid and 1 table-spoonful of Cherry-juice. Boil up again until it comes to the crack, let it cool, and then turn it out on an oiled marble slab ; mark the surface of the caramel deeply with the back of a knife into lin. square tablets ; when quite cold, they can be easily snapped asunder. Cherries en Chemise. — Cut off the stalks rather short from 1lb. or so of ripe Cherries, and dip them into white of egg beaten to a froth. Cover them over with caster sugar, shaking well so that there is none on them but what adheres, put them on a sieve in the dry-closet, and let them remain until wanted. Cherry Cordial. — (1) Extract the juice from ripe Morello Cherries by taking out the stones and pressing ; strain it through a cloth, sweeten to taste, and when perfectly clear boil it up. Put 1 teacupful of brandy in each bottle, and cork and seal tightly. This cordial will keep all the summer in a cool place. It is very nice and refreshing with iced water. (2) To 1 pint of Cherry-juice add 1lb. of caster sugar, and stir together until the sugar is dissolved ; then add 1 pint of good brandy, and in a week or ten days filter through filteringpaper. Cherries — continued.