Practical gastronomy and culinary dictionary

605. Suedoise d'Abricots. — Choose 12 large apricots, halve them, remove stones, and blanch the kernels ; make a syrup with i lb. loaf sugar and | pint water. Put in the apricots whilst the syrup boils, add a small glass of Curacoa, and allow it to simmer for a few minutes ; drain the fruit on a hair sieve ; cut a cork- shaped piece of bread, about B inches long, also 24 round slices, about the shape of halves of apricots ; fry these in hot butter, drain, sprinkle with a little ground cinnamon and castor sugar ; fasten the large crouton on the centre of a round dish with a little marmalade ,; put each half apricot on one of the small croutons, range them in rows round the centre piece, finishing with a fruit on the top ; stand the dish in the oven to get hot, boil up the syrup, pour over the apricots, put half of a kernel upon each fruit ; ornament with a few strips of angelique, and serve. 606. Bordure de Fruits a la Nationale. — Prepare some peaches, apricots, grapes, strawberries, and slices of pineapple, blanch them in syrup, peel the apricots and peaches, drain on a hair sieve. Have ready a border of Savarin cake, dish up, dress the fruit in the centre ; ornament with fancy cut pieces of angelique, crystallised cherries, and citron peel. Reduce the syrup until thick, with a glass of Maraschino, and pour over the fruit. This dish can be served hot or cold as desired. 607. Bordure Savarin. — Sift 2 oz. flour in a small basin ; form a hole in the centre, dilute ^ oz. German yeast with lukewarm milk, add this to the flour, and make a light dough ; set it aside to rise in a warm place. Next sift 6 oz. flour into a large basin, add 2 oz. sugar, 3 oz. warm butter, a little milk, and 4 eggs (2 at a time) ; knead well for about ten minutes, then add the prepared yeast, together with a tablespoonful of sweet 39 612 RECHERCHE COOKERY. cream. Work it again for a few minutes, and fill an appropriate-sized border-mould rather more than half full. The mould must be well buttered, and the interior sprinkled with shred almonds or cocoanut. Cover the mould, and let stand in a warm place, to rise, for about three hours, by which time the contents should have risen to fill the mould. Bake in a hot oven. 608. Baba au Rhum. — | lb. sifted flour, a pinch of salt, rather more than |- oz. yeast, 2 oz. castor sugar, 4 oz. butter, 5 eggs, 1^ oz. cleaned currants, i gill cream, about 1^ gill milk. Put 4 oz. of the flour in a small basin, make a Avell in the centre, put in this, the yeast diluted with a gill tepid milk, work it to a smooth dough, cover with a cloth, and let it rise in a warm* place. Put the remainder of the flour in a large basin, make a well in the centre, add the salt and sugar, work in the eggs and a little milk, and beat for fifteen minutes. When the dough has well risen, add it to the above, knead well for another fifteen minutes, put in the cream (just tepid), also the currants, and mix thoroughly. Have ready six to eight small, or one large well-buttered baba mould (these are cylindrical - shaped copper moulds). Sprinkle the bottom and sides with a few currants, let rise for fifteen minutes in a warm place, and bake in a moderately heated oven. When done, turn out on a sieve, baste well, whilst hot, with rum syrup, dish up, sauce over with the sauce, and serve hot.