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Royal Consomme
Beat two eggs and mix with them half a teacupful of milk and one pinch of salt. Pour the beaten eggs and milk in a basin, stand the basin in a larger one containing hot water, put them in the oven and bake until the contents of the small basin are firm, then take the basins out and put the small one away to cool; when set cut the mixture into small well shaped pieces, and pour over them one quart of boiling consomme, and serve.
This is the classic royale garnish — a savory baked custard cut into shapes and dropped into clear soup. Everything depends on setting the custard gently so it stays smooth enough to hold a clean edge.
- The hinge: gentle heatThe custard must set without a bubble in it, or it turns porous and weeps into the soup. The recipe gives no temperature or time; a slow oven (around 300°F) with the water in the outer basin hot but never simmering, roughly 25 to 35 minutes, until the center is just firm to a light touch.
- "Half a teacupful"Period teacups were reckoned variously, commonly somewhere between 4 and 6 fluid ounces, so half is roughly 1/4 to 1/3 cup. Two eggs to that little milk gives a firm custard that cuts cleanly; more milk and it will slump when you slice it.
- Basins and the water bathA "basin" here is any ovenproof bowl or small dish. Use a shallow one so the custard is no more than 3/4 inch deep — it sets faster and more evenly, and shallow slabs cut into better shapes.
- Strain the mixtureNot in the original, but pass the beaten egg and milk through a fine sieve before baking and skim off any foam. Bits of unbeaten white show up badly in clear soup.
- "Well shaped pieces"Royale was commonly cut into diamonds, small rounds or stars, though the recipe does not say; cut about 1/3 inch thick. Chill the custard thoroughly first; warm custard tears.
- Adding the consomméPut the cut custard in warmed bowls or the tureen and pour the boiling consommé over it, as written. Do not simmer the pieces in the soup — they break up and cloud it.
- YieldOne quart of consommé serves four as a first course, and two eggs' worth of royale is ample garnish for that amount.
The royale is one of the standard garnishes of nineteenth-century French service: a plain unsweetened egg custard, baked in a water bath, chilled, and cut into small geometric shapes to float in a clear soup — hence menu names like consommé royal. Variants were tinted and flavored with purées of green peas, tomato, carrot or game, each carrying its own name on the bill of fare. The book is attributed to Oscar Tschirky, the Waldorf's celebrated maître d'hôtel, and dates from the 1890s.