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1033. Boil one pound and a half of lump sugar in a pint of water till it becomes sugar again; then add two pounds of apples pared and cored, the peel and a little of the juice of two small lemons; boil it until quite stiff, and put it into a mould; when cold it should be turned out, and before being sent to table should have a thick custard poured round it. The cake will keep several months. It is less expensive if a larger proportion of apple is added, but does not stiffen so well.
A stiff apple paste set in a mould and served with pouring custard — closer to a quince cheese than to anything a modern cook would call a cake. Two phrases carry the whole recipe: "becomes sugar again" and "quite stiff."
- "Till it becomes sugar again"The syrup is boiled until nearly all the water has gone and the mass turns cloudy and grainy at the edges — sugar recrystallising at the very end of the sugar-boiling range. The recipe gives no temperature and expects the cook to judge by eye. Stop the moment it clouds and goes sandy; a few seconds more and it caramelises, which changes the colour and the flavour of the finished paste.
- Lump sugarLoaf or lump sugar was simply refined cane sugar broken from a cone. Plain granulated sugar is the same thing: 1 1/2 lb is about 3 1/3 cups.
- Choice of appleUse a tart cooking apple that breaks down — Bramley, or a firm Granny Smith. The wording does not make clear whether the 2 lb is weighed before or after paring and coring; if before, expect roughly 1 1/2 lb of usable fruit. Sweet dessert apples give a flatter, cloying paste at this sugar ratio.
- The lemonTake the peel off in strips with a peeler, not a grater, so it can be fished out before moulding. It contributes acid and aroma; the juice also helps the pectin set.
- "Boil it until quite stiff"This is a long, low reduction, commonly 45 minutes to well over an hour once the apples have collapsed. Stir constantly with a long-handled spoon toward the end: a sugar paste this thick catches instantly and spits when it plops. It is ready when a spoon drawn through the pan leaves a channel that does not close.
- Moulding and turning outRinse the mould with cold water or brush it very lightly with a neutral oil, then fill while the paste is hot and press it down to expel air. Chill several hours or overnight; it should slide out clean. A 1 1/2 pint mould is about right.
- The custardA thick custard here means a stirred pouring custard — crème anglaise — not a baked one. Pour it around the base at the table rather than over the top, as the recipe intends the moulded shape to be seen.
- Keeping itThe keeping claim rests on the sugar concentration, which is high enough to be self-preserving, but the moulded paste is neither sealed nor sterile. Wrap it closely and refrigerate, and use it within a couple of weeks.
- YieldProbably serves eight to ten, though the recipe gives no figure. It is intensely sweet and is meant in small slices, which is why the custard is there to cut it.