The Virginia Housewife

A SWEETMEAT PUDDING

Make a quart of flour into puff paste; when done, divide it into three parts of unequal size; roll the largest out square and moderately thin, spread over it a thin layer of marmalade, leaving a margin all round about an inch broad; roll the next largest in the same manner, lay it on, cover that with marmalade, leaving a margin; then roll the smallest, and put it on the other two, spreading marmalade; fold it up, one fold over the other, the width of your hand–press the ends together, tie it in a cloth securely, and place it in a kettle of boiling water, where it can lie at length without doubling; boil it quickly, and when done, pour melted butter with sugar and wine in the dish.

TO MAKE AN ORANGE PUDDING

Put two oranges and two lemons, into five quarts of water–boil them till the rinds are quite tender; take them out, and when cold, slice them thin, and pick out the seeds; put a pound of loaf sugar into a pint of water–when it boils, slice into it twelve pippins pared and cored–lay in the lemons and oranges, stew them tender, cover the dish with puff paste, lay the fruit in carefully, in alternate layers–pour on the syrup, put some slips of paste across, and bake it.

AN APPLE CUSTARD

Pare and core twelve pippins, slice them tolerably thick, put a pound of loaf sugar in a stew pan, with a pint of water and twelve cloves: boil and skim it, then put in the apples, and stew them till clear, and but little of the syrup remains–lay them in a deep dish, and take out the cloves; when the apples are cold, pour in a quart of rich boiled custard–set it in water, and make it boil till the custard is set–take care the water does not get into it.

BOILED LOAF

Pour a quart of boiling milk over four little rolls of bread–cover them up, turning them occasionally till saturated with the milk; tie them very tight in cloths, and boil them an hour; lay them in the dish, and pour a little melted butter over them; for sauce, have butter in a boat, seasoned with wine, sugar, and grated nutmeg.

TRANSPARENT PUDDING

Beat eight eggs very light, add half a pound of pounded sugar, the same of fresh butter melted, and half a nutmeg grated; sit it on a stove, and keep stirring till it is as thick as buttered eggs–put a puff paste in a shallow dish, pour in the ingredients, and bake it half an hour in a moderate oven; sift sugar over it, and serve it up hot.

FLUMMERY

One measure of jelly, one of cream, and half a one of wine; boil it fifteen minutes over a slow fire, stirring all the time; sweeten it, and add a spoonful of orange flower or rose water; cool it in a mould, turn it in a dish, and pour around it cream, seasoned in any way you like.

BURNT CUSTARD

Boil a quart of milk–and when cold, mix with it the yelks of eight eggs; stir them together over the fire a few minutes; sweeten it to your taste, put some slices of savoy cake in the bottom of a deep dish, and pour on the custard; whip the whites of the eggs to a strong froth, lay it lightly on the top, sift some sugar over it, and hold a salamander over it until it is a light brown; garnish the top with raspberry marmalade, or any kind of preserved fruit.

AN ENGLISH PLUM PUDDING

Beat eight eggs very light, add to them a pound of flour sifted, and a pound of powdered sugar; when it looks quite light, put in a pound of suet finely shred, a pint of milk, a nutmeg grated, and a gill of brandy; mix with it a pound of currants, washed, picked, and dried, and a pound of raisins stoned and floured–tie it in a thick cloth, and boil it steadily eight hours.

MARROW PUDDING

Grate a large loaf of bread, and pour on the crumbs a pint of rich milk boiling hot; when cold, add four eggs, a pound of beef marrow sliced thin, a gill of brandy, with sugar and nutmeg to your taste–mix all well together, and either bake or boil it; when done, stick slices of citron over the top.

SIPPET PUDDING

Cut a loaf of bread as thin as possible, put a layer of it in the bottom of a deep dish, strew on some slices of marrow or butter, with a handful of currants or stoned raisins; do this till the dish is full; let the currants or raisins be at the top; beat four eggs, mix with them a quart of milk that has been boiled a little and become cold, a quarter of a pound of sugar, and a grated nutmeg–pour it in, and bake it in a moderate oven–eat it with wine sauce.

