Mince Pie A La Francaise

Prepare one pound of puff paste (vol. i.), roll it out about half an inch thick, and cut it into two pieces; place one piece on a wetted baking-tin, brush it over with cold water, and place in the centre of it about one pound of mincemeat (vol. i. page 339), forming this in a round, flat shape; then place the other piece of paste on the top, press both pieces together, put a meat plate on the top face downwards, and with a sharp-pointed knife cut the paste to the size; remove the plate, brush the pie over with raw beaten-up whole egg, and mark round the edge and in the centre with a pretty design similar to that shown in the engraving; put the pie into a quick oven for about ten minutes, then take up, dust it all over with icing sugar with a dredger, return it to the oven, and bake for about thirty-five to forty minutes, when the pie should be a pretty, bright golden colour. Dish up on a hot dish on a dish-paper, and use for luncheon or dinner. The remains of the paste can be used for small mince pies, or any dish where puff paste is needed.

Pompadours Pompadours

Put into a basin two ounces of fine flour and one ounce of castor sugar, and rub into it till smooth half an ounce of good butter; mix with this a dessertspoonful of orange-flower water, a saltspoonful of vanilla essence, and one raw yolk of egg, and when perfectly smooth roll it out quite thinly on a floured slab or board; cut the paste in oblong pieces the length of the moulds, and broad enough to go round them; fold these pieces round the pompadour tins that have been lightly buttered, place these on a sheet of greased foolscap paper on a greased baking-tin, and bake in a moderate oven for fifteen to twenty minutes, when they should be a pretty fawn colour. Take them up, and when somewhat cool detach the cases from the tins and set them aside till cold; then, by means of a forcing bag with a plain pipe, fill them with cream, as for meringue (vol. i. page 328), stand them on a pastry rack on a dish, and mask them in three divisions with Coffee glace (vol. i.), Maraschino glace (vol. i.), and red glace, coloured by means of a little liquid carmine; let these set, then dish up the pompadours as shown in the engraving on a fancy dish-paper, and serve for a sweet for dinner, luncheon, or ball supper.

Meringue Tartlets Tartelettes Meringues

Take some very small bouche or tartlet moulds and line them about one-eighth of an inch thick with short paste (vol. i.); prick the paste at the bottom and trim off the edges, then place a piece of buttered paper in each, and fill up the centres with rice or any dry grain; put them on a baking-tin and cook in a moderate oven for fifteen minutes; then remove the grain and the papers, and partly fill the paste cases with the preserve (as for Princess Tartlets), and by means of a forcing bag and a plain pipe fill them up with a Meringue mixture (vol. i. page 41); dust over the tops with icing sugar, and put them into a rather cool oven to dry. When a pretty fawn colour and quite crisp remove from the oven, dish them on a paper or napkin, and serve for dinner, luncheon, or for any cold collation.