Part 44 (1/2)

Soak one cake of compressed yeast in a cup of lukewarm milk with a teaspoon of sugar, a teaspoon of salt, and sift a pint of flour in a bowl, in which you may also stir a small cup of milk and one egg. Pour in the yeast and work all thoroughly, adding more flour, but guarding against getting the dough too stiff. Cover up the bowl of dough and let it raise until it is as high again, which will take at least four hours.

Flour a baking-board and mold small biscuits out of your dough, let them raise at least half an hour. Then b.u.t.ter a large, round, deep pan and set in your dumplings, brus.h.i.+ng each with melted b.u.t.ter as you do so.

When all are in, pour in enough milk to reach just half way up to the dumplings. Bake until a light brown. Eat hot, with vanilla sauce.

BAIRISCHE DAMPFNUDELN, No. 2

Make the dough just as you would in the above recipe, adding a tablespoon of b.u.t.ter, and after they have risen steam instead of baking them. If you have no steamer improvise one in this way: Put on a kettle of boiling water, set a colander on top of the kettle and lay in your dumplings, but do not crowd them; cover with a close-fitting lid and put a weight on top of it to keep in the steam, when done they will be as large again as when first put in. Take up one at first to try whether it is done by tearing open with two forks. If you have more than enough for your family, bake a pan of biscuits out of the remaining dough. Serve dumplings hot with prune sauce.

APPLE SLUMP

Pare, core and quarter apples, add a little water and sugar to taste, stew until tender and cover with the following mixture: Sift one pint of flour and one teaspoon of baking powder, add a pinch of salt and two cups of milk, mix and turn out onto a lightly floured board. Roll to one-half inch thickness and place over the stewed apples, cover and cook for ten minutes without lifting the lid. Serve hot with cream and sugar or soft custard.

BOILED APPLE DUMPLINGS

Beat well, without separating, two eggs, add a pinch of salt, two cups of milk and one cup of flour. To a second cup of flour, add two teaspoons of baking powder; add this to the batter and as much more flour as is necessary to make a soft dough. Roll out quickly one-half inch thick. Cut into squares, lay two or three quarters of pared apples on each, sprinkle with sugar and pinch the dough around the apples. Have a number of pudding cloths ready, wrung out of cold water, and sprinkle well with flour. Put a dumpling in each, leave a little room for swelling and tie tightly. Drop into a kettle of rapidly boiling water and keep the water at a steady boil for an hour. Serve hot with hard sauce.

Have a saucer in the bottom of kettle to prevent burning.

FARINA DUMPLINGS

Beat yolks of four eggs with three tablespoons of goose, turkey or chicken fat, but if these are not convenient, clear beef drippings will do. Put in enough farina to make a good Batter. Beat whites of eggs to a stiff froth with pinch of salt, and stir in batter. Put on in large boiler sufficient water to boil dumplings and add one tablespoon of salt. When boiling drop in by tablespoons. Boil one hour. This quant.i.ty makes twenty dumplings.

HUCKLEBERRY DUMPLINGS

Take a loaf of stale bread; cut off the crust and soak in cold water, then squeeze dry. Beat three eggs light, yolks and whites together add one quart berries and mix all together with a little brown sugar and a pinch of salt. Boil steadily one hour, serve with hard sauce.

PLUM KNOEDEL (HUNGARIAN)

Boil several potatoes, mash, mix with one egg yolk, a little salt and enough flour to make a dough soft enough to hold the impress of the finger. Roll out and cut into four-cornered pieces; in each square place a German plum which has had the pits removed and a mixture of sugar and cinnamon; put in place of the pit. Roll each square into a round dumpling; put these into a pan with boiling; salted water and let them cook covered for six or eight minutes. When done, serve with some bread crumbs browned in b.u.t.ter or schmalz and spread over the knoedel.

PEAR DUMPLING (BIRNE KLOESSE)

Take half a loaf of white bread or as much stale white bread, soak the white part and grate the crust, add one cup of suet chopped very fine, one cup of flour, one egg, salt and spices to taste, and one-half teaspoon of baking-powder. Make this into a dumpling, put it on a tiny plate in a large kettle. Lay prunes and pears around, about a pound of each, one cup of brown sugar, two pieces of stick cinnamon, dash of claret and cold water to almost cover; then cover kettle tightly and boil four hours. Serve hot.

Prunes and dried apples may be used as well.

PEACH DUMPLINGS

Make a dough of a quart of flour and a pint of milk, or water, a tablespoon of shortening, a pinch of salt, one egg and a spoon of sugar; add a piece of compressed yeast, which has previously been dissolved in water. Let the dough raise for three hours. In the meantime make a compote of peaches by stewing them with sugar and spices, such as cinnamon and cloves. Stew enough to answer for both sauce and filling.

When raised, flour the baking-board and roll out the dough half an inch thick. Cut cakes out of it with a tumbler, brush the edges with white of egg, put a teaspoon of peach compote in the centre of a cake and cover it with another layer of cake and press the edges firmly together. Steam over boiling water and serve with peach sauce. A delicious dessert may also be made by letting the dough rise another half hour after being rolled out, and before cutting.

Compote of huckleberries may be used with these dumplings instead of peaches, if so desired.