Tartlets Of Almond Paste

ButtEr some tartlet moulds, and after having spread the paste on the dresser, cut it with a cutter to the size of the moulds; put a little sweetmeat in the middle, and a small rosette in the middle of that. Bake in a moderate oven.

Tartlets Of Almond Paste With Strawberries

Spread some almond paste over the pastry table, and cat the paste with a fluted cutter of the same size as other tartlets; butter slightly the moulds, and put them into a moderate oven. When the paste is done almost white, take them out of the mould, and garnish with currant jelly, raspberry, or apricot jam, etc. etc. As the sweetmeats do not go to the oven, they are always of a better colour and taste.. In summer time, rub some strawberries through a hair sieve, mix what you have rubbed through with a little sugar and isinglass; put the mixture into ice, and when frozen, put a little into each mould.

Tartlets Of Jam

Take some remnants of puff-paste, which spread on the table with the rolling-pin; have some tartlet moulds well buttered; cut some paste with the paste cutter, the same shape as the moulds, lay the paste in each of them, and put a tea-spoonful of apricot marmalade on the paste; then cover your mould with a little cover made as follows :

Take some pate a l' eau chaude (See page 371,) have a little board engraved with three little covers of different ornaments, have some coarse muslin, put to it a little fine powder, tie the muslin as if you were going to make a little bag of it, dust the board by shaking the little bag over it, to prevent the paste from sticking to it; lay some of the paste over an engraved part of the board, press with your thumb equally over the paste, then press with the flat side 6f your knife, and cut off the superfluity of the paste. Take the paste out of the mould with a little damp paste, and moisten the border of the tartlet; stick one of these little covers on each of the tartlets, and bake them without any dorure; but when done, glaze them with a little sugar, and use the salamander.

N. B. - You may also make some without covers, but those with covers look better, and the sweetmeats do not dry so much.

Gauffres A La Flamande

Take a pound of fresh butter, a pound of fine dry flour, and six or seven eggs; first mix the eggs with the butter in a basin, put a little salt, then sift the flour over the eggs and butter, and add to it a spoonful of yeast. Next mix with the above a pint of double cream, work it well with your hand, and put the basin on the dresser till dinner-time. Grease the Gauffre mould with bacon fat for the first only, as the others will come out easily without any additional grease. When you serve up, sprinkle some fine sugar over them. If you put the sugar earlier, it will make them soft.

Gateau A La Madeleine

Take the same weight of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. In general, eight eggs are enough for an entremet; put a little salt and the rasped peel of a lemon; work this paste a little, till you have put all the butter into it. Melt a little butter in a stew-pan, and skim it well; pour a little into each mould, and then drain it, leaving, however, a drop at the bottom to facilitate the coming out of the Gateau. Sift some ashes over a baking sheet, put the small moulds into it, and then, put paste into each of them, about half the depth, to give it room to rise. Bake them in a moderate oven. When done, turn them out on a clean sheet of paper, and put them again into the oven for a few minutes. By changing the form of the mould you produce a dish of a different appearance; and by occasionally emptying the inside with the point of a knife, and putting into the cavity either cream or sweetmeats, you make what is colled gateaux a la Madeleine farcies.

Genevoise Paste

The same proceeding as above, only add half a glass of brandy, about a quarter of a pound of sweet almonds well pounded, and a few bitter ones, blanched of course: when you have given the flavour you choose, as lemon, cedrat, or orange, spread the paste over a baking sheet, and level it equally with your knife; then put it into the oven. When done, use a cutter of what shape you please (as a round, or a star, or any other ornamental form), and cut out as many pieces as you can, and lay them on paper over a baking sheet, dry them in the oven, and let them be coloured on both sides. This paste can make a variety of dishes, differing both in form and colour; but the taste is the same, as sugar always prevails.

White Gimblettes Of Genevoise

Make the same paste as above, only when it is nearly done, take it out of the oven, and brush it over with white of egg, then after spreading over the egg some chopped almonds mixed with sugar, put it into the oven again. When done, take a round cutter, about two inches wide, and cut out as many as you can from the baking sheet; then take a smaller cutter, and cut a piece out of the middle, so as to produce a small wheel (this is what I call a gimblette.) Then dry them on paper in the oven, keeping them as white as possible.

Rose, Or Green Gimblettes Of Genivoise

The same as above, only dye the almonds with cochineal or green of spinach, after they have been blanched and chopped, and dried in the hot closet. Use them to diversify the colour; vary also the shape occasionally.

Fruit Tart, English Mourner

Spread some puff-paste over the table with a rolling-pin ; cut a piece of the same size as the dish, and out of the trimmings cut some strips: brush the edge of the dish with dorure, and stick the strips on it; then put the fruit into the dish, with some sugar and a little water; roll the paste on the rolling-pin, and lay it over the fruit. Before you put the paste on, brush the strips with some dorure, to make it stick. When you have trimmed the dish all round, spread some white of egg over the tart, and sift some sugar over it: then dip the paste-brush into water, and shake it over the tart. Bake it properly, and serve up cold. Apples, however, are an exception, as they are better hot.

You must do all kinds of fruit in the same way: use sometimes the paste for tarts, page 396; but in that case, no strips are required.