Soyer's standard cookery

INGREDIENTS. — Ten or twelve thin slices of bread and butter, two pints of milk, four eggs, two dessertspoonfuls of sugar, sultanas, currants or candied lemon, if liked. METHOD. — Cut off the crust and divide each slice of bread into four squares, arrange them in layers in a well-buttered pie-dish, and sprinkle each layer with sultanas or whatever is being used. Beat the eggs, add the sugar, stir until dissolved, then mix in the milk and pour gently over the bread, which should only half fill the dish. Let it stand at least one hour for the bread to soak, then bake in a moderately cool oven for one hour. Bread Cutlets. Take some thick slices of stale bread, soak them in custard till they are just moistened, and then dip in breadcrumbs and fry in butter. These are eaten with baked apples, each apple having a little currant jam laid on it. The dish is usually accompanied by a sauce made by boiling together cider, sugar, and cinnamon. Brown Bread Pudding. Melt in a saucepan a quarter of a pound of butter with eight ounces of brown breadcrumbs. When thoroughly mixed, stir in half a pint of claret and let the whole get cold. Now add twelve beaten eggs, half a pound of sifted sugar, a teaspoonful of ground cinnamon, the grated almonds, and a few cardamom seeds. When thoroughly mixed, turn into a bowl, cover, and boil for two hours and a half. Bread and Butter Puddings, Steamed. INGREDIENTS. — Ten or twelve slices of bread and butter, one and a half pints of milk, two dessertspoonfuls of sugar, four eggs, sultanas, raisins, currants, or candied peel, if liked. METHOD. — Butter a pudding bowl, sprinkle it with currants, or chopped peel, or arrange raisins or sultanas in some simple design on the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cut each slice of bread into four pieces, place them in layers, each layer being sprinkled with fruit and a little finely-chopped candied peel. Beat the eggs, add the milk and sugar, stir until the sugar is dissolved, then pour slowly over the bread, etc. Let it stand at least one hour, if convenient for two hours, before being cooked. Cover the top with a greased paper, and steam slowly for about one hour. Serve with a sweet sauce or fruit syrup. Cabinet Pudding. INGREDIENTS. — Stale sponge cakes or Savoy biscuits, one and a half pints of milk, eight yolks and four whites of eggs, twelve or sixteen ratafia biscuits, two tablespoonfuls of castor sugar, a few drops of vanilla, a few cherries, and a little angelica to ornament the mold. METHOD. — Butter a mold with plain straight sides, ornament the bottom with strips of angelica and cherries cut in halves, and line the sides with narrow strips of sponge cake or savoy biscuits. Break the trimmings of the cake or six or eight biscuits into small pieces, put them, together with the ratafias, into the mold. Beat the eggs, add to them the sugar, flavoring and milk, stir until the sugar is dissolved, then pour the custard slowly into the mold. Cover with a buttered paper, and steam gently for nearly one hour. Cabinet Pudding, Plain. INGREDIENTS. — Ten or twelve thin slices of bread, two pints of milk, four eggs, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, four tablespoonfuls of raisins, a few drops of almond essence, or other flavoring.