Nut creams, with the exception of almond, are not very well known, but are so delicious that they ought to be. One reason perhaps is that it is not generally known that kernels of nuts, such as hazel-nuts, walnuts, hickory-nuts, etc., can be bought by the pound at confectioners' supply stores. This, of course, saves the tedious work of cracking and shelling. To use with creams or for frozen puddings the nuts must be pounded Very well, with very little white of egg - just enough to moisten and render the process easy.

Cocoanut Cream

Grate a fresh, sweet cocoanut (having first peeled, washed, and wiped it dry); mix with it an ounce of sugar; melt in as little water as possible three quarters of an ounce of gelatine; whip the whites of three eggs, mix them with half a pint of milk, and stir over the fire until the custard thickens; sweeten with four table-spoonfuls of sugar. Stir the gelatine and a full half-pint of grated cocoanut with the cocoanut milk into the custard. Whip half a pint of thick cream solid, and stir it very carefully into the custard; when the latter is quite cold, but before it sets, flavor with a little vanilla or lemon extract. Mould and set on ice.

Hazel-Nut Cream

Pat a pint of hazel-nut kernels into a cool oven until they are thoroughly dry and rather hot (they must not become too hot, or they will change flavor); then rub them between two coarse cloths to get rid of as much as possible of the skin (it cannot be entirely removed); blow away the loose hulls, and pound the nuts to a paste with a little white of egg. Make a custard with the yolks of three eggs and half a pint of milk; dissolve half an ounce of gelatine in a gill of water, mix with six ounces of powdered sugar, and add to the custard when nearly cool. Stir in the hazel-nut paste, taking care that it is well mixed with the custard, and add a half-pint of cream whipped solid; flavor with vanilla, or you may omit flavoring, the hazel-nut being sufficient for many people. Mould and set on ice.

This cream and the two that follow are flecked with brown, for which reason it may be colored brown with caramel, although I prefer it uncolored, the specks being no more objectionable than the vanilla seeds one rejoices to see in ice-cream.

Walnut Or Hickory-Nut Cream

Pound one pint of either of these nuts, after rubbing them well in a cloth, make the same custard as for hazel-nut cream, stir in the walnut or hickory-nut paste till smooth, add the whipped cream, color a pale pink with cochineal, and flavor faintly with rum or vanilla. Mould, set on ice, and serve with whipped cream flavored slightly with rum.

Bohemian Jelly Creams

These may be made of any flavor, according to the jelly you use. It may be jelly of fruit or liqueur. If fresh fruit is used for jelly, the juice must be expressed, and well-sweetened gelatine added in the proportion of an ounce to the pint. If jam or marmalade is used, a pint of water is added and the same amount of gelatine, with the juice of half a lemon to the pint. Water, jam, and dissolved gelatine must be mixed quickly and passed through a sieve; either must be stirred in a bowl set in ice till quite cold and beginning to thicken; then stir in gently and quickly three-quarters of a pint of cream whipped solid; pour the mixture into the mould, which must be set in ice. Cover well, and keep on ice till needed.