The Complete Confectioner (1800)/Bills of Fare

by Hannah Glasse and Maria Wilson

BILLS OF FARE.

WITH a few of rendering this Treatise on Confectionary a complete preceptor to the inexperienced, and the most useful and perfect work every published on the subject, we here insert a few Bills of Fare for desserts for private families; yet that being in some degree a thing depending upon the fancy, the season of the year for fruits, &c. it will be a difficult matter to please the taste of the experienced Confectioner. However, recurring to the intention above stated, we shall endeavour to give them agreeable to the most approved methods; trusting, at least, that they will be found to be a guide to the young practitioner.

Ice cream is a thing used in all desserts, as it is to be had both winter and summer; and in London is always to be had at the confectioners.

It would be useless to give directions for Grand Desserts; those who give such rich desserts, either keep a proper person, or have them of a Confectioner; who not only has every thing wanted, but every ornament to adorn it with, without being attended with the least inconvenience. Though it certainly is highly commendable in every young Lady to attain perfection in this beautiful display of modern domestic refinements; if it be only with a view of giving instructions to her servants.

For country Ladies it is a delightful amusement, both to make the sweetmeats and dress out a dessert, as it depends wholly on fancy, and is attended with but little expence.

		Lemon cream.
Peaches				Plumbs.
Plain ice cream.		A large dish with figures and grass or moss about it, and flowers only for shew.		Raspberry ice cream.
Apricots.				Nectarines.
		Syllabubs.
		Peaches in Brandy.
Coloured wafers.				Heart biscuit.
Compote of pears.		A dish or salver, a dish of jellies; intermixed with wet sweetmeats.		Compote of chesnuts.
Savory biscuit.				White wafers.
		Morella cherries in brandy.
		A gizzard cream
Lemon cream in glasses.				Coloured sweet-meats in glasses.
Ratafia drops.		High flowers, images, &c. dressed with grass, moss, and other ornaments according to fancy.		Spunge biscuits.
Wet sweetmeats in glasses.				Jellies.
		A floating island.

The above middle frame should be made either in three parts of five, all to join together, which may serve on different occasions; on which suppose gravel walks, hedges, and variety of different things, as a little Chinese temple for the middle, or any other handsome ornament; which may be procured from the Confectioners, and will serve year after year; the top, bottom and sides are to be set out with such things as are to be got, or the season of the year will allow, as fruits, nuts of all kinds, creams, jellies, whip syllabubs, biscuits, &c. and as many plates as you please, according to the size of the table.

All this depends wholly on a little experience, and a good fancy to ornament in a pretty manner; you must have artificial flowers of all sorts, and some natural ones out of a garden in summer time do very well intermixed.

		Lemon cream.
Peaches.				Plumbs.
Plain ice cream.		A dish only for show, with figures, &c. &c.		Raspberry cream.
Apricots.				Nectarines.
		Syllabubs.
		Ice cream.
Fruit.				Fruit.
		One large dish in the middle of jellies, cream and syllabubs.
Fruit.				Fruit.
		Ice cream of different sorts.
		Jellies and biscuits.
Dried apples.				Chesnuts.
		Sweet-meats wet and dry.
Almonds and raisins.				Stewed pears.
		Jellies and biscuits.
		Stewed pippins with thick cream poured over them.
Pot oranges.				Pistachio nuts.
Ice cream.		Wet and dry sweetmeats, and jellies both red and white intermixed, adorned with flowers.		Ice cream.
Walnuts.				Ratafia cakes.
		Pears stewed purple with fine ratafia cream poured over them.
		Ice cream.
Fruit.				Fruit.
Creams.		Two salvers one above another, whipt syllabubs and jellies intermixed with crisped almonds, and little ratafia cakes, one little one above all, with preserved orange or pine apples, little bottles with flowers to adorn it, and nicknacks strewed about the salver.		Little cakes.
Fruit.				Fruit.
Large Seville orange sliced, with double refined sugar strewed over.				Almonds and raisins.
		Ice cream different colours.
		Ice cream.
Stewed pippins.				Little pot oranges.
Compote of pears.		A grand trifle.		Compote of chesnuts.
Pistachio nuts.				Nonpareils.
		Ice creams, different colours.
		Jellies.
Fruit.				Fruit.
Almond flummery.		A high salver with syllabubs, a little raised above with a preserved orange or lemon.		Almond creams.
Fruit.				Fruit.
		Jellies.
		Whipt syllabubs.
Blanc-mange, stuck with almonds.				Ice cream.
Chestnuts.		Two salvers one above another, on the bottom one jellies, the top a large glass cup covered with raspberry cream.		Dried cherries.
Ice cream.				Almond flummery.
		Whipt syllabubs.

