Ingredients. - Twelve ounces of chestnuts (weighed after the skins are removed), two ounces of chocolate, four ounces of cakecrumbs, four ounces of flour, four ounces of butter, two ounces of castor sugar, eight eggs, one pint of milk, one teaspoonful of essence of vanilla.

Method. - Bake or roast the chestnuts, remove both skins, put them into a stewpan with a very small quantity of water, cook until tender, then rub through a fine sieve. Break the chocolate into small pieces, put it and the milk into a stewpan, and simmer until dissolved. In another stewpan melt the butter, stir in the flour, cook for two or three minutes, then add the milk, and stir until it boils. The cakecrumbs must now be added, and the mixture stirred and cooked until it leaves the sides of the stewpan clear. Allow it to cool a little, then beat in the yolks of the eggs, and add the chestnut puree and the vanilla essence. Whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, stir them lightly into the mixture, pour into a well-buttered mold, cover with buttered paper, and either steam for one and a half hours or bake in a moderately hot oven for one hour. Serve with vanilla or custard sauce.

Chestnut Pudding

Parboil and peel a quart of chestnuts and then let them cook very gently for an hour with a cupful of milk. Next rub the whole through a fine sieve and add a cupful of sifted sugar, half a teaspoonful of vanilla, a small pinch of salt, and a little powdered mace. Now stir in the whisked yolks of five eggs, after which beat the whites to a very stiff froth and add to the other materials. When thoroughly blended place the whole in a dish and bake for a quarter of an hour.

It may be eaten either hot or cold and is generally served with jam or whipped cream.