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Palace Cream
Mix well together the yolks of four eggs, half a pint of cream, a gill of brandy, and three ounces of castor sugar. Pour the mixture into a jug and stand it in a saucepan of boiling water. Stir it till it thickens, then add a few drops of essence of Vanilla, and half an ounce of soaked gelatine. Stir well for a few minutes longer, and turn into a wet mould. When cold, turn out of the mould, and decorate with candied fruit or angelica. Probable cost, 2s. 6d.
A moulded brandy custard of the Victorian bavarois family, set with gelatine and turned out cold. The whole thing hangs on keeping the custard below simmering point while it thickens.
- The hinge: gentle heatThe jug standing in boiling water is a bain-marie, and the custard should reach about 175-180F (80-82C) and no more. Yolks with this much alcohol and sugar curdle readily; pull the jug out the moment the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
- Imperial measuresCassell's pints are imperial: half a pint of cream is 10 fl oz, about 1 1/4 US cups. A gill is a quarter of an imperial pint, 5 fl oz, so the brandy is roughly half the volume of the cream — a very forward proportion by modern taste, and worth halving if you want the cream to taste of cream.
- Gelatine strengthHalf an ounce is about 14 g. That is a great deal for this quantity of liquid; modern powdered gelatine at that weight will give a firm, sliceable, distinctly rubbery cream. Around 7-8 g of modern gelatine sets a pint softly.
- Soaked gelatine"Soaked" means bloomed in cold water until limp, then squeezed out — the water clinging to it is not counted in the liquid. Stir it into the hot custard off the heat until fully dissolved; undissolved threads show up as tough streaks.
- Castor sugar and essenceCastor sugar is superfine (caster) sugar; granulated will do since it dissolves in the warm custard. Essence of vanilla is broadly what we call vanilla extract; strengths varied, so read 'a few drops' as a small quantity added to taste.
- The wet mouldRinsing the mould with cold water and leaving it damp is what lets the set cream release. Chill at least four hours, then dip the mould briefly in hot water and invert onto a wetted plate so the cream can be slid into position.
- AngelicaThe candied stems of Angelica archangelica, sold in green batons; still available from baking suppliers but no longer a pantry staple. Candied citrus peel or glacé cherries serve the same decorative purpose.
- YieldAbout a pint of mixture — four to six small moulds or one 1-pint mould. The "probable cost, 2s. 6d." reflects the brandy and cream, not a modern price.
Moulded creams like this one were a mainstay of the late-Victorian sweet course, and Cassell's carries a number of them under grand names — Venetian, Italian and the like — several of which vary the same custard-and-gelatine base by flavouring and garnish. The technique is that of the French bavarois: an egg custard cooked over water, set with isinglass or gelatine, and turned out of a decorative mould. What made such dishes practical for middle-class households was the commercial gelatine trade of the nineteenth century, which offered packets of leaf or powdered gelatine in place of the laborious boiling-down of calves' feet. The generous gill of brandy is characteristic of the period's cold sweets.