FoodNetArchive

Cassell's dictionary of cookery

1892

Page 1854 · 1 recipe record on this page

Presented as published in 1892. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Souffle, Simple. — Sweeten and flavour a quarter of a pint of milk with lemon or vanilla, boil it, and stir into it quickly, when boiling, a table-epoonful of flour which has been smoothly mixed with another quarter of a pint of milk. Add a slice of fresh butter, draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, and stir the batter care- fully till it thickens, then pour it into a basin. "WTien nearly cold, add a dessert- spoonful of brandy and the well-beaten yolks of two eggsSouffle, Simple. Butter a cake-tin or deep pie-dish which the batter will only half fill, and put it in the oven till hot. Beat the whites of the eggs to a firm froth, and stir them briskly into the batter. Spread a layer of jam at the bottom of the dish, pour in the batter, and bake in a moderate oven. When the souffle has risen high, and is nicely browned and firm throughout, it is done enough. Serve with the utmost expedition, or it will be spoiled. Time to bake the souffle, about twenty-five minutes. Probable cost, lOd. Suf- ficient for four or five persons: Souffles. — A properly-made souffle is light in appearance, delicate in flavour, as well as nourishing and easily digested. It is a little difficult to make ; nevertheless, if the inexpe- rienced cook will follow closely the instructions here given, and be careful to allow the best ir;- gredients only to enter into its composition, she will soon acquire sufficient dexterity in making it to remove all fear of failure. All kinds of farinaceous substances may enter into the com- position of souffles, but the process of their manufacture is always the same. They are in perfection only when served light and high, ju.st as they come out of the oven, before they have had time to sink below the original level. In order to ensure this, the careful cook will hold a salamander or red-hot shovel over the souffle till it reaches the dining-room door. ]\Iore important, however, than this is, "tnat she should have everything that she wiU require in readiness, as delay at the critical moment may spoil everything. A souffle should be baked in a souffle-tin, which tits into a silver-plated ornamental dish, in which it can be sent to table. When this is not at hand, a plain round or oval cake-tin or thin basin, or a deep pie-dish may be used, with a high band of buttered writing-paper fastened inside the rim, to prevent the batter falling over the sides of the dish. A properly-folding case of frilled writing-paper should be prepared, into which it may be quickly dropped when ta*:en from the oven. As the ingredients, with their proportions, are given under each recipe, it will only be necessary here to describe the general process of manufacture. Mix the ingredients thoroughly and lightly, including the yolks of the eggs well beaten. Do not add the whites of the eggs until the last moment, and be careful that they are whisked separately to a very stiff froth, and then are stirred briskly into the souffle. The success of the dish depends in a great measure upon this part of the business being done thoroughly. Butter the tin, already lined with oiled writing-paper, and put it in the oven till very hot. Pour in the batter quickly, and place it in a moderate oven. The dish ought not to be more than half fuU. Move it about occasionally, that it may be equally baked.