# The Virginia Housewife: or, Methodical Cook/Puddings

The salt should always be washed from butter, when it is to be used in any thing that has sugar for an ingredient, and also from that which is melted to grease any kind of mould for baking—otherwise, there will be a disagreeable salt taste on the outer side of the article baked. Raisins should be stoned and cut in two, and have some flour sifted over them—stir them gently in the flour, and take them out free from lumps; the small quantity that adheres to them, will ​prevent their sticking together, or falling in a mass to the bottom. Eggs must be fresh, or they will not beat well: it is better to separate the yelks from the whites always, though it is a more troublesome process; but for some things it is essential to do so: when they are to be mixed with milk, let it cool after boiling, or the eggs will poach; and only set it on the fire a few minutes, to take off the raw taste of the eggs, stirring it all the time. Currants require washing in many waters to cleanse them; they must be picked and well dried, or they will stick together. Almonds should be put in hot water till the skins will slip off, which is called blanching; they must always be pounded with rose or orange flower water, to prevent their oiling. When cream is used, put it in just before the mixture is ready; much beating will decompose it. Before a pudding or cake is begun, every ingredient necessary for it must be ready; when the process is retarded by neglecting to have them prepared, the article is injured. The oven must be in a proper state, and the paste in the dishes or moulds, ready for such things as require it. Promptitude is necessary in all our actions, but never more so than when engaged in making cakes and puddings. When only one or two eggs are to be used, cooks generally think it needless to beat them—it is an error: eggs injure every thing, unless they are made light before they are used. Cloths for boiling puddings should be made of German sheeting; an article less thick, will admit the water, and injure the pudding.
RICE MILK FOR A DESSERT.
Boil half a pint of rice in water till tender, pour off the water, and add a pint of milk with two eggs beaten well, stirred into it; boil all together two or three minutes; serve it up hot, and eat it with butter, sugar, and nutmeg. It may be sweetened and cooled in moulds, turned out in a deep dish, and surrounded with rich milk, with raspberry marmalade stirred into it, and strained to keep back the seeds—or the milk may be seasoned with wine and sugar.
TO MAKE PUFF PASTE.
Sift a quart of flour, leave out a little for rolling the paste, make up the remainder with cold water into a stiff paste, knead it well, and roll it out several times; wash the salt from a pound of butter, divide it into four parts, put one of them on the paste in little bits, fold it up, and continue to roll it till the butter is well mixed; then put another portion of butter, roll it in the same manner; do this till all the butter is mingled with the paste; touch it very lightly with the hands in making—bake it in a moderate oven, that will permit it to rise, but will not make it brown. Good paste must look white, and as light as a feather.
TO MAKE MINCEMEAT FOR PIES.
Boil either calves or hogs’ feet till perfectly tender, rub them through a colander; when cold, pass them through again, and it will come out like pearl barley; ​take one quart of this, one of chopped apples, the same of currants, washed and picked, raisins stoned and cut, of good brown sugar, suet nicely chopped, and cider, with a pint of brandy; add a tea-spoonful of pounded mace, one of cloves and of nutmegs; mix all these together intimately. When the pies are to be made, take out as much of this mixture as may be necessary; to each quart of it, add a tea-spoonful of pounded black pepper, and one of salt; this greatly improves the flavour, and can be better mixed with a small portion than with the whole mass. Cover the moulds with paste, put in a sufficiency of mincemeat, cover the top with citron sliced thin, and lay on it a lid garnished around with paste cut in fanciful shapes. They may be eaten either hot or cold, but are best when hot.
TO MAKE JELLY FROM FEET.
