r till very
smooth; then mix in a _small_ cup of cream two ounces of butter and one
ounce of powdered sugar; put the whole into a double boiler, and stir in
the beaten yolks of six eggs. Let the mixture set. When cool, make it
into balls; in the centre of each ball put a piece of the chestnut you
have laid aside, dip the balls in fine cracker meal and eggs, and fry a
very pale yellow. Serve with sifted sugar.

Very pretty cakes, very easily made, which come under the French term
_petits fours_, may be given here.

_Petits Fours._--Make rich cake mixture thus: Wash three quarters of a
pound of butter to free it from excess of salt; squeeze it dry in a
cloth; beat it with the hand till creamy; add three quarters of a pound
of powdered sugar; beat till light; then beat in ten eggs, one by one,
and sift in a pound of dried and sifted flour. When all are well beaten
together, the paste or batter is ready for use. Line some shallow pans
(those used for making rolled jelly-cake are best) with buttered paper;
spread a layer of the mixture just as you would for jelly-cake, but much
thicker, as when baked the sheets should not be more than the third of
an inch thick. Bake slowly. When done, remove from the oven, but leave
the cake undisturbed till cold. If the sheets are large, they may be cut
exactly in half, spread thinly with some stiff marmalade or jelly;
quince or apricot is best, but any rich flavor with some tartness will
do; lay one half on the other, and press closely and very neatly
together. Do each sheet of cake in the same way, varying the marmalade
if you choose. Have ready a bowl of icing (either boiled French icing or
what is called royal icing). Dust the top of the cakes with flour, which
must be brushed off again, as it is only to absorb the grease. Flavor
the icing with vanilla, and lay it on the centre of the cake; let it run
over it, aiding with a knife dipped in water (shaking off the drops,
however). The icing needs to be very neatly done, and must not be
thicker than a twenty-five-cent piece. Now color the icing in the bowl
pink, with a little cochineal, add a drop or two of extract of bitter
almond or of lemon, either of which will agree with the vanilla that was
in the white icing; then ice another sheet of cake in the same way; a
third may be done with chocolate icing.

The beauty of these cakes will depend on the way they are cut. You may
choose to make them tablets an inch wide and three inches long