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Spanish Cream
Boil half an ounce of isinglass in a quarter of a pint of milk till dissolved. When nearly cold, strain the liquid through muslin, and mix with it a custard made of a quarter of a pint of milk, half a pint of double cream, the well-beaten yolks of three eggs, any flavouring that may be preferred, and an ounce of white sugar. Stir it until nearly cold, pour it into a damp mould, and put it in a cool place till set. When wanted for use, dip the mould into hot water for half a minute, shake it well to loosen the edges, place the dish upon the mould, and turn the cream out quickly. Care must be taken that the custard does not curdle. Sufficient for a pint and a half of cream. Probable cost, if made with cream, 2s.
A moulded egg custard set with isinglass "Spanish cream" here means the plain turned-out cream, not the two-layer sponge-and-jelly version later sold under the same name. The whole recipe hinges on the custard: it must thicken over gentle heat and never approach a simmer.
- Isinglass to gelatineIsinglass is dried fish swim-bladder collagen, now sold mainly to brewers and not reliable as a kitchen setting agent. Half an ounce of it corresponds roughly to 7-10 g of modern powdered gelatine (one to one and a half sachets) for this quantity of liquid, but old isinglass varied enormously in strength, so treat any conversion as approximate and test a spoonful in the fridge before moulding.
- Imperial measuresA British pint is 20 fl oz, so a quarter pint is about 140 ml and half a pint about 280 ml. The liquid here totals about 570 ml before the eggs and sugar, which is why the stated yield of "a pint and a half" reads high; the finished quantity is nearer a pint.
- Double creamDouble cream is about 48 per cent butterfat. American heavy cream at 36 per cent works, but the set will be softer and the flavour thinner; the dish depends on that fat for its texture as much as on the gelatine.
- The custardThree yolks in this much liquid is a thin custard, and it will curdle if pushed. Cook it in a bowl over simmering water or over the lowest direct heat, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of a spoon at about 80C/175F, then take it off at once.
- Order of mixingAdd the dissolved isinglass or bloomed gelatine to the warm custard rather than the reverse, and strain the whole thing. If gelatine hits cold cream it seizes into threads that never disperse and show up as rubbery strings in the finished cream.
- Stirring until nearly coldThis is not fussiness. Standing still, the cream separates and you get a fatty top and a watery base in the mould; keep it moving until it begins to thicken, then pour.
- Setting and turning outFour hours in the refrigerator, or overnight for a large mould. Rinsing the mould with cold water rather than oiling it, as the original directs, gives the cleanest surface; the half-minute dip in hot water is still the best release.
- Flavouring"Any flavouring that may be preferred" would in this period commonly have meant vanilla, lemon rind, bitter almond or a spoonful of brandy or sherry. Infuse rind or a vanilla pod in the milk and strain it out; add spirits after the custard has cooled.
Isinglass was a standard gelling agent of the nineteenth-century English kitchen, prized because it set clear and, unlike calf's-foot jelly, needed no day of boiling and skimming; much of it reached British cooks as sheets or shreds of sturgeon bladder imported from Russia, and it was also in use as a fining agent for beer and wine. Commercial powdered and leaf gelatine, cheaper and standardised, displaced it in domestic cookery over the decades either side of 1900. The "Spanish" in the name appears to be decorative rather than geographical, of a piece with the Victorian habit of attaching nationalities to sweet creams and moulds; the probable cost of two shillings, noted as it is for cream rather than milk, marks this out as a dish for a household that could afford to serve something showy at the end of dinner.