Angelica Creams

This is a variation entry, not a standalone recipe: it assumes you have already made the book's cream candy (a cooked fondant) and read its walnut creams. Read those first, then treat this as two substitutions — strawberry for vanilla, candied angelica for the nutmeat.

• "Cream candy" means fondant"Cream candy" here almost certainly means the book's fondant — a boiled sugar syrup poured out, cooled and worked with a spatula until it turns opaque and short, then kneaded smooth. Modern fondant recipes take the syrup to about the soft-ball stage and many rest the kneaded mass, covered, before rolling centers; follow whatever the book's own cream candy entry specifies rather than these figures.
• The walnut-cream methodWalnut creams are small balls or ovals of fondant with a walnut half pressed onto each side, or one half pressed onto the top, so the candy is visible between them. Here the angelica takes that place: cut it into neat strips or lozenges and press one into each center while the fondant is still soft enough to grip.
• Green angelicaCandied stems of Angelica archangelica, sold in short green batons. It is still made, mostly in France, but rarely stocked outside baking-supply and Italian grocers. Candied citron, candied orange peel or glacé cherries are the usual stand-ins; "any other French candied fruit of a rich color" is the book's own permission to swap.
• Cutting sticky fruitCandied stems and peel drag on a blade. Wipe the knife with a damp cloth between cuts, or dust the pieces very lightly with sifted sugar; do not oil the knife, as the fat will show against the fondant.
• Strawberry extractStrawberry flavor of this period was generally a compound essence, often wholly artificial, and could be quite strong. Modern strawberry extracts vary enormously in strength and many are thin and candy-like, so add a few drops at a time to the warm fondant and taste. Some cooks add a drop of red coloring for a pink-and-green contrast, though the entry does not call for it.
• Working temperatureFondant must be soft enough to shape but not warm enough to slump around the fruit. If it stiffens while you work, set the mass over barely warm water briefly rather than adding liquid, which will make the finished centers grainy or wet.
• Yield and keepingA pound of fondant makes roughly 40 to 50 small centers. Dried uncovered for an hour so the surface crusts, then boxed between waxed paper in a cool, dry place, they hold about two weeks; refrigeration makes them sweat.