Part 208 (2/2)

_Time_.--15 to 20 minutes. _Average cost_, 1s. 6d.

_Seasonable_ at any time.

MACAROONS.

1744. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of sweet almonds, 1/2 lb. of sifted loaf sugar, the whites of 3 eggs, wafer-paper.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MACAROONS.]

_Mode_.--Blanch, skin, and dry the almonds, and pound them well with a little orange-flower water or plain water; then add to them the sifted sugar and the whites of the eggs, which should be beaten to a stiff froth, and mix all the ingredients well together. When the paste looks soft, drop it at equal distances from a biscuit-syringe on to sheets of wafer-paper; put a strip of almond on the top of each; strew some sugar over, and bake the macaroons in rather a slow oven, of a light brown colour when hard and set, they are done, and must not be allowed to get very brown, as that would spoil their appearance. If the cakes, when baked, appear heavy, add a little more white of egg, but let this always be well whisked before it is added to the other ingredients. We have given a recipe for making these cakes, but we think it almost or quite as economical to purchase such articles as these at a good confectioner's.

_Time_.--From 15 to 20 minutes, in a slow oven.

_Average cost_, 1s. 8d. per lb.

RATAFIAS.

[Ill.u.s.tration: RATAFIAS.]

1745. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 lb. of sweet almonds, 1/4 lb. of bitter ones, 3/4 lb. of sifted loaf sugar, the whites of 4 eggs.

_Mode_.--Blanch, skin, and dry the almonds, and pound them in a mortar with the white of an egg; stir in the sugar, and gradually add the remaining whites of eggs, taking care that they are very thoroughly whisked. Drop the mixture through a small biscuit-syringe on to cartridge paper, and bake the cakes from 10 to 12 minutes in rather a quicker oven than for macaroons. A very small quant.i.ty should be dropped on the paper to form one cake, as, when baked, the ratafias should be about the size of a large b.u.t.ton.

_Time_.--10 to 12 minutes. _Average cost_, 1s. 8d. per lb.

RICE BISCUITS OR CAKES.

1746. INGREDIENTS.--To every 1/2 lb. of rice-flour allow 1/4 lb. of pounded lump sugar, 1/4 lb. of b.u.t.ter, 2 eggs.

_Mode_.--Beat the b.u.t.ter to a cream, stir in the rice-flour and pounded sugar, and moisten the whole with the eggs, which should be previously well beaten. Roll out the paste, shape it with a round paste-cutter into small cakes, and bake them from 12 to 18 minutes in a very slow oven.

_Time_.--12 to 18 minutes. _Average cost_, 9d.

_Sufficient_ to make about 18 cakes. _Seasonable_ at any time.

GROUND RICE, or rice-flour, is used for making several kinds of cakes, also for thickening soups, and for mixing with wheaten flour in producing Manna Kroup. The Americans make rice-bread, and prepare the flour for it in the following manner:--When the rice is thoroughly cleansed, the water is drawn off, and the rice, while damp, bruised in a mortar: it is then dried, and pa.s.sed through a hair sieve.

ROCK BISCUITS.

1747. INGREDIENTS.--6 eggs, 1 lb. of sifted sugar, 1/2 lb. of flour, a few currants.

_Mode_.--Break the eggs into a basin, beat them well until very light, add the pounded sugar, and when this is well mixed with the eggs, dredge in the flour gradually, and add the currants. Mix all well together, and put the dough, with a fork, on the tins, making it look as rough as possible. Bake the cakes in a moderate oven from 20 minutes to 1/2 hour; when they are done, allow them to get cool, and store them away in a tin canister, in a dry place.

_Time_.--20 minutes to 1/2 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 2d.

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