Boil four calfs’ feet, that have been nicely cleaned, and the hoofs taken off; when the feet are boiled to pieces, strain the liquor through a colander, and when cold, take all the grease off, and put the jelly in a skillet, leaving the dregs which will be at the bottom. There should be from four feet, about two quarts of jelly: pour into it one quart of white wine, the juice of six fresh lemons strained from the seeds, one pound and a half of powdered loaf sugar, a little pounded cinnamon and mace, and the rind thinly pared from two of the lemons; wash eight eggs very clean, whip up the whites to a froth, crush the shells and put with them, mix it with the jelly, set it on the fire, stir it occasionally till the jelly is melted, but do not touch ​it afterwards. When it has boiled till it looks quite clear on one side, and the dross accumulates on the other, take off carefully the thickest part of the dross, and pour the jelly in the bag; put back what runs through, until it becomes quite transparent—then set a pitcher under the bag, and put a cover all over to keep out the dust: the jelly looks much prettier when it is broken to fill the glasses. The bag should be made of cotton or linen, and be suspended in a frame made for the purpose. The feet of hogs make the palest coloured jelly; those of sheep are a beautiful amber-colour, when prepared.
A SWEETMEAT PUDDING.
Make a quart of flour into puff paste; when done, divide it into three parts of unequal size; roll the largest out square and moderately thin, spread over it a thin layer of marmalade, leaving a margin all round about an inch broad; roll the next largest in the same manner, lay it on, cover that with marmalade, leaving a margin; then roll the smallest, and put it on the other two, spreading marmalade; fold it up, one fold over the other, the width of your hand—press the ends together, tie it in a cloth securely, and place it in a kettle of boiling water, where it can lie at length without doubling; boil it quickly, and when done, pour melted butter with sugar and wine in the dish.
TO MAKE AN ORANGE PUDDING.
Put two oranges and two lemons, into five quarts of water—boil them till the rinds are quite tender; ​take them out, and when cold, slice them thin, and pick out the seeds; put a pound of loaf sugar into a pint of water—when it boils, slice into it twelve pippins pared and cored—lay in the lemons and oranges, stew them tender, cover the dish with puff paste, lay the fruit in carefully, in alternate layers—pour on the syrup, put some slips of paste across, and bake it.
AN APPLE CUSTARD.
Pare and core twelve pippins, slice them tolerably thick, put a pound of loaf sugar in a stew pan, with a pint of water and twelve cloves: boil and skim it, then put in the apples, and stew them till clear, and but little of the syrup remains—lay them in a deep dish, and take out the cloves; when the apples are cold, pour in a quart of rich boiled custard—set it in water, and make it boil till the custard is set—take care the water does not get into it.
BOILED LOAF.
Pour a quart of boiling milk over four little rolls of bread—cover them up, turning them occasionally till saturated with the milk; tie them very tight in cloths, and boil them an hour; lay them in the dish, and pour a little melted butter over them; for sauce, have butter in a boat, seasoned with wine, sugar, and grated nutmeg.
TRANSPARENT PUDDING.
Beat eight eggs very light, add half a pound of pounded sugar, the same of fresh butter melted, and ​half a nutmeg grated; sit it on a stove, and keep stirring till it is as thick as buttered eggs—put a puff paste in a shallow dish, pour in the ingredients, and bake it half an hour in a moderate oven; sift sugar over it, and serve it up hot.
FLUMMERY.
One measure of jelly, one of cream, and half a one of wine; boil it fifteen minutes over a slow fire, stirring all the time; sweeten it, and add a spoonful of orange flower or rose water; cool it in a mould, turn it in a dish, and pour around it cream, seasoned in any way you like.
BURNT CUSTARD.
Boil a quart of milk—and when cold, mix with it the yelks of eight eggs; stir them together over the fire a few minutes; sweeten it to your taste, put some slices of savoy cake in the bottom of a deep dish, and pour on the custard; whip the whites of the eggs to a strong froth, lay it lightly on the top, sift some sugar over it, and hold a salamander over it until it is a light brown; garnish the top with raspberry marmalade, or any kind of preserved fruit.
AN ENGLISH PLUM PUDDING.
Beat eight eggs very light, add to them a pound of flour sifted, and a pound of powdered sugar; when it looks quite light, put in a pound of suet finely shred, a pint of milk, a nutmeg grated, and a gill of brandy; ​mix with it a pound of currants, washed, picked, and dried, and a pound of raisins stoned and floured—tie it in a thick cloth, and boil it steadily eight hours.
MARROW PUDDING.