SWEET POTATO PUDDING

Boil one pound of sweet potatos very tender, rub them while hot through a colander; add six eggs well beaten, three quarters of a pound of powdered sugar, three quarters of butter, and some grated nutmeg and lemon peel, with a glass of brandy; put a paste in the dish, and when the pudding is done, sprinkle the top with sugar, and cover it with bits of citron. Irish potato pudding is made in the same manner, but is not so good.

AN ARROW ROOT PUDDING

Boil a quart of milk, and make it into a thick batter, with arrow root; add six eggs, half a pound of butter, the same of pounded sugar, half a nutmeg, and a little grated lemon peel; put a paste in the dish, and bake it nicely; when done, sift sugar over it, and stick slips of citron all over the top.

SAGO PUDDING

Wash half a pound of sago in several waters; put it on to boil in a quart of milk, with a stick of cinnamon; stir it very frequently, for it is apt to burn: when it becomes quite thick, take out the cinnamon, stir it in half a pound of butter, and an equal quantity of sugar, with a gill of wine; when cold, add six eggs and four ounces of currants that have been plumped in hot water–bake it in a paste.

PUFF PUDDING

Beat six eggs, add six spoonsful of milk, and six of flour, butter some cups, pour in the batter, and bake them quickly; turn them out, and eat them with butter, sugar and nutmeg.

RICE PUDDING

Boil half a pound of rice in milk, until it is quite tender; beat it well with a wooden spoon to mash the grains; add three quarters of a pound of sugar, and the same of melted butter; half a nutmeg, six eggs, a gill of wine, and some grated lemon peel; put a paste in the dish, and bake it. For change, it may be boiled, and eaten with butter, sugar, and wine.

PLUM PUDDING

Take a pound of the best flour, sift it, and make it up before sunrise, with six eggs beaten light; a large spoonful of good yeast, and as much milk as will make it the consistence of bread; let it rise well, knead into it half a pound of butter, put in a grated nutmeg, with one and a half pounds of raisins stoned and cut up; mix all well together, wet the cloth, flour it, and tie it loosely, that the pudding may have room to rise. Raisins for puddings or cakes, should be rubbed in a little flour, to prevent their settling to the bottom–see that it does not stick to them in lumps.

ALMOND PUDDING

Put a pound of sweet almonds in hot water till the skin will slip off them; pound them with a little orange flower or rose water, to keep them from oiling; mix with them four crackers, finely pounded, or two gills of rice flour; six eggs, a pint of cream, a pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, and four table-spoonsful of wine; put a nice paste in the bottom of your dish, garnish the edges, pour in the pudding bake it in a moderate oven.

QUIRE OF PAPER PANCAKES

Beat sixteen eggs, add to them a quart of milk, a nutmeg, half a pound of flour, a pound of melted butter, a pound of sugar, and two gills of wine; take care the flour be not in lumps; butter the pan for the first pancake, run them as thin as possible, and when coloured, they are done; do not turn them, but lay them carefully in the dish, sprinkling powdered sugar between each layer–serve them up hot. This quantity will make four dozen pancakes.

A CURD PUDDING

Put two quarts of milk on the fire; when it boils, pour in half a pint of white wine, strain the curd from the whey, and pound it in a mortar, with six ounces of butter, half a pound of loaf sugar, and half a pint of rice flour, or as much crackers beaten as fine as flour; six eggs made light, and half a grated nutmeg–beat all well together, and bake them in saucers in a moderate oven; turn them out carefully in your dish, stick thin slices of citron in them, and pour on rich melted butter, with sugar and wine.

