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Apple Sponge
1½ box of gelatine 1 pound of apples 1 pound of sugar Grated rind of one and 3 eggs juice of two lemons 1/2 pint of boiling water Boil the sugar and water until clear, take the scum from the surface. Pare the apples, core and slice them into this syrup. Stew until tender. Cover the gelatine with cold water and let it soak while the apples are stewing; add the gelatine to the apples when they are done, then press the whole through a sieve, add the rind and juice of the lemons, and stir until cold and slightly thickened. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, stir them into the apples and beat until cold and thick, then pour into a mould to harden. Make a Vanilla Sauce from the yolks of the eggs (see recipe). Serve the sponge in a dessert dish, with the sauce poured around it.
Peach Sponge may be made the same way, using one pound of peaches instead of a pound of apples.
A cold gelatine dessert of the sort that filled summer menus before refrigeration was general. The measurements need translating, and one step puts it outside what a modern kitchen should serve.
- Why the cautionThe beaten egg whites go into a mixture that has already been cooled and is never heated again, so they are eaten raw. Raw white carries a real, if small, Salmonella risk, and the dish is then left to set unheated. Use a current recipe if you want a fruit sponge.
- "1½ box of gelatine"Genuinely ambiguous. Box sizes varied by maker, and the setting strength of period gelatines is not reliably comparable with modern powder. There is no honest single conversion for this line.
- Liquid measuresHalf a pint of boiling water is one cup (about 240 ml) in US measure, ten fluid ounces if the book is following British pints. The syrup is meant to be thin he apples release more liquid as they stew.
- A pound of applesRoughly three medium apples, or about 12 oz of usable fruit once pared and cored.