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Constantine Jelly
Cut in halves half a dozen apricots, remove the stones, place the apricots in a saucepan with a little syrup, and boil until done. Allow them to get cold and cut each half into three pieces. Pack an ornamental mould in ice, pour a little warm jelly at the bottom, sprinkle in a little desiccated cocoanut mixed with shredded pistachio nuts, and when the other is set pour over a little more jelly; then put a layer of the strips of apricots, then more jelly, then cocoanut and kernels, and continue in this way until the mould is full, allowing each layer to set before another is added. Turn it out onto a dish when set, fill the cavity with whipped cream mixed with more desiccated cocoanut and pistachio nuts, and serve.
A Victorian layered gelatin mould, built one set layer at a time. The original assumes a working knowledge of jelly-making and gives no quantities at all, so the numbers below are the missing half of the recipe.
- What "jelly" means hereNot fruit preserve but a clear sweet gelatin, of the wine or lemon type, historically clarified from calf's foot or set with leaf gelatin. The recipe gives no quantities; as a starting point, figure on roughly 1 quart of finished liquid jelly for a 1.5-quart mould, set firm enough to unmould — err on the stiff side of whatever ratio your gelatin's packet recommends, and test a spoonful on a cold saucer before committing the batch.
- Temperature of the jelly is the hinge"Warm" means barely liquid and no warmer — cool to the touch, not hot. Jelly poured hot will melt the layer beneath it, dissolve the set edges and carry the coconut and apricot into a muddle. Keep the batch in a bowl of tepid water so it stays pourable while you work.
- Packing the mould in iceThis is pre-refrigeration technique: the mould sits buried in crushed ice so each layer sets quickly. A refrigerator does the same job more slowly — allow something like 15-20 minutes per thin layer, and expect the whole assembly to take a couple of hours or more.
- "A little syrup"A light poaching syrup, roughly 1 cup sugar to 2 cups water. Six apricots poach in 8-10 minutes; they should hold their shape, since they are cut into strips afterwards. Fresh apricots are the intent, but drained canned halves work and skip the poaching.
- Desiccated coconutUnsweetened fine-shred dried coconut, not the sweetened flake sold for baking today. The sweetened kind will throw the balance of an already sweet jelly and clumps in the gelatin.
- The mould with a cavityA ring or border mould — the finished jelly is a crown with a hollow centre for the whipped cream. A plain dome mould leaves nowhere for the filling; use a savarin or bundt-shaped form.
- Turning it outDip the mould to the rim in hot water for five seconds, no longer, then invert onto a chilled dish. Gelatin at this strength melts fast at the surface, which is exactly what releases it.
- YieldA 1.5-quart mould serves six to eight. Assemble and unmould the same day; the coconut softens and the apricot weeps after a night in the refrigerator.
Elaborate moulded jellies were the centrepiece of the late-Victorian dessert table — clear jelly showed off the clarity of the stock and the steadiness of the pastry cook, since every layer had to set before the next was poured. The name is the sort of dining-room label the period produced by the dozen, attached to a garnish rather than a method; where it points is uncertain, and pistachio, apricot and coconut were read as "Eastern" flavours. Oscar Tschirky, the Waldorf's maître d'hôtel, compiled this book in 1896 from the hotel's working repertoire, which is why the instructions read as a reminder to a trained cook rather than a recipe — no weights, no times.