The white ribbon cook book

Chop the suet as finely as possible, and any stale piece of bread can be used for grating, allowing the above quantity; mix with the suet and flour. Stone the raisins, and have the currants perfectly washed and dried, the peel cut into thin slices and added to the suet, bread and flour, mixing well for some minutes; then add the sugar and continue working with the hands for 5 minutes. Put the eggs into a bowl (breaking each into a cup first to ascertain that it is fresh and to remove the speck), add to them grated nutmeg, powdered ginger and powdered allspice, according to taste, and a large pinch of salt; then stir in 3^ pint milk; beat all up together, and pour it gradually into another bowl, working the whole mixture with the hand for some time. If the mixture be too stiff, add more milk, and continue to work it with a 184 White Ribbon Cook Book. wooden spoon for at least 3^^ hour. Scald 2 pudding cloths, spread each in a bowl and dredge them well with flour. Divide the composition in 2 equal parts, put each in its cloth and tie it up tightly. To boil the pudding, place 2 inverted plates in saucepans filled with water, and when the water boils fast put each puddings into its saucepan. Let them boil 6 hours, keeping the saucepan full by adding more water as it is required, and taking care that it never ceases boiling. Then take the pudding out and hang them up till the next day, when the cloth of each pudding should be tightened and tied afresh, and 3 hours' boiling, as in the first instance, will make them ready for table. Baked Custard — Five eggs, 5 tablespoonfuls sugar, 1 quart milk, 2 teaspoonfuls almond or other flavoring extract. Beat the whites and yolks of the eggs separately, to the yolks add the sugar, then, a little at a time, the milk, next the flavoring, and lastly the whites of the eggs, stir well together and bake in thick cups set in a pan of water in rather quick oven until firm — this usually takes about 30 minutes. A Teetotaler's Christmas Pudding — Pick and stone 2 lbs. good Valentias; pick, wash and dry 1 lb. currants; chop 2 lbs. beef suet; have ready 3^^ lb. brown sugar, 6 oz. candied peel, cut thin, 21^ lbs. flour, 6 eggs, a quart or more of milk, 1 oz. mixed spice, and a tablespoonf ul salt. Put the flour into a large pan, add the plums, currants, suet, sugar, peel, spice and salt, and mix them well together while dry. Beat the eggs well in a large basin, and add a portion of the milk, stirring it at the same time. Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the milk and eggs. Keep stirring till all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Add more milk, if neces- Pastry, 185 sary, and stir up again; the batter should be rather stiff. Have a good stout cloth ready; wet and flour it well, lay it over a pan, pour in the batter, and tie it firmly up. When the water in the copper or large kettle boils, put the pudding in and let it boil gently for 5 or 6 hours. Turn it carefully out of the cloth. Serve with or without sauce.