Grate a large loaf of bread, and pour on the crumbs a pint of rich milk boiling hot; when cold, add four eggs, a pound of beef marrow sliced thin, a gill of brandy, with sugar and nutmeg to your taste—mix all well together, and either bake or boil it; when done, stick slices of citron over the top.
SIPPET PUDDING.
Cut a loaf of bread as thin as possible, put a layer of it in the bottom of a deep dish, strew on some slices of marrow or butter, with a handful of currants or stoned raisins; do this till the dish is full; let the currants or raisins be at the top; beat four eggs, mix with them a quart of milk that has been boiled a little and become cold, a quarter of a pound of sugar, and a grated nutmeg—pour it in, and bake it in a moderate oven—eat it with wine sauce.
SWEET POTATO PUDDING.
Boil one pound of sweet potatos very tender, rub them while hot through a colander; add six eggs well beaten, three quarters of a pound of powdered sugar, three quarters of butter, and some grated nutmeg and lemon peel, with a glass of brandy; put a paste in the dish, and when the pudding is done, sprinkle the ​top with sugar, and cover it with bits of citron. Irish potato pudding is made in the same manner, but is not so good.
AN ARROW ROOT PUDDING.
Boil a quart of milk, and make it into a thick batter, with arrow root; add six eggs, half a pound of butter, the same of pounded sugar, half a nutmeg, and a little grated lemon peel; put a paste in the dish, and bake it nicely; when done, sift sugar over it, and stick slips of citron all over the top.
SAGO PUDDING.
Wash half a pound of sago in several waters; put it on to boil in a quart of milk, with a stick of cinnamon; stir it very frequently, for it is apt to burn: when it becomes quite thick, take out the cinnamon, stir it in half a pound of butter, and an equal quantity of sugar, with a gill of wine; when cold, add six eggs and four ounces of currants that have been plumped in hot water—bake it in a paste.
PUFF PUDDING.
Beat six eggs, add six spoonsful of milk, and six of flour, butter some cups, pour in the batter, and bake them quickly; turn them out, and eat them with butter, sugar and nutmeg.
RICE PUDDING.
Boil half a pound of rice in milk, until it is quite tender; beat it well with a wooden spoon to mash the ​grains; add three quarters of a pound of sugar, and the same of melted butter; half a nutmeg, six eggs, a gill of wine, and some grated lemon peel; put a paste in the dish, and bake it. For change, it may be boiled, and eaten with butter, sugar, and wine.
PLUM PUDDING.
Take a pound of the best flour, sift it, and make it up before sunrise, with six eggs beaten light; a large spoonful of good yeast, and as much milk as will make it the consistence of bread; let it rise well, knead into it half a pound of butter, put in a grated nutmeg, with one and a half pounds of raisins stoned and cut up; mix all well together, wet the cloth, flour it, and tie it loosely, that the pudding may have room to rise. Raisins for puddings or cakes, should be rubbed in a little flour, to prevent their settling to the bottom—see that it does not stick to them in lumps.
ALMOND PUDDING.
Put a pound of sweet almonds in hot water till the skin will slip off them; pound them with a little orange flower or rose water, to keep them from oiling; mix with them four crackers, finely pounded, or two gills of rice flour; six eggs, a pint of cream, a pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, and four table-spoonsful of wine; put a nice paste in the bottom of your dish, garnish the edges, pour in the pudding, and bake it in a moderate oven.
QUIRE OF PAPER PANCAKES.
Beat sixteen eggs, add to them a quart of milk, a nutmeg, half a pound of flour, a pound of melted butter, a pound of sugar, and two gills of wine; take care the flour be not in lumps; butter the pan for the first pancake, run them as thin as possible, and when coloured, they are done; do not turn them, but lay them carefully in the dish, sprinkling powdered sugar between each layer—serve them up hot. This quantity will make four dozen pancakes.
A CURD PUDDING.
Put two quarts of milk on the fire; when it boils, pour in half a pint of white wine, strain the curd from the whey, and pound it in a mortar, with six ounces of butter, half a pound of loaf sugar, and half a pint of rice flour, or as much crackers beaten as fine as flour; six eggs made light, and half a grated nutmeg—beat all well together, and bake them in saucers in a moderate oven; turn them out carefully in your dish, stick thin slices of citron in them, and pour on rich melted butter, with sugar and wine.