LEMON PUDDING

Grate the rind from six fresh lemons, squeeze the juice from three, and strain it; beat the yelks of sixteen eggs very light, put to them sixteen table-spoonsful of powdered loaf sugar, not heaped up–the same of melted butter; add the grated rind, and the juice, four crackers finely pounded, or an equal quantity of rice flour; or for change, six ounces of corn meal which is excellent–beat it till light, put a puff paste in your dish, pour the pudding in, and bake it in a moderate oven–it must not be very brown.

BREAD PUDDING

Grate the crumb of a stale loaf, and pour on it a pint of boiling milk–let it stand an hour, then beat it to a pulp; add six eggs, well beaten, half a pound of butter, the same of powdered sugar, half a nutmeg, a glass of brandy, and some grated lemon peel–put a paste in the dish, and bake it.

THE HENRIETTA PUDDING

Beat six eggs very light, sift into them a pound of loaf sugar powdered, and a light pound of flour, with half a grated nutmeg, and a glass of brandy; beat all together very well, add a pint of cream, pour it in a deep dish, and bake it–when done, sift some powdered sugar over it.

TANSEY PUDDING

Beat seven eggs very light, mix with them a pint of cream, and nearly as much spinach juice, with a little juice of tansey; add a quarter of a pound of powdered crackers or pounded rice made fine, a glass of wine, some grated nutmeg and sugar; stir it over the fire to thicken, pour it into a paste and bake it, or fry it like an omelette.

CHERRY PUDDING

Beat six eggs very light, add half a pint of milk, six ounces flour, eight ounces grated bread, twelve ounces suet, chopped fine, a little salt; when it is beat well, mix in eighteen ounces preserved cherries or damsins; bake or boil it. Make a sauce of melted butter, sugar and wine.

APPLE PIE

Put a crust in the bottom of a dish, put on it a layer of ripe apples, pared and sliced thin–then a layer of powdered sugar; do this alternately till the dish is full; put in a few tea-spoonsful of rose water and some cloves–put on a crust and bake it.

BAKED APPLE PUDDING

Take well flavoured apples, bake, but do not burn them, rub them through a sieve, take one pound of the apples so prepared, mix with it, while hot, half a pound of butter, and half a pound of powdered sugar; the rinds of two lemons grated–and when cold, add six eggs well beaten; put a paste in the bottom of a dish, and pour in the apples–half an hour will bake it; sift a little sugar on the apples when baked.

A NICE BOILED PUDDING

Make up a pint of flour at sun rise, exactly as you do for bread; see that it rises well–have a large pot of water boiling; and half an hour before the puddings are to go to table, make the dough in balls, the size of a goose egg; throw them in the water, and boil them quickly, keeping the pot covered: they must be torn asunder, as cutting will make them heavy; eat them with powdered sugar, butter, and grated nutmeg.

AN EXCELLENT AND CHEAP DESSERT DISH

Wash a pint of small homony very clean, and boil it tender; add an equal quantity of corn meal, make it into a batter with eggs, milk, and a piece of butter; bake it like batter cakes on a griddle, and eat it with butter and molasses.

SLICED APPLE PUDDING

Beat six eggs very light, add a pint of rich milk, pare some apples or peaches–slice them thin, make the eggs and milk into a tolerably thick batter with flour, add a small cup of melted butter, put in the fruit, and bake it in a deep dish–eat with sugar, butter, and nutmeg.

BAKED INDIAN MEAL PUDDING

Boil one quart of milk, mix in it two gills and a half of corn meal very smoothly, seven eggs well beaten, a gill of molasses, and a good piece of butter, bake it two hours.

BOILED INDIAN MEAL PUDDING

Mix one quart of corn meal, with three quarts of milk; take care it be not lumpy–add three eggs and a gill of molasses; it must be put on at sun rise, to eat at three o'clock; the great art in this pudding is tying the bag properly, as the meal swells very much.

