Harper's cook book encyclopædia

Floral Creams. — The Germans have a great variety of cold sweet dishes : Apple blossoms, violets, jasmine, or red roses may be chosen, according to the season. Of course, only one kind of flower must be used. Choose, for instance, fragrant red roses, not too full blown; free them carefully from withered petals or roseworms. Take 6 Y* ozs. of the petals, chop them very fine as quickly as possible, put them on a clean plate, and add 2 ozs. of powdered sugar ; cover closely, and let them stand for half an hour. At the end of this time set one quart of sweet milk over a slow fire, add the rose leaves, cover carefully, and let them simmer half an hour. Then bring the milk to a boil, strain it through a sieve into a clean saucepan, squeeze the rose petals thoroughly, put the milk back on the fire, and add Y\ lb. of sugar. Add to Y\ lb. of flour and }£ lb. of rice flour just enough milk to be able to stir the mixture. Put in a teaspoonful of salt, and, if obtainable, a few spoonfuls of the juice of preserved cherries to give a pink tinge, or a few drops of cochineal or of beetjuice can be used. When the rose milk boils, stir one-half gradually into the flour, then, stirring constant- ly, add the whole to the boiling milk, and continue to stir till the whole mass is clear and thick. Fill a china mould with cold water, turn it out, sprinkle sugar over it, pour the mixture in, and let it stand on the ice until perfectly cold. Serve with whipped or plain cream. The delicate flavor of the flower can always be distinctly perceived. Fruit Cream. — Half a box of gelatine, one pint of milk, one pint of very ripe strawberries or raspberries, yolks of two eggs, half a cupful of fine sugar, half a pint of cream, whipped stiff. Soak the gelatine in half a cupful of cold water. Rub through a colander the pulp and juice of the berries. Heat the milk in a double boiler, put in the sugar and soaked gelatine, and stir until dissolved. Beat the yolks of the eggs light, add carefully to the milk and gelatine, and take at once from the fire. When partially cool, put with it the fruit pulp and juice, stir in the whipped cream lightly, and turn into a mould wet with cold water. Leave it in a cool place until firm, and put on the ice for an hour or two before serving. When berries cannot be obtained, peaches or apricots may be used, and if not tender enough to rub through a colander they may be stewed long enough to soften them. Iced Jelly Cream. — Fill a bowl with gelatine jelly, colored pink ; set on ice to harden. When solid, scoop out the centre with a spoon, leaving a shell of jelly about an inch thick. Dissolve a table-spoonful of gelatine in a little milk. Let cool ; add to it a pint of thick cream, sweeten, flavor with vanilla, whip until stiff, turn into a small freezer and half freeze. Take up carefully, fill the jelly-mould with it, cover securely, and pack in ice and salt for four hours before serving. Italian Cream. — Soak half a box of gelatine in a teacupful of cold water for half an hour, then add a Lemon Cream Peach Cream cupful of boiling water. When cold, strain, and add three cupfuls of granulated sugar, juice of three lemons, the grated rind of two lemons, threequarters of a cupful of sherry wine, and one quart of cream. Then freeze.