Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/1219

Rh and flavour it with vanilla; add a few drops of carmine to the second portion, and flavour it with raspberry; flavour the remaining portion with pineapple. Roll out into 3 squares of uniform size and thickness, place them one above the other, and press lightly together with a rolling pin. Let the paste stand for at least 12 hours, then cut up into small squares. Roll in finely-chopped dried almonds or desiccated cocoanut, or coat with chocolate. If preferred, they may be crystallized by dipping in syrup prepared as below.

Ingredients.—2 lbs. of cane loaf sugar, 1½ gills of water, 1 dessertspoonful of glucose, colouring and flavouring to taste.

Method.—Dissolve the sugar in the water, bring to boiling point, add the glucose, and boil to the "soft ball" degree. Turn on to a marble slab, work well with a spatula until white, then knead with the hands until perfectly smooth. Colour and flavour to taste, put a small portion into a cup, stand the cup in a tin of boiling water, and stir until the fondant has the appearance of thick cream. Any kind of fruit or nuts may one by one be dipped into the liquid fondant; care should be taken to coat them thoroughly; cherries, grapes, etc., may be held by the stem, but nuts must be immersed and lifted out with a ring fork. During the process the fondant must be kept warm to prevent it hardening.

Ingredients.—3 lbs. of loaf sugar, 1 pint of cold water.

Method.—Dissolve the sugar in the water, then boil it to the "small thread" degree. Pour the syrup into a basin, cover with a damp cloth, and let it remain until perfectly cold. Place the prepared fondant in a crystallizing tray or drainer, pour the syrup over, cover the whole with a damp cloth, and let it stand in a rather warm dry place from 9 to 10 hours. Drain off the syrup, let the fondants dry thoroughly, and pack in air-tight boxes.

Ingredients.—½ a lb. of fondant cream, 18 dried walnuts, green colouring, pineapple essence.

Method.—Make the fondant cream as directed, colour it pale green, and flavour it to taste with pineapple essence. Divide into 18 equal portions, form them first into balls, then press them into oval cakes, the same shape and size as the walnuts. Place the cakes between 2 halves of walnuts, press firmly together, and let them harden in a dry and fairly warm place.