PUMPKIN PUDDING

Stew a fine sweet pumpkin till soft and dry; rub it through a sieve, mix with the pulp six eggs quite light, a quarter of a pound of butter, half a pint of new milk, some pounded ginger and nutmeg, a wine glass of brandy, and sugar to your taste. Should it be too liquid, stew it a little drier, put a paste round the edges, and in the bottom of a shallow dish or plate–pour in the mixture, cut some thin bits of paste, twist them, and lay them across the top, and bake it nicely.

FAYETTE PUDDING

Slice a loaf of bread tolerably thick–lay the slices in the bottom of a dish, cutting them so as to cover it completely; sprinkle some sugar and nutmeg, with a little butter, on each layer; when all are in, pour on a quart of good boiled custard sweetened–serve it up cold.

MACCARONI PUDDING

Simmer half a pound of maccaroni in a plenty of water, with a table-spoonful of salt, till tender, but not broke–strain it, beat five yelks, two whites of eggs, half a pint of cream–mince white meat and boiled ham very fine, add three spoonsful of grated cheese, pepper and salt; mix these with the maccaroni, butter the mould, put it in, and steam it in a pan of boiling water for an hour–serve with rich gravy.

POTATO PASTE

Boil mealy potatos quite soft, first taking off the skins; rub them while hot through a sieve, put them in a stew pan over the fire, with as much water as will make it the consistence of thick mush; sift one quart of flour, and make it into a paste; with this mush, knead it till light, roll it out thin, make the dumplins small–fill them with apples, or any other fruit–tie them up in a thick cloth, and boil them nicely–eat them with butter, sugar, and nutmeg.

COMPOTE OF APPLES

Pare and core the apples, and if you prefer it, cut them in four, wash them clean, and put them in a pan with water and sugar enough to cover them; add cinnamon and lemon peel, which has been previously soaked, scraped on the inside, and cut in strings; boil them gently until the apples are done, take them out in a deep dish, boil the syrup to a proper consistency, and pour it on them: it will take a pound of sugar for a large dish.

CHARLOTTE

Stew any kind of fruit, and season it in any you like best; soak some slices of bread in butter; them while hot, in the bottom and round the sides of a dish, which has been rubbed with butter–put in your fruit, and lay slices of bread prepared in the same manner on the top: bake it a few minutes, turn it carefully into another dish, sprinkle on some powdered sugar, and glaze it with a salamander.

APPLE FRITTERS

Pare some apples, and cut them in thin slices–put them in a bowl, with a glass of brandy, some white wine, a quarter of a pound of pounded sugar, a little cinnamon finely powdered, and the rind of a lemon grated; let them stand some time, turning them over frequently; beat two eggs very light, add one quarter of a pound of flour, a table-spoonful of melted butter, and as much cold water as will make a thin batter; drip the apples on a sieve, mix them with the batter, take one slice with a spoonful of batter to each fritter, fry them quickly of a light brown, drain them well, put them in a dish, sprinkling sugar over each, and glaze them nicely.

BELL FRITTERS

Put a piece of butter the size of an egg into a pint of water; let it boil a few minutes–thicken it very smoothly with a pint of flour; let it remain a short time on the fire, stir it all the time that it may not stick to the pan, pour it in a wooden bowl, add five or six eggs, breaking one and beating it in–then another, and so on till they are all in, and the dough quite light–put a pint of lard in a pan, let it boil, make the fritters small, and fry them of a fine amber colour.

BREAD FRITTERS

Cut your bread of a convenient size, pour on it some white wine, and let it stand a few minutes–drain it on a sieve, beat four eggs very light, add four spoonsful of wine, beat all well together–have your lard boiling, dip the bread in the egg, and fry it a light brown; sprinkle sugar on each, and glaze them.

SPANISH FRITTERS

Make up a quart of flour, with one egg well beaten, a large spoonful of yeast, and as much milk as will make it a little softer than muffin dough; mix it early in the morning; when well risen, work in two spoonsful of melted butter, make it in balls the size of a walnut, and fry them a light brown in boiling lard–eat them with wine and sugar, or molasses.

