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Almond Cream
Blanch a quarter of a pound of sweet almonds, dry and pound them well. Put them into a stewpan with six ounces of loaf-sugar and the yolks of four eggs, and mix well with a fork. In another stewpan have one pint of milk into which have been placed one ounce of isinglass; boil slowly down to three-quarters of a pint, pass through a tammy, and pour over the preparation in the other stewpan. Stir over the fire until it all thickens, when it may be poured into the bowl prepared for it. Let it remain until cool, stirring occasionally to keep it smooth, and shortly afterward add two wineglassfuls of noyeau, maraschino, or curacoa.
A gelatin-set almond custard of the blancmange family, and it depends on two things: keeping the egg mixture below the point where it curdles, and getting the setting agent right, since isinglass is no longer a kitchen staple.
- IsinglassIsinglass is collagen from the swim bladders of sturgeon and other fish, sold in leaf or shred form and once the standard clarifying and setting agent. Its setting strength varied with quality, so exact equivalents are approximate; for the reduced 3/4 pint of milk here a single 1/4-oz envelope of modern powdered gelatin, or about four leaf sheets, is a reasonable substitute. Bloom it in a little cold milk rather than adding it dry to hot milk.
- The hinge: do not boil the custardOnce the hot milk goes onto the yolks, sugar and almonds, the mixture must be stirred over low heat only until it coats the spoon, around 175-180F. Push it further and you get sweet almond scrambled egg that no amount of stirring will smooth out.
- Loaf sugarLoaf sugar was refined sugar broken from a cone, prized for purity. Six ounces of granulated sugar is the equivalent, a scant cup (about seven-eighths).
- Pounding the almondsA quarter pound of blanched almonds worked in a mortar releases oil and turns pasty, which is what carries the flavour. A food processor does it in seconds, but pulse rather than run it, and add a spoonful of the sugar to keep the mass from becoming butter.
- TammyA tammy is a fine worsted straining cloth, twisted between two people to force a sauce through. A fine sieve lined with muslin does the same job; strain the milk before it goes onto the eggs, not after.
- WineglassfulA wineglassful in period cookery is generally reckoned at about two fluid ounces, so two wineglassfuls is roughly half a cup of liqueur. The recipe adds it only when the cream is cool, which avoids driving off the alcohol and helps the gelatin set evenly.
- The liqueursNoyeau (noyau) is a kernel-flavoured liqueur, curacoa is curacao, an orange liqueur. All three named options are still sold, though noyau is now scarce; amaretto or a good kirsch stands in for it.
- Yield and servingAbout a pint and a half of set cream, enough for six small moulds or glasses. Chill at least four hours; unmould by dipping the vessel briefly in warm water.
Almond cream belongs to the long European line of almond-thickened white dishes that runs back through blanc manger to medieval almond milk, which was valuable in fast-day cookery because it stood in for dairy. By the time Oscar Tschirky compiled his cook book for the Waldorf in the 1890s, the dish had become a straightforward hotel dessert: a rich custard given body by isinglass, moulded, and perfumed with one of the sweet liqueurs then standard on any good sideboard. The isinglass itself is the period detail worth noticing; sturgeon-derived gelatin was still ordinary kitchen stock in the 1890s, used for jellies and for clarifying wine, and it was only gradually displaced by cheaper commercially granulated gelatin in the decades that followed. The instruction to keep stirring as the cream cools reflects a real problem with these preparations, since the pounded almonds settle and the gelatin sets from the outside in.