Harper's cook book encyclopædia

Fruit Tart (English way). — Spread some puff paste over the table with a rolling-pin ; cut a piece the size of the dish, and out of the trimmings cut some strips ; brush the edge of the dish with dorure (yolks and whites of eggs, beaten light), and stick the strips on it ; then put the fruit into the dish with some sugar and a little water ; roll the paste on the rolling-pin, and lay it over the fruit. Before you put the paste on, brush the strips with some dorure to make it stick. When you have trimmed the dish all round, brush some white of egg or dorure over the tart, and sift some sugar over it ; then dip the paste-brush into water and shake it over the tart. Bake it properly, and serve up cold. Apples, however, are an exception, as they are better hot. When this has been done, take a small knife and ornament the paste with figures according to your fancy ; then put the tart in the oven, and if it begins to have too much color, cover it with paper. When done, spread over it some fine sugar through a sieve, replace it in the oven to dry the sugar, and with a salamander glaze the tart to a bright color. You must prepare all kinds of fruit in the same way ; use sometimes the paste for tarts, but in that case no strips are absolutely necessary. Gooseberry Pie. — Line a two-quart pudding - dish with good pie - crust, rolled rather thick. Stem three pints of gooseberries, wash and put into the crust, add a good pint of sugar, cover with a top crust, pinch the edges well together, bake one hour in a moderate oven. Serve cold. Gooseberries for Tarts, To Keep. — When the weather is dry, pick the gooseberries that are full grown but not ripe, remove the tops and tails, and put them into open-mouthed bottles ; gently cork them with quite new corks, and set them into a warm oven; let them stand until shrunken a quarter part ; then take them out of the oven and immediately cork them tightly; cut off the tops of the corks and rosin Gooseberry Tart Lemon Pie them tightly down. Set in a dry place. Gooseberry Tart (English recipe). — Pick off the tops and stalks of the gooseberries. Put them into a piedish, pile them high in the centre, strew a little sugar over them, and add a table-spoonful of water. Line the edge of the dish with a good crust, put on the cover, and bake in a brisk oven. Strew a little powdered sugar over before sending the tart to table. A little cream or custard is a great improvement to this dish. An ample allowance of sugar is required for gooseberries, especially when they are partially ripe. Two pints and a half of gooseberries will make a pie for four or five persons. Time to bake, three-quarters of an hour. Another way : — Pick off all the stalks and little blossoms, wash the berries, and put them on to stew. A very little water may be put into the saucepan to prevent the fruit burning. Add % lb. of sugar for each quart of gooseberries as soon as the berries are broken, and let them cook a little longer. Add more water, and strain ; return to the fire and boil fifteen minutes longer. Line pie - plates with paste, fill with the gooseberries, and cross with strips of paste.