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Potato Cakes
Take a supply of boiled and mashed potatoes, and, while hot, mould them into balls the size of an egg. Place them upon a buttered tin sheet. Brush a beaten egg over the top of the cakes and place them in the oven to brown. Slide them on a hot platter with a knife-blade.
The cakes may also be moulded in a small after-dinner coffee-cup. The potato, when moulded, will slip out easily if the inside of the cup has been first wet with water. These may be garnished with parsley.
A straightforward way to turn leftover or freshly made mash into browned individual cakes. The only real technique is in the moulding, which has to happen while the potato is hot enough to hold together.
- Oven heatNo temperature is given; the recipe says only to place them in the oven to brown. A hot oven, in the region of 425-450F, will colour the egg wash before the interiors dry out; roughly 15-20 minutes should do it.
- "Tin sheet"A flat baking sheet. Butter it generously, or line with parchment, since an egg-washed potato will stick hard once it sets.
- Mash consistencyThe mash must be stiff and fairly dry or the balls will slump. Riced or well-mashed potato with butter but little or no milk holds its shape best; boil the potatoes whole or in large pieces so they take on less water.
- Working hotCold mash will not bind or mould cleanly. Shape the cakes as soon as the potatoes are mashed, or reheat the mash before shaping.
- The coffee-cup mouldAn after-dinner coffee cup holds roughly 2 to 3 fluid ounces, so it gives a neat dome about the size of the egg-sized balls. Wetting the inside, as directed, is what lets the shape release; do it before each cake.
- Egg washOne beaten egg glazes a dozen or more cakes. A little milk or cream beaten in loosens it and gives a more even gloss.
- Yield and servingTwo pounds of potatoes gives about a dozen egg-sized cakes, enough for four to six as a side. They are best straight from the oven, since they firm up as they cool.