Petits Paniers, Garnished With Jam

Spread some puff-paste on the dresser, about two-eighths of an inch thick, then cut with a cutter of this shape put them into a baking dish, and give them a good colour with the dorure; bake them in a very hot oven, and glaze with sugar; garnish the round part with cherries, and mark the lines on the side of the basket with currant-jelly cut in fillets. Eighteen for a dish.

Petites Nattes, Decorated

Spread some puff-paste about an eighth of an inch thick, cut out of it three ribbons, of the same length. Lay one on the dresser, and with your finger put a little dorure on the end of another, and stick it to the head of the first; then put the third in the middle by the same process, and plat them, beginning by the two outside ribbons; when platted, put again a little dorure to stick them together; dore them lightly, and bake them in a hot oven. Glaze with fine sugar, and when done, garnish between the twists with currant-jelly cut into fillets.

Little Cockades Garnished

SprEad some puff-paste on the dresser, about a quarter of an inch thick, cut it with a large fluted round cutter, about the same as for patties; cut a hole in the middle with a small plain round cutter, then as quickly as possible with your finger turn the paste, so as to put the inside on the baking dish, and the outside above; put them at a great distance from each other on the baking dish, as the pastes spread sideways instead of rising; bake in a hot oven, and glaze of a good colour. When done, they represent exactly a cockade. Garnish with fillets of sweetmeat to form the plate of the cockade.

Apricot Cakes Trellised

Spread some puff-paste over the dresser; trimmings will do for these cakes; spread it equally on a large buttered baking sheet, by using the rolling-pin as above Spread some apricot marmalade over the paste equally, then cut some more paste long and narrow, roll it about the size of strong cord, and arrange it crossways like a trellis over the marmalade; put dorure over the bars lightly, and lastly, bake in a moderately hot oven. When done, cut it into small oblong squares, and dress them on the disk one above the other.

As there is an immense variety of paste cutters, select your own forms; the paste is always the same. Decorate sometimes with almonds cut into different shapes, and sometimes with almonds coloured with green of spinach. It would be too tedious and minute to attempt even describing the various forms. The ingenuity of the practitioner will supply the ornaments, which must always be made of sweetmeat.

Brioche Paste

Take fifteen good fresh eggs, four pounds of very dry flour, and two pounds of fresh butter. Lay the flour on the table after you have sifted it. Divide it into four equal parts; take one of them to make the levain; make a hole in the centre, and use some yeast that has been well washed. What we call washing the yeast, is pouring some water over it, stirring it, and then letting it stand still. When all the dregs are at the bottom of the vessel, you throw away all the water that is on the top, and take about a large table-spoonful of the sediment, which you put into the fourth part of the flour. Then take some hot water, pour it gently over the yeast, and mix the paste directly, in order to avail yourself of its strength. Do not make it too liquid: powder some flour in a little stew-pan, put the yeast paste* into the pan, make slight slits over the paste, cover the pan, and lay it before the fire; a quarter of an hour after, see whether the yeast has risen; if it has swelled, dilute the brioche directly, in the following manner:

Make a great hole in the remaining three-fourths of the flour, put four small pinches of salt on as many different places, with a good pinch of sugar, to correct the bitter taste of the yeast, and a little water to melt the salt. Then take two pounds of butter, which you break into small pieces with your hand, and put in the middle of the flour: next break the eggs, and smell them successively to ascertain if they are good: mix the whole well together, and then fraisez the paste as follows: spread it lengthways on the edge of the table, then with the palms of both hands, press upon it, pushing it by degrees towards the middle of the table; when you have thus worked the whole of the paste, bring it back again towards the fedge, and fraisez it a second time; again bring it near the edge of the table, and pour the yeast paste all over it: next, divide the whole into small pieces, which you shift from one place to another: this operation is to mix the yeast with the paste properly. Now fraisez the paste well again twice, and gather the whole up together. Take a large sieve or an earthen pan, in which spread a towel, powder a little flour over the towel, put the paste on it, and cover it with the towel. In summer time remove the paste to a cool place, and in winter time to a warm one. Observe, that the paste is better when made on the preceding day, and take care to break the paste several times before you use it: then cut it into equal pieces, and shape them with the palms of your hands; lay these on the less even size; shape off small balls, which you turn also with your palms, brush them over with a beaten egg, then make a little hollow, put the small ball into it, brush twice over with the egg, and bake in a hot oven. If you wish to make a large brioche, you must make a very large round well-buttered paper case; and then mould your paste accordingly. Make a head the same as for the small one, and bake in a hot oven, but not so hot as is used for the small ones, for the larger the articles of pastries are, the less must be the heat of the oven. The borders of the brioche, or pies, etc. would burn before the middle part could hardly be heated. When you perceive that the brioche has colour enough, if it should not be thoroughly baked, cover it with paper without losing sight of the colour. This same paste may serve to make all sorts of little entremets, such as Les petites nattes en gateaux de Nanterre; Les petits pains sucres. The only difference is, that you must put some Coarse sugar over these, and sometimes currants inside.

* Yeast paste, is what we call levain.

If you make them of different shapes, you give them different names, and by this means you make a multiplicity of entremets; however, you have already a sufficient number of them at your disposal, without introducing many sorts of brioches, as they are too nourishing after dinner; but they are very good for balls and routs.

It is easy to make a great number of different dishes with the brioche paste, by giving it different forms, and employing different means for the top; sometimes use the dorure, sometimes use white of egg, and sometimes coarse sugar spread over without colour; put paper over them to prevent them from taking too much colour.

Gateau De Compiegne

The same paste as for brioches; only keep it more liquid with some hot milk. Put in a few stoned raisins and currants. This cake is made in a mould well trimmed with butter.

Baba

Dilute this paste the same as the brioche. Take eight grains of saffron, which infuse in a little water, and then pour this water into the paste; add two glasses of Madeira, some currants, raisins, and a little sugar; then make the cakes as you do the brioches. You must butter the mould when you put them in; the oven must be moderately hot, as the babas must remain a long time in; after one hour you must look at them, and preserve the colour by putting some paper over them.

Brioches Au Fromage

Make this paste as for other brioches, only have some Swiss cheese which you cut into dice, and throw into the paste while it is still liquid. Bake it as you would any other brioche.