2394—Timbale Crust

Butter a Charlotte-mould, and decorate its sides with some sort of design made from noodle-paste trimmings to which a little powdered sugar has been added. Shape a piece of short paste (of a size in proportion to the mould) like a ball; roll it out to a disc; sprinkle it with flour, and fold it in two. Draw the ends gently towards the centre, so as to form a kind of skullcap, and take care to not crease the paste. Make this skullcap of an even thickness of one-third inch, and place it in the mould.

Press it well upon the bottom and sides of the mould, that it may acquire the shape of the latter; line the mould inside with good buttered paper; fill up with lentils or split peas, letting them project in a dome above the edges of the paste, and cover with a round sheet of paper.

Prepare a round layer of paste, one-fifth inch thick, a little larger diametrally than the timbale one. Slightly moisten the inside edges of the timbale; cover it with the prepared disc of paste, and seal it well down to the edges of the timbale, pressing it between the fingers in such wise as to form a crest reaching one-half inch beyond the brim of the mould all round.

Pinch this crest with paste-pincers inside and out.

With a round or oval grooved fancy-cutter stamp out some imitation leaves from a very thin layer of paste, and imitate the veins of the leaves with the back of a knife; or stamp out some triangles of paste; shape them like leaves, and set these (slightly overlapping one another) upon the dome of the timbale in superposed rows.

Finish with three roundels of paste, stamped out with a grooved round cutter of a different size from the first, and make a hole in the centre of each roundel with a round, even fancy-cutter. Gild and bake in a moderate oven. When the outside of the timbale is well browned, detach and remove the cover formed by the leaves. Withdraw the split peas and the paper; gild the timbale inside, and leave it to dry in the front of the oven or in the drying-box.