1357. Neapolitan Cake, A La Chantilly

First, weigh one pound of flour, eight ounces of sifted sugar, eight ounces of pounded almonds, and eight ounces of butter; place these ingredients on the pastry slab, add five yolks of eggs, the zest of the rind of two oranges extracted by rubbing on a piece of sugar, and a very little salt; work these well together, and when they are thoroughly mixed, knead the paste into the form of a rolling-pin, and divide it into twelve equal parts; these must be again kneaded into round balls, rolled out to the diameter of about seven inches, placed upon baking-sheets, spread with butter; after having cut them all of the same size with a circular tin-cutter, let them be egged and pricked all over with a fork, and baked of a light color, and when done, placed on a level slab or table, with a baking-sheet upon them, to keep them straight as they become cold. These flats must then be laid one upon another, with a layer of some kind of preserve spread between each: apricot, greengage, strawberry; orange, or raspberry-jam, may be used for the purpose. Previously to placing the last piece on the top of the cake, it should he first decorated with -meringue-paste or sugar-icing; the sides must be masked with some kind of bright preserve, - such as greengage, apricot, red-currant, or apple-jelly, and afterwards ornamented with a design similar to that represented in the wood-cut, formed either of almond or gum-paste (raised from carved boards used for such purposes) ; or else with piping, as used for wedding-cakes. The cake should then be placed on its dish, the centre filled with whipped cream, and some strawberries piled on the top ; when these are not in season, preserved cherries, verjuice, or angelica may be substituted.

1358. Croquante Of Oranges

Let the peel and all the white pith be carefully removed with the fingers from about a dozen sound, and not over-ripe oranges; then divide them by pulling them into small sections with the fingers, taking care not to break the thin skin which envelopes the juicy pulp, then place them on an earthen dish. Next, put about one pound of the finest lump-sugar into a sugar-boiler with sufficient spring water to just cover it and boil it down until it snaps or becomes brittle, which may be easily ascertained thus: take up a little of the sugar, when it begins to boil up in large purling bubbles, on the point of a knife, and instantly dip it into some cold water; if the sugar becomes set, it is sufficiently boiled, and will then easily snap in breaking. The sugar should now be withdrawn from the fire. The pieces of orange stuck on the points of small wooden skewers must be slightly dipped in the sugar, and arranged at the bottom and round the sides of a plain circular mould (previously very lightly rubbed with salad-oil), according to the foregoing design. When the whole is complete, and the sugar has become firm by cooling, just before sending to table, fill the inside of the croquante with whipped cream, seasoned with sugar, a glass of maraschino and some whole strawberries, and then turn it out on to a napkin, and serve.