LEMON PUDDING.
Grate the rind from six fresh lemons, squeeze the juice from three, and strain it; beat the yelks of sixteen eggs very light, put to them sixteen table-spoonsful of powdered loaf sugar, not heaped up—the same of melted butter; add the grated rind, and the juice, with four crackers finely pounded, or an equal quantity ​of rice flour; or for change, six ounces of corn meal, which is excellent—beat it till light, put a puff paste in your dish, pour the pudding in, and bake it in a moderate oven—it must not be very brown.
BREAD PUDDING.
Grate the crumb of a stale loaf, and pour on it a pint of boiling milk—let it stand an hour, then beat it to a pulp; add six eggs, well beaten, half a pound of butter, the same of powdered sugar, half a nutmeg, a glass of brandy, and some grated lemon peel—put a paste in the dish, and bake it.
THE HENRIETTA PUDDING.
Beat six eggs very light, sift into them a pound of loaf sugar powdered, and a light pound of flour, with half a grated nutmeg, and a glass of brandy; beat all together very well, add a pint of cream, pour it in a deep dish, and bake it—when done, sift some powdered sugar over it.
TANSEY PUDDING.
Beat seven eggs very light, mix with them a pint of cream, and nearly as much spinach juice, with a little juice of tansey; add a quarter of a pound of powdered crackers or pounded rice made fine, a glass of wine, some grated nutmeg and sugar; stir it over the fire to thicken, pour it into a paste and bake it, or fry it like an omelette.
CHERRY PUDDING.
Beat six eggs very light, add half a pint of milk, six ounces flour, eight ounces grated bread, twelve ounces suet, chopped fine, a little salt; when it is beat well, mix in eighteen ounces preserved cherries or damsins; bake or boil it. Make a sauce of melted butter, sugar and wine.
APPLE PIE.
Put a crust in the bottom of a dish, put on it a layer of ripe apples, pared and sliced thin—then a layer of powdered sugar; do this alternately till the dish is full; put in a few tea-spoonsful of rose water and some cloves—put on a crust and bake it.
BAKED APPLE PUDDING.
Take well flavoured apples, bake, but do not burn them, rub them through a sieve, take one pound of the apples so prepared, mix with it, while hot, half a pound of butter, and half a pound of powdered sugar; the rinds of two lemons grated—and when cold, add six eggs well beaten; put a paste in the bottom of a dish, and pour in the apples—half an hour will bake it; sift a little sugar on the apples when baked.
A NICE BOILED PUDDING.
Make up a pint of flour at sun rise, exactly as you do for bread; see that it rises well—have a large pot ​of water boiling; and half an hour before the puddings are to go to table, make the dough in balls, the size of a goose egg; throw them in the water, and boil them quickly, keeping the pot covered: they must be torn asunder, as cutting will make them heavy; eat them with powdered sugar, butter, and grated nutmeg.
AN EXCELLENT AND CHEAP DESSERT DISH.
Wash a pint of small homony very clean, and boil it tender; add an equal quantity of corn meal, make it into a batter with eggs, milk, and a piece of butter; bake it like batter cakes on a griddle, and eat it with butter and molasses.
SLICED APPLE PUDDING.
Beat six eggs very light, add a pint of rich milk, pare some apples or peaches—slice them thin, make the eggs and milk into a tolerably thick batter with flour, add a small cup of melted butter, put in the fruit, and bake it in a deep dish—eat with sugar, butter, and nutmeg.
BAKED INDIAN MEAL PUDDING.
Boil one quart of milk, mix in it two gills and a half of corn meal very smoothly, seven eggs well beaten, a gill of molasses, and a good piece of butter; bake it two hours.
BOILED INDIAN MEAL PUDDING
Mix one quart of corn meal, with three quarts of milk; take care it be not lumpy—add three eggs and a gill of molasses; it must be put on at sun rise, to eat at three o’clock; the great art in this pudding is tying the bag properly, as the meal swells very much.