TO MAKE MUSH

Put a lump of butter the size of an egg into a quart of water, make it sufficiently thick with corn meal and a little salt; it must be mixed perfectly smooth–stir it constantly till done enough.

CAKES

JUMBALS

Put one pound of nice sugar into two pounds of flour, add pounded spice of any kind, and pass them through a sieve; beat four eggs, pour them on with three quarters of a pound of melted butter, knead all well together, and bake them.

MACAROONE

Blanch a pound of sweet almonds, pound them in a mortar with rose water; whip the whites of seven eggs to a strong froth, put in one pound of powdered sugar, beat it some time, then put in the almonds–mix them well, and drop them on sheets of paper buttered; sift sugar over, and bake them quickly. Be careful not to let them get discoloured.

TO MAKE DROP BISCUIT

Beat eight eggs very light, add to them twelve ounces of flour, and one pound of sugar; when perfectly light, drop them on tin sheets, and bake them in a quick oven.

TAVERN BISCUIT

To one pound of flour, add half a pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, some mace and nutmeg powdered, and a glass of brandy or wine; wet it with milk, and when well kneaded, roll it thin, cut it in shapes, and bake it quickly.

RUSK

Rub half a pound of sugar into three pounds of flour–sift it, pour on half a pint of good yeast, beat six eggs, add half a pint of milk–mix all together, knead it well: if not soft enough, add more milk-it should be softer than bread; make it at night–in the morning, if well risen, work in six ounces of butter, and bake it in small rolls; when cold, slice it, lay it on tin sheets, and dry it in the oven.

GINGER BREAD

Three quarts of flour, three quarters of a pound of brown sugar, a large spoonful of pounded ginger, one tea-spoonful of powdered cloves–sift it, melt half a pound of butter in a quart of rich molasses, wet the flour with it, knead it well, and bake it in a slack oven.

PLEBEIAN GINGER BREAD

Mix three large spoonsful of pounded ginger, with three quarts of flour–sift it, dissolve three tea-spoonsful of pearl-ash in a cup of water, and pour it on the flour; melt half a pound of butter in a quart of molasses, mix it with the flour, knead it well, cut it in shapes, and bake it.

SUGAR GINGER BREAD

Take two pounds of the nicest brown sugar, dry and pound it, put it into three quarts of flour, add a large cup full of powdered ginger, and sift the mixture; wash the salt out of a pound of butter, and cream it; have twelve eggs well beaten; work into the butter first, the mixture, then the froth from the eggs, until all are in, and it is quite light; add a glass of brandy butter shallow moulds, pour it in, and bake in a quick oven.

DOUGH NUTS–A YANKEE CAKE

Dry half a pound of good brown sugar, pound it and mix it with two pounds of flour, and sift it; add two spoonsful of yeast, and as much new milk as will make it like bread: when well risen, knead in half a pound of butter, make it in cakes the size of a half dollar, and fry them a light brown in boiling lard.

RISEN CAKE

Take three pounds of flour, one and a half of pounded sugar, a tea-spoonful of cloves, one of mace, and one of ginger, all finely powdered–pass the whole through a sieve, put to it four spoonsful of good yeast, and twelve eggs–mix it up well, and if not sufficiently soft, add a little milk: make it up at night, and set it to rise–when well risen, knead into it a pound of butter, and two gills of brandy; have ready two pounds of raisins stoned, mix all well together, pour it into a mould of proper size, and bake it in an oven heated as for bread; let it stand till thoroughly done, and do not take it from the mould until quite cold.

