and a half, and rub it on the fruit to extract the essence, or should the citron not be sufficiently fresh to yield it by this means, pare it off in the thinnest possible strips and infuse it, by the side of the fire, in the cream of which the soufflé is to be made. Should the first method be pursued, crush the sugar to powder, and dry it a little before it is added to the other ingredients. Blend very smoothly two ounces of potato-flour with a quarter of a pint of milk, and pour boiling to them a pint of good cream; stir the mixture in a large basin or bowl until it thickens, then throw in a grain of salt, two ounces of fresh butter just dissolved in a small saucepan, and the sugar which has been rubbed on the citron; or should the rind have been pared the same weight, some of which is merely pounded. Add next, by degrees, the thoroughly whisked yolks of six fresh eggs, or of seven, should they be very small. Beat the whites lightly and quickly, until they are sufficiently firm to remain standing in points when dropped from the whisk; them with the other ingredients, at the mouth of the oven, but without beating them; fill the soufflé-pan less than half full; set it instantly into the oven, which should be gentle, but not exceedingly slack, close the door immediately, and do not open it for fifteen or twenty minutes: in from thirty to forty the soufflé will be ready for table unless the oven should be very slow: a fierce degree of heat will have a most unfavourable effect upon it.

mix

Rind of half citron (that of a Seville orange may be substituted on occasions); sugar, 2 ozs.; cream, 1 pint; potatoflour, 2 ozs.; milk, pint; butter, 2 ozs.; yolks and whites of 6 large or of 7 small eggs: 30 to 40 minutes, or more in very slow oven.

A FONDU.

Mix to a smooth batter, with a quarter of a pint of new milk, two ounces of potato-flour, arrow-root, or tous les mois: pour boiling to them three quarters of a pint more of milk, or of cream in preference, stir them well together, and then throw in two ounces of butter cut small. When this is melted, and well-beaten into the mixture, add the well-whisked yolks of four large or of five small eggs, half a teaspoonful of salt, something less of cayenne, and three ounces of lightlygrated cheese, Parmesan or English, or equal parts of both. Whisk the whites of the eggs to a quite firm and solid froth; then proceed, as for a souillé, to mix and bake the fondu. 20 minutes.

KENTISH FRITTERS.

Beat up the whites of three eggs and the yolks of six with half a pound of flour, a cupful of milk, and a large teaspoonful of yeast put the mixture into a jug, cover it, and set it by the fire until the next day, then add to the batter two large apples finely chopped, and fry the fritters as usual.

Whites of eggs, 3; yolks, 6; flour, 8 ozs.; milk, 1 cupful; yeast, 1 teaspoonful: 24 hours.

PLAIN COMMON FRITTERS.

Mix with three well-beaten eggs a quarter-pint of milk, and strain them through a fine sieve; add them gradually to three large tablespoonsful of flour, and thin the batter with as much more milk as will bring it to the consistency of cream; beat it up thoroughly at the moment of using it, that the fritters may be light. Drop it in small portions from a spouted jug or basin into boiling lard; when lightly coloured on one side, turn them, drain them well from the lard as they are lifted out, and serve them very quickly. They are eaten generally with fine sugar, and orange or lemon juice: the first of these may be sifted thickly over them after they are dished, the oranges or lemons cut in two, and sent to table with them. The lard used for frying them should be fresh and pureflavoured: it renders them more crisp and light than butter, and is, therefore, better suited to the purpose.

Eggs, 3; flour, 3 tablespoonsful; milk, † to ¦ pint.

PANCAKES.

These may be made with the same batter as fritters, if it be sufficiently thinned with an additional egg or two, or a little milk or cream, to spread quickly over the pan to fry them well, this ought to be small. When the batter is ready, heat the pan over a clear fire and rub it with butter in every part, then pour in sufficient batter to spread over it entirely, and let the pancake be very thin: in this case it will require no turning, but otherwise it must be tossed over with a sudden jerk of the pan, in which the cook who is not somewhat expert will not always succeed; therefore the safer plan is to make them so thin that they will not require this. Keep them hot before the fire until a sufficient number are ready to send to table, then proceed with a second supply, as they should always be quickly served. Either roll them up and strew fine sugar

over them, or spread them quickly with preserve, laying them one on the other. A richer kind of pancake may be made with a pint of cream, or of cream and new milk mixed, five eggs, or their yolks only, a couple of ounces of flour, a little pounded cinnamon or lemon-rind rasped on sugar and scraped into them, with two ounces more of pounded sugar, and two ounces of clarified butter: a few ratifias rolled to powder may be added at pleasure, or three or four macaroons.

From 4 to 5 minutes.

FRITTERS OF CAKE AND PUDDING.

