1301. Mirlitons

Ingredients required: - Puff-paste, trimmings, three whole eggs, three ounces of sugar, one ounce of ratifias, half an ounce of candied orange-flowers, one ounce of butter, and a little salt.

Put the above into a basin having a spout: the ratafias and orange-flowers must be bruised, and the butter merely melted; work the whole well together with a wooden spoon, until the batter presents the appearance of a rich creamy-looking-substance, it must then be instantly poured into two dozen small deep tartlets, lined with puff-paste trimmings; shake a rather thick coating of sifted sugar over the mirlitons, and when it has nearly melted on their surface, put them in the oven (at very moderate heat), and bake them of a light-fawn color. When the mirlitons are done, the centre should rise out from the tartlet to the height of about half an inch, resembling the crown of a boy's cap.

These cakes may also be flavored with chocolate, grated previously to its being added to the preparation; or with pistachios or almonds, both of these must be pounded first : they may also be flavored with different essences. Previously to pouring the batter into the tartlets a spoonful of apricot or pine-apple-jam may be placed in them.

1302. Pithiviers Cakes

Ingredients required: - Half a pound of puff-paste, eight ounces of almonds or nuts, six ounces of sugar, four ounces of butter, two ounces of ratafias, a spoonful of orange-flower-water, the yolks of four eggs, and a very little salt.

First, pound the almonds with a little white of egg, until they become pulverized; then add the remainder of the ingredients, and pound the whole well together until thoroughly incorporated, when it should present the appearance of a rather soft creamy paste; take this up in a basin.

While the above preparation is going on, half a pound of puff-paste should be made, to which seven turns or foldings must be given ; take two-thirds of this, and knead, or rather fold it, by twisting over the corners, so as to form it into a cushion; knead the other piece in a similar manner, and then roll them both out in a circular or oval form, to the size of a small dish or dessert plate; place the thinnest piece on a baking-sheet, wet round the edges with a paste-brush dipped in water, fill the whole of the centre with a layer of Pithciers cream, about an inch thick, and place the other piece of puff-paste over the top of this; press it all round the edge, by bearing on it with the thumb of the right hand; then trim the edges round neatly (in the manner practised to cut a vol-au-vent), and with the point of a small knife, handled lightly and freely, sketch or mark out some neat or elegant design, such as a lyre, a vase of flowers, a helmet with flowing mane or feathers, a wreath, or a star, etc. Shake some finely-sifted sugar over the cake, and bake it of the lightest possible color; indeed, it should be free from any color, the characteristic appearance of this kind of pastry being its whiteness. Pithiviers cake should be eaten cold.

These cakes may also be made in tartlet moulds, thinly lined with puff-paste, and after being neatly filled with the Pithiviers cream (the edges being previously wetted round), the mould must be covered in with circular pieces of puff-paste, stamped out with a cutter to fit them; then fastened down by pressing the two pieces of paste together with the forefinger and thumb of the right hand, and finished and baked as directed in the foregoing case.