Crusts with Madeira

Wash in tepid water four ounces of candied citron peel, two ounces of lemon peel and two ounces of orange peel, all cut in quarter-inch squares. Put these into a saucepan with two ounces of Smyrna raisins and two ounces of currants, well picked and scalded in boiling water, then drained, and cover over the whole with boiling Madeira syrup and keep the saucepan well closed in a bain-marie until ready to serve. Make a croustade from a close and stale kitchen loaf, having it four to six inches high, and shaped like a vase. Slit the top near the edge and pass a skewer through its depth to keep it straight while cooking, the fry to a fine light golden color, drain and sponge it, remove the skewer and the slit piece on top. Scoop out a little of the inside crumbs, then fasten it on the center of a dish with a paste made of flour and egg-white. Cut slices of kitchen bread five-sixteenths of an inch in thickness and from this stamp out ovals three by two inches; brown them on both sides in clarified butter, drain and cover with apricot marmalade (No. 3675); dress them in a circle around the croustade or else substitute slices of cooked brioche, having them the same size; lay these flat on a baking sheet, besprinkle with sugar and brown in the oven. Moisten the crusts with the syrup and arrange the fruits all around. Fill the croustade with red stewed cherries (No. 3688) and angelica and serve with a separate apricot sauce, diluted with Madeira wine. (See Humboldt pudding No. 3100.)