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Apple Float
Make first a plain custard and when cold stir in it a pint either of apple sauce or a pint of grated apple (uncooked). Whip in the stiff whites the last thing.
A three-line recipe that assumes you already know how to make a boiled custard and how to fold in beaten whites. The whole dish stands or falls on that folding.
- The hinge: fold, do not stirThe whites go in last: "Whip in the stiff whites the last thing." Work them in lightly and serve soon after — beaten whites in a cold, wet, acidic mixture tend to weep as they stand.
- "A plain custard""A plain custard" here most likely means a stirred boiled custard — milk, egg yolks and sugar cooked over low heat or in a double boiler until it coats a spoon, then chilled. The recipe gives no quantities; a pint of milk to 3 yolks with 2-3 tablespoons sugar is a common modern proportion. The custard must be cold, as the recipe specifies.
- A pint of grated appleRoughly 2 to 3 medium apples, grated on the coarse side of a box grater. Use something firm and tart — Granny Smith, Braeburn, Winesap — since a soft apple grates to mush.
- BrowningRaw grated apple oxidizes in minutes. Grate it directly into a bowl with a tablespoon of lemon juice and toss, or the float will be beige rather than pale ivory.
- Apple sauce versionIf you use sauce rather than raw apple, use unsweetened or lightly sweetened sauce and taste before adding sugar to the custard; much commercial apple sauce is sweetened more heavily than home-cooked sauce would have been.
- Raw whitesThe whites are never cooked. If you are serving anyone pregnant, elderly, very young or immune-compromised, use pasteurized egg whites, which whip adequately with a little extra time.
- Yield and servingThe recipe gives no yield; a batch of this size will fill 4 to 6 glasses or stemmed cups. Assemble at the table or shortly before serving; a float that has stood separates into foam over liquid.
"Float" is an old American dessert name for a thin custard or sweetened liquid with something light floating on top — beaten whites, whipped cream, or poached meringues, as in the French îles flottantes. Apple float belongs to the same family as apple snow and the fruit fools of English cookery, all of them ways to stretch a few eggs and a bowl of fruit into something that looked lavish. The technique is essentially the same as apple snow, with the yolks put to work in the custard instead of being wasted. Recipes this brief were normal in collections of the kind, where the author could safely assume every reader had made a boiled custard many times over.