Coconut Macaroons

Coconut Macaroons

Almond macaroons have been popular sweetmeats in England since medieval times.
Coconut macaroons are a Victorian version of the original recipe using dried coconut in place of ground almonds. Made this way, children love them! Top with a sliver of candied cherry or tint them the palest pink with a drop or two of red food coloring.

Ingredients
Rice paper
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 cups dried coconut
2 egg whites
Glace cherries, sliced

Preparation
Lay the rice paper on an ungreased baking sheet with the smooth side uppermost. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Whisk in the sugar, then fold in the coconut. Pile the mixture in twelve pyramid shapes on the rice paper. Top each pyramid with a small slice of cherry.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a pale golden brown.
Leave on the baking sheet until cold. Tear around the rice paper to separate. Makes 12.

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

Ingredients:

16 slices of cracked wheat bread
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 medium cucumber, sliced thin
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
carrot curls



Preparation:

Remove crust from bread and cut into rounds. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, chives, parsley, and lemon juice. Blend well. Spread each cutout with cream cheese mixture. Top with a cucumber slice and garnish with a carrot curl. Store in refrigerator. Makes about 32 sandwiches.

Recipe of Victorian Plum Cake

Plum Cake

• Twelve ounces of butter
• Twelve ounces of flour
• Eight ounces of sugar
• Four ounces of candied cherries
• Four ounces of raisins
• Four ounces of sultanas
• Four ounces of chopped almonds
• Four ounces of mixed candied orange, lemon, and citron peel
• Grated rind of one lemon and one orange
• Half a teaspoonful of mixed spice
• Two eggs
• One glass of brandy
• Dust of salt

Method; Beat the butter and sugar into a cream and add the eggs [well beaten] alternately with the flour [sifted], then add the brandy and beat the mixture for ten minutes in a reasonable sized bowl.. Stone the raisins and chop slightly, also divide the cherries and cut up the peel into rather large pieces. Then add all these ingredients to the cake mix and mix well. Pour into a suitable sized cake tin which has been lined with oil paper and bake in a moderate oven for three to three and a half hours.

Recipe of St. Honore Cake

St. Honore Cake

• Choux pastry
• Three ounces of short pasty
• Three ounces of sugar
• Quarter pint of milk
• Half an ounce of flour
• Whites of three eggs and their yolks
• One teaspoonful of lemon juice
• Candied cherries
• Icing

Method; Prepare the short pastry and roll out to the size of a breakfast plate and place on a baking tin.

Make a pate a choux and put into a forcing bag with a plain nozzle, make a ring around the edge of the pastry within a half an inch of the edge, also add some little dots of the mixture onto the baking tin, then bake until brown and set.

Went cold, dip the small pieces in the icing and place around the edge of the pastry, with cherries between. Moisten the flour and sugar with the yolks and milk, add flavouring, then heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens, then set aside and allow to cool.

Whip up the egg whites into a very stiff constituency and stir lightly into the custard mixture. Form into egg shapes using two large spoons, a heap in the centre of the gateau.