POUND CAKE

Wash the salt from a pound of butter, and rub it till it is soft as cream–have ready a pound of flour sifted, one of powdered sugar, and twelve eggs well beaten; put alternately into the butter, sugar, flour, and the froth from the eggs–continuing to beat them together till all the ingredients are in, and the cake quite light: add some grated lemon peel, a nutmeg, and a gill of brandy; butter the pans, and bake them. This cake makes an excellent pudding, if baked in a large mould, and eaten with sugar and wine. It is also excellent when boiled, and served up with melted butter, sugar and wine.

SAVOY OR SPUNGE CAKE

Take twelve fresh eggs, put them in the scale, and balance them with sugar: take out half, and balance the other half with flour; separate the whites from the yelks, whip them up very light, then mix them, and sift in, first sugar, then flour, till both are exhausted; add some grated lemon peel; bake them in paper cases, or little tin moulds. This also makes an excellent pudding, with butter, sugar, and wine, for sauce.

A RICH FRUIT CAKE

HAVE the following articles prepared, before you begin the cake: four pounds of flour dried and sifted, four pounds of butter washed to free it from salt, two pounds of loaf sugar pounded, a quarter of a pound of mace, the same of nutmegs powdered; wash four pounds of currants clean, pick and dry them; blanch one pound of sweet almonds, and cut them in very thin slices; stone two pounds of raisins, cut them in two, and strew a little flour over to prevent their sticking together, and two pounds of citron sliced thin; break thirty eggs, separating the yelks and whites; work the butter to a cream with your hand-put in alternately, flour, sugar, and the froth from both whites and yelks, which must be beaten separately, and only the froth put in. When all are mixed and the cake looks very light, add the spice, with half a pint of brandy, the currants and almonds; butter the mould well, pour in part of the cake, strew over it some raisins and citron–do this until all is in: set it in a well heated oven: when it has risen, and the top is coloured, cover it with paper; it will require three hours baking–it must be iced.

NAPLES BISCUIT

Beat twelve eggs light, add to them one pound of flour, and one of powdered sugar; continue to beat all together till perfectly light; bake it in long pans, four inches wide, with divisions; so that each cake, when done, will be four inches long, and one and a half wide.

SHREWSBURY CAKES

Mix a pound of sugar, with two pounds of flour, and a large spoonful of pounded coriander seeds; sift them, add three quarters of a pound of melted butter, six eggs, and a gill of brandy; knead it well, roll it thin, cut it in shapes, and bake without discolouring it.

LITTLE PLUM CAKES

Prepare them as directed for pound cake, add raisins and currants, bake them in small tin shapes, and ice them.

SODA CAKES

Dissolve half a pound of sugar in a pint of milk, add a tea-spoonful of soda; pour it on two pounds of flour–melt half a pound of butter, knead all together till light, put it in shallow moulds, and bake it quickly in a brisk oven.

TO MAKE BREAD

When you find the barrel of flour a good one, empty it into a chest or box, made for the purpose, with a lid that will shut close: it keeps much better in this manner than when packed in a barrel, and even improves by lying lightly; sift the quantity you intend to make up–put into a bowl two gills and a half of water for each quart, with a tea-spoon heaped up with salt, and a large spoonful of yeast for each quart; stir this mixture well, put into another bowl one handful of flour from every quart; pour a little of the mixture on to wet it, then more, until you get it all in, taking great care that it be smooth, and quite free from lumps; beat it some minutes, take one-third of the flour out of the kettle, pour on the batter, and sprinkle over it the dry flour; stop the kettle, and set it where it can have a moderate degree of warmth: when it has risen well, turn it into a bowl, mix in the dry flour, and knead it on a board till it looks quite light; return it to the kettle, and place it where it can have proper heat: in the morning, take the dry crust carefully from the top, put the dough on a board, knead it well, make it into rolls, set them on tin sheets, put a towel over, and let them stand near the fire till the oven is ready. In winter, make the bread up at three o'clock, and it will be ready to work before bed time. In summer, make it up at five o'clock. A quart of flour should weigh just one pound and a quarter. The bread must be rasped when baked.