Almond Sponge

A fountain drink rather than a dessert: ice cream and syrup charged with soda water so the whole thing foams up into a "sponge." Everything depends on the carbonation, so assemble it at the last moment.

• Orgeat syrupA sweet almond syrup, still sold for cocktails (Torani, Giffard, Small Hand Foods). Half a fluid ounce is one tablespoon. Sweetness varies between brands, so taste and adjust.
• "Large tablespoonful" of ice creamFountain measure, not a level spoon — figure a small scoop, roughly 1½ to 2 ounces. Plain means unflavored vanilla or the old "Philadelphia" sweet cream base, nothing with chunks.
• The large streamFountain taps had a coarse stream and a fine stream. The coarse (large) stream is what whips the cream and ice cream into foam. With a siphon or a bottle, pour fast and straight down the center; with a soda gun, hold it close and open it fully.
• Order of operationsSyrup and ice cream first, whipped cream on top, soda last, following the order of the formula itself.
• Whipped creamThe cross-reference is to the book's own formula, which is not reproduced on this page. Heavy cream whipped to soft-firm peaks with a teaspoon of sugar per cup does the job; aerosol cream collapses in the glass.
• The glassThe formula calls for a thin 12-ounce tumbler; no reason is given. Any straight 12-ounce glass works; chill it first, since there is no ice in the drink.
• YieldOne drink. Serve with a long spoon and drink it while the soda is still lively.
• If you make orgeat yourselfUse sweet almonds only. Nineteenth-century almond syrups sometimes called for bitter almonds, which contain amygdalin and are not sold as food in the United States for that reason.