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Souffle Apples
5 tart apples 2 tablespoons melted shortening 1/2 cup sugar 1 lemon (juice and rind) 3 eggs, beaten light Dash of nutmeg Pare and grate the apples, add the shortening, sugar and lemon juice and rind, then the eggs. Pour the mixture into a greased dish, grate a little nutmeg on top and bake 30 minutes in a moderate oven. Serve hot with hard sauce. Serves 6.
A quick baked apple pudding that leans on eggs alone for lift. It behaves less like a true souffl\-ate\-style dish than like a custardy apple batter, so judge it by set rather than by rise.
- Oven temperatureA moderate oven is usually taken as 350 to 375F. Thirty minutes at that heat sets a shallow dish; a deeper one may want 40 to 45 minutes.
- Dish sizeNo dish is specified. A greased 1 1/2-quart baking dish will hold this quantity in a layer about an inch and a half deep.
- ShorteningIn a book of this vintage this means lard or a hydrogenated vegetable shortening. Melted butter works and tastes better here, since there is no need for the neutral flavour.
- The eggs are the only leaveningThere is no flour, no baking powder and no separated whites. Beat the whole eggs until pale and thick so they carry air into the batter; it will puff in the oven and settle as it cools, which is expected.
- Grate the apples lastGrated apple browns within minutes. Have everything else in the bowl, grate straight into it, and stir the lemon juice through at once.
- Lemon rindUse only the yellow zest. Modern lemons are often waxed, so scrub before grating.
- Judging donenessThe centre should be set and barely trembling, and a knife inserted off\-centre should come out clean. Overbaking squeezes water out of the apples and leaves a weeping layer underneath.
- Hard sauceCreamed butter beaten with powdered sugar and a little vanilla, brandy or rum, chilled firm. It is meant to melt into the hot pudding at the table, so serve it cold and in a lump, not softened.