Cut plain pound, or rice cake into small square slices half an inch thick; trim away the crust, fry them slowly a light brown, in a small quantity of fresh butter, and spread over them when done a layer of apricot-jam, or of any other preserve, and serve them immediately. These fritters are improved by being moistened with a little good cream before they are fried: they must then be slightly floured. Cold plum pudding sliced down as thick as the cake, and divided into portions of equal size and good form, then dipped into French or English batter, and gently fried, will also make an agreeable variety of fritter.

MINCEMEAT FRITTERS.

With half a pound of mincemeat mix two ounces of fine bread-crumbs (or a tablespoonful of flour), two eggs well beaten, and the strained juice of half a small lemon. Mix these well, and drop the fritters with a dessertspoon into plenty of very pure lard or fresh butter; fry them from seven to eight minutes, drain them on a napkin or on white blotting paper, and send them very hot to table: they should be quite small. Mincemeat, lb.; bread-crumbs, 2 ozs. (or flour, 1 tablespoonful); eggs, 2; juice of lemon: 7 to 8 minutes. 1244

VENETIAN FRITTERS.

(Very good.)

Pick, wash, and drain three ounces of whole rice, put it into a full pint of cold milk, and bring it very slowly to boil; stir it often, and let it simmer gently until quite thick and dry. When about three parts done add to it two ounces of pounded sugar, and one of fresh butter, a grain of salt, and the grated rind of half a small lemon. Let it cool in the saucepan, and when only just warm mix with it thoroughly three ounces of cur

rants, four of apples, chopped fine, a teaspoonful of flour, and three large or four small well-beaten eggs. Drop the mixture in small fritters, fry them in butter from five to seven minutes, and let them become quite firm on one side before they are turned: do this with a slice. Drain them as they are taken up, and sift white sugar over them after they are dished.

Whole rice, 3 ozs.; milk, 1 pint; sugar, 2 ozs.; butter, 1 oz.; grated rind of lemon; currants, 3 ozs.; minced apples, 4 ozs.; flour, 1 teaspoonful; a little salt; eggs, 3 large, or 4 small: 5 to 7 minutes.

FRITTERS OF SPRING FRUIT.

The rhubarb for these should be of a good sort, quickly grown, and tender. Pare, cut it into equal lengths, and throw it into the French batter of page 129; with a fork lift the stalks separately, and put them into a pan of boiling lard or butter: in from five to six minutes they will be done. Drain them well and dish them on a napkin, or pile them high without one, and strew sifted sugar plentifully over them: they should be of a very light brown, and quite dry and crisp. The young stalks look well when left in their entire length, and only slightly encrusted with the batter, through which they should be merely drawn.

5 to 6 minutes.

APPLE, PEACH, APRICOT, OR ORANGE FRITTERS.

Pare and core without dividing the apples, slice them in rounds the full size of the fruit, dip them into the same batter as that directed for the preceding fritters; fry them a pale brown, and let them be very dry. Serve them heaped high upon a folded napkin, and strew sifted sugar over them. After having stripped the outer rind from the oranges, remove carefully the white inner skin, and in slicing them take out the pips; then dip them into the batter and proceed as for the apple fritters. The peaches and apricots should be merely skinned, halved, and stoned before they are drawn through the batter, unless they should not be fully ripe, when they must first be stewed tender in a thin syrup.

8 to 12 minutes.

BRIOCHE FRITTERS.

The brioche-paste,* when good, makes very superior cannelons and fritters: it is, we should say, better in this form than For this see page 339.

in that of the bun or cake, in which it is seen so commonly abroad. Make it, for the fritters, into very small balls; roll them quite thin, put a teaspoonful or less of rich preserve into each, moisten the edges and fold the paste together securely, or with a small tin shape cut as many rounds of the brioche as are wanted, place some preserve in the centre of one half of these, moisten the edges, lay the remainder lightly over them, press them carefully together and restore them to a good form with the tin cutter, by trimming them with it to their original size; slip them gently into a pan of boiling lard, and fry them from four and a half to five minutes. Serve them very hot, crisp, and dry, piled on a folded napkin. The cannelons are made like those of paste, and are extremely good. They are sometimes filled with lemon-cheesecake mixture (see appendix), or with Madame Werner's (page 361), with the first of these they are even better than with preserve.

Fritters, 4 to 5 minutes; cannelons, 5 to 6 minutes.

POTATO FRITTERS. (ENTREMETS.)

See directions for potato puddings. The same mixture dropped in fritters into boiling butter, and fried until firm on both sides will be found very good.

LEMON FRITTERS. (ENTREMETS.)

Mix with six ounces of very fine bread-crumbs four of beef suet, minced as small as possible, four ounces of pounded sugar, a small tablespoonful of flour, four whole eggs, well and lightly whisked, and the grated rind of one large or of two small lemons, with half or the whole of the juice, at choice; but before this last is stirred in, add a spoonful or two of milk or cream if needed. Fry the mixture in small fritters for five or six minutes.