(3232). Breton Cake (Gateau Breton)

Set in a basin one pound and a quarter of sugar, eighteen eggs and a small pinch of salt; beat continuously for twenty-five to thirty minutes so as to have it very light, then add six ounces of almonds, including an ounce of bitter ones, these to be pounded very finely with one egg. Continue the beating process for a few minutes longer and then mix in a pound and a half of sifted flour and finally ten ounces of melted butter. Distribute this preparation into a set of six Breton molds, having these buttered and floured; fill them up to the top and bake in a slack oven. Remove as fast as they are done, unmold on a grate, let cool and then pare very straight. Ice the smallest as well as the fourth one in size with white vanilla fondant (No. 58); the second and fifth with pink strawberry fondant and the third and sixth with chocolate fondant. Dry the icings well then dress the cakes on an office paste foundation in a pyramid, one on the other, alternating the colors and graduating the various sizes. Fill the hollow formed in the cake with Quillet cream ( No. 48), and decorate with more of this pushed through a cornet.

Keep the cake in a cool place until required for serving.

(3233). Crown Of Brioche (Couronne De Brioche)

Put two pounds of brioche paste (No. 130) that has been sufficiently raised and hardened on ice on a floured table, form it into a ball and lay it on a round baking sheet covered with paper; flatten it slightly with the hands and make a hole in the center, spreading out the paste so that it forms into a large ring; place it on a baking dish, equalize, egg and gash a round inside of the crown with the tip of a knife, raising the dough: push into a well-heated oven and bake for thirty-five minutes. These crowns can be made of a smaller size, two ounces each, to be served for breakfast.

(3234). Large Brioche With Head (Grosse Brioche A, Tete)

Have a brioche paste prepared the same as described in No. 130; put this in a vessel in a cool place and let it rise to half its size again. Then work it once more and set it in the ice-box for two hours to have it harden. Butter a tin mold six and a half inches in diameter and eight inches deep; line it with paper and butter this over. Mold a four-pound round-shaped piece of the paste, put it in the mold, then mold another pound piece and roll it on the table on one side to give it a long pear-form appearance; with dampened fingers make a hole in the center of the first paste and in it insert the pointed end of the pear; leave the mold in a moderately heated place to have the paste rise to the level of the top, then egg it over twice and put in a slack oven to cook for two hours. Unmold as soon as done, allow to cool and dress on a folded napkin. In case there be no mold at hand use a cylinder of strong paper the same diameter as the mold.

(3235). Chamounix Cake (Gateau Chamounix)

Bake in a slack oven a small Genoese preparation (No. 3239) placed in a border mold, it having a round-shaped bottom buttered and bestrewn with chopped almonds. After it is taken from the oven, cold and pared, brush the surface over with apricot marmalade (No. 3675) and lay it on a pastry grate, then cover entirely with kirsch icing (No. 102), and when this is dry dress on a dish. Suppress the shells from about a hundred chestnuts, without touching the skins; boil them slowly in plenty of water in a covered vessel, then drain off the water, leaving them covered with a hot cloth; now quickly remove the skins; pound and rub the chestnuts through a sieve into a saucepan with three-quarters of their weight of powdered sugar added, also a small bit of vanilla; stir this well over a moderate fire until it detaches from the bottom and leave it till nearly cold, then dilute with a little light syrup and kirsch; incorporate into the mixture a few spoonfuls of well-drained whipped cream, but without weakening it, keeping it quite consistent, then stir on ice for ten minutes to harden, adding a salpicon of vari-colored fruits after it is removed.

With this preparation fill up the hollow of the cake and smooth it to a dome-shape, then decorate through a cornet with whipped cream slightly sweetened and flavored with vanilla.