As to all sorts of little biscuits, almonds, and nicknacks, thrown in the middle of the salver, or wet sweetmeats in little glasses, they may be intermixed according to fancy.

		Whipt syllabubs.
Golden pippins.				Filberts.
Chesnuts.		Jellies, lemon cream, and sweetmeats, both wet and dry, piled upon salvers, with crisped almonds, and nicknacks.		Large oranges, sliced and sugar stewed over.
Plumbs.				Nonpareils.
Blanc-mange.				Ice cream.
		Whipt syllabubs.
		Lemon cream.
Dried cherries.				Dried plumbs.
		Jellies.
Winter pears.				Grapes.
Pistachio nuts.				Almonds and raisins.
		Almond flummery.
		Jellies.
Peaches.				Nectarines.
Filberts.				Green gages.
		Whipt syllabubs.
Creams.				Almond flummery.
Cherries.				Walnuts.
Fine pears.				Grapes.
		Jellies.
		Ice cream.
Filberts.				Dried plumbs.
Grapes.		Floating island.		Pears.
Nonpareils.				Walnuts.
		Ice cream, different colours.
		Ice cream, different colours.
		Whipt syllabubs.
Clear jellies.				Lemon cream in glasses.
Nonpareils.		In the middle a high pyramid of one salver above another, the bottom one large, the next smaller, the top one less; these salvers are to be filled with all kinds of wet and dry sweetmeats in glass, baskets, or little plates; coloured jellies, creams, &c. biscuits, crisped almonds, and little nicknacks, and bottles of flowers prettily intermixed; the little top salver must have a large preserved fruit in it.		Golden pippins.
Blanc-mange stuck with almonds				Blanc-mange stuck with almonds.
Pistachio nuts.				Almonds and raisins.
Lemon cream in glasses.				Clear jellies in glasses.
		Whipt syllabubs.
		Ice cream, different colours.
		Lemon cream, in glasses.
Peaches.				Nectarines.
		Ice cream.
		Walnuts.
Grapes.				Golden pippins.
Almond flummery stuck with almonds.		Two large salvers in the middle, one above another, in the top whipt syllabubs, a garland of flowers raised above them, the bottom one filled with clear jellies.		Almond flummery stuck with almonds.
		Filberts.
Nonpareils.				Pears.
		Ice cream.
Apricots.				Plumbs.
		Lemon cream, in glasses.

Note.—You may alter the side plates as you think proper, or with such fruit and things as you can get.

		Whipt syllabubs.
Filberts.				Ratafia cakes.
Jellies.		A large dish of fruit of all sorts, piled up, and set out with green leaves.		Jellies.
Ratafia cakes.				Filberts.
		Whipt syllabubs.
		Raberrice cream.
Walnuts.				Nonpareils.
Green and black grapes.		Jellies piled up on two salvers, a large glass in the middle.		Black and green grapes.
Pears.				Filberts.
		Gooseberry fool.
		Peaches and Nectarines.
Walnuts.				Plumbs.
Grapes.		Jellies, and cream intermixed.		Grapes.
Currants.				Filberts.
		Peaches and Nectarines.
		Raspberries.
Filberts.				Gooseberries.
Sugar.				Small biscuits.
Red cherries.		Two salvers one above another; on the top cream in a large glass bowl; the bottom jellies.		Black cherries.
Small biscuits.				Sugar.
Currants.				Filberts.
		Strawberries.
		Almond flummery, stuck with almonds.
Sugar in plates.				Pistachio nuts.
Almond cream in cups.		One large salver in the middle filled with jellies and whipt syllabubs, and a garland of flowers meeting a lover.		Small cheesecakes.
Ratafia cakes.				Sugar in plates.
		A bason of cream.