PUMPKIN PUDDING.
Stew a fine sweet pumpkin till soft and dry; rub it through a sieve, mix with the pulp six eggs quite light, a quarter of a pound of butter, half a pint of new milk, some pounded ginger and nutmeg, a wine glass of brandy, and sugar to your taste. Should it be too liquid, stew it a little drier, put a paste round the edges, and in the bottom of a shallow dish or plate—pour in the mixture, cut some thin bits of paste, twist them, and lay them across the top, and bake it nicely.
FAYETTE PUDDING.
Slice a loaf of bread tolerably thick—lay the slices in the bottom of a dish, cutting them so as to cover it completely; sprinkle some sugar and nutmeg, with a little butter, on each layer; when all are in, pour on a quart of good boiled custard sweetened—serve it up cold.
MACCARONI PUDDING.
Simmer half a pound of maccaroni in a plenty of water, with a table-spoonful of salt, till tender, but ​not broke—strain it, beat five yelks, two whites of eggs, half a pint of cream—mince white meat and boiled ham very fine, add three spoonsful of grated cheese, pepper and salt; mix these with the maccaroni, butter the mould, put it in, and steam it in a pan of boiling water for an hour—serve with rich gravy.
Boil mealy potatos quite soft, first taking off the skins; rub them while hot through a sieve, put them in a stew pan over the fire, with as much water as will make it the consistence of thick mush; sift one quart of flour, and make it into a paste; with this mush, knead it till light, roll it out thin, make the dumplins small—fill them with apples, or any other fruit—tie them up in a thick cloth, and boil them nicely—eat them with butter, sugar, and nutmeg.
Pare and core the apples, and if you prefer it, cut them in four, wash them clean, and put them in a pan with water and sugar enough to cover them; add cinnamon and lemon peel, which has been previously soaked, scraped on the inside, and cut in strings; boil them gently until the apples are done, take them out in a deep dish, boil the syrup to a proper consistency, and pour it on them: it will take a pound of sugar for a large dish.
Stew any kind of fruit, and season it in any way you like best; soak some slices of bread in butter; put ​them while hot, in the bottom and round the sides of a dish, which has been rubbed with butter—put in your fruit, and lay slices of bread prepared in the same manner on the top: bake it a few minutes, turn it carefully into another dish, sprinkle on some powdered sugar, and glaze it with a salamander.
Pare some apples, and cut them in thin slices—put them in a bowl, with a glass of brandy, some white wine, a quarter of a pound of pounded sugar, a little cinnamon finely powdered, and the rind of a lemon grated; let them stand some time, turning them over frequently; beat two eggs very light, add one quarter of a pound of flour, a table-spoonful of melted butter, and as much cold water as will make a thin batter; drip the apples on a sieve, mix them with the batter, take one slice with a spoonful of batter to each fritter, fry them quickly of a light brown, drain them well, put them in a dish, sprinkling sugar over each, and glaze them nicely.
Put a piece of butter the size of an egg into a pint of water; let it boil a few minutes—thicken it very smoothly with a pint of flour; let it remain a short time on the fire, stir it all the time that it may not stick to the pan, pour it in a wooden bowl, add five or six eggs, breaking one and beating it in—then another, and so on till they are all in, and the dough quite light—put a pint of lard in a pan, let it boil, ​make the fritters small, and fry them of a fine amber colour.
Cut your bread of a convenient size, pour on it some white wine, and let it stand a few minutes—drain it on a sieve, beat four eggs very light, add four spoonsful of wine, beat all well together—have your lard boiling, dip the bread in the egg, and fry it a light brown; sprinkle sugar on each, and glaze them.
Make up a quart of flour, with one egg well beaten, a large spoonful of yeast, and as much milk as will make it a little softer than muffin dough; mix it early in the morning; when well risen, work in two spoonsful of melted butter, make it in balls the size of a walnut, and fry them a light brown in boiling lard—eat them with wine and sugar, or molasses.
Put a lump of butter the size of an egg into a quart of water, make it sufficiently thick with corn meal and a little salt; it must be mixed perfectly smooth—stir it constantly till done enough.