Garnishing

For garnishing cold desserts use fancy cakes, icings, fresh or candied fruits, compotes, jellies, nuts, currants, raisins, angelica, spun sugar, which can be made in nests, balls or to encircle a dish. Fresh flowers and leaves also make a most attractive decoration. Angelica can be cut in strips, then in little diamond shapes, making very effective decoration, and especially so when combined with candied cherries, sugared rose leaves or sugared violets or lilac blossoms. Angelica is not expensive - a ten-cent piece will last quite a while.

Flavoring

Essences of fruit, flowers and nuts make some of the best flavoring. They cost about twenty cents a bottle. Vanilla is most commonly used, but many other flavors should help to take its place. It is not considered wholesome. Oranges and lemons are always a pleasant flavor, using the juice or grated yellow of the peel (not the white). The preserved peel makes a delicious flavor as well as a pretty garnish.

Liqueurs And Wines

Liqueurs and cordials are rich syrups of different flavors, with only enough alcohol to keep them. They give a very delicate and pleasant flavor and are inexpensive, as a bottle will last a long time. Maraschino has the flavor of bitter cherry, noyan of peach, curacao of orange peel. Rum, brandy and wine, either madeira, sherry or port, are used a great deal and impart a very agreeable flavor, if not too generously used.

Coloring

Use the vegetable coloring paste; it comes twenty-five cents a bottle. A bottle will last a long time, as it requires a very little to give the delicate coloring that you wish to use. Dilute a little in milk or water before using.

Petite Sponge Bavarian

Bake sponge cake in very thin sheets; with a biscuit cutter cut from it small cakes. Make a plain Bavarian cream and spread one-half inch thick on the small cakes, place one on top, making a sandwich; when the Bavarian cream seems firm cover the sandwiches all over with a chocolate frosting; sprinkle small candies over the top.

Diplomatic Pudding

Mould in a double mould. Line a mould one inch thick with wine, orange or lemon jelly, fill up the center with Bavarian cream. First decorate the mould with candied fruits, making some design, hold the decoration in place with a little of the jelly the mould is to be lined with. When firm, line with the jelly, decorate with whipped cream, sprinkle over with the fruits.

Fruit Cream

Soften one and one-fourth tablespoonfuls of granulated gelatine in one-fourth cup of cold water, dissolve with one-fourth cup of hot milk, add one-half cup of sugar, one-half cup each of cooked figs and prunes, cut in small pieces, and one-half cup of white grapes skinned, seeded and cut in pieces. Mix all together with one cup of heavy cream, whipped, stir occasionally until it begins to set, then mould.

Chocolate Macaroon Cream

1 tablespoonful granulated gelatine. 1/4 cup cold water.

2 cups milk.

3 eggs.

1 square chocolate.

1/2 cup sugar.

1/2 cup macaroons which have been dried and rolled fine.

Soak the gelatine in cold water. Scald the milk. Add chocolate to the milk. When melted add the egg yolks beaten with the sugar with a speck of salt. Stir until the mixture thickens. Remove from the fire and add macaroons. When slightly cooled, the stiffly beaten whites. Teaspoonful of vanilla. Turn into mold. Serve cold, surrounded by whipped cream.