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When Montezuma Met Cortés The True

Story of the Meeting that Changed


History Restall
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Map: The Caribbean and Mesoamerica at the Time of
the Spanish-Aztec War
Dedication

To
all the
Catalinas
Contents

Cover
Title Page
Map: The Caribbean and Mesoamerica at the Time of the Spanish-
Aztec War
Dedication
Preface
Timeline

Prologue: Invention
Part I
Chapter 1: Mysterious Kindness
Chapter 2: No Small Amazement
Part II
Chapter 3: Social Grace and Monstrous Ritual
Chapter 4: The Empire in His Hands
Part III
Chapter 5: The Greatest Enterprises
Chapter 6: Principal Plunderers
Part IV
Chapter 7: The Epic Boxer
Chapter 8: Without Mercy or Purpose
Epilogue: Halls of the Montezumas

Acknowledgments
Appendix: Language and Label, Cast and Dynasty
Bibliography of References and Sources
Notes
Index
Photo Section
About the Author
Also by Matthew Restall
Copyright
About the Publisher
MEETINGS. This engraving ran as a banner across the top of the first page of the
first chapter of John Ogilby’s great America: Being an Accurate Description of the
New World, first published in 1670 in London. The image lacked a title (“Meetings”
is my invention), nor were those portrayed identified by name; for this is a generic
representation of Native American and European leaders, armies, cultures, and of
the supposedly peaceful meeting of civilization with barbarism.
Courtesy of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University.
Preface

The Conquest of MEXICO is one of the greatest Subjects in all


History.
—Opening line of the preface to the 1724 English edition of Antonio
de Solís’s History of the Conquest of Mexico1

WHAT MAKES THE “CONQUEST OF MEXICO” SO GREAT A SUBJECT? There is


no shortage of answers to that question. For half a millennium, the
story of the invasion of the Aztec Empire by Spanish conquistadors
has consistently inspired and fascinated writers and readers,
playwrights and audiences, painters and filmmakers. For many, the
story’s greatness has religious, political, or cultural foundations. For
others, the tale is worth telling again and again because it is simply
a ripping good yarn.
In contrast, and somewhat perversely, I have written this book
because I believe the “Conquest of Mexico” is not great; at least, not
in the sense that it has overwhelmingly been seen for the past five
centuries. I have therefore tried to make this book more than just
another telling of the same story. The story is told, to be sure, but
the book is more concerned with how and why so many have seen it
as “one of the greatest Subjects”—and how wrong they have been.
That is a bold conceit, but it has a purpose. Whether you know
nothing at all about Aztecs and conquistadors, or you are an expert
on them, this is intended as a book for you. Because in the end I
hope to persuade everyone who turns these pages that adjectives
other than greatest—monumental but misunderstood, dramatic yet
distorted, tragic not triumphal—are better applied to this history. And
because I’m challenging the superlative nature of “the Conquest”
(and the conquistador captain most famously associated with it), I
imply that such adjectives might also be applied to other histories, if
not to “all History.” After all, the Spanish-Aztec meeting is a central
chapter in the larger story of the European invasion of the Americas,
leading to the transformation of global history and the making of
today’s world.
Before beginning, some explanations, scene-settings, and a
timeline of key events may be useful.
I use the terms Aztec, Mexica (pronounced “mesh-EE-ka”), and
Nahuas (“NA-wahs”) to refer to specific groups of people within the
Aztec Empire. Some scholars refer to the empire as the Triple
Alliance, in order to emphasize the roles played in the empire’s
creation and maintenance by its three dominant cities: Tenochtitlan
(the city of the Mexica, and the empire’s great island-capital),
Tetzcoco (an equally splendid lakeside city), and Tlacopan (smaller
but also significant); I use the phrase too (sometimes as “the Triple
Alliance of the Aztec Empire”). Further explanation of ethnic
terminology is included in the Appendix, along with a diagram aimed
at helping those more visually oriented (I am one of you).
With respect to the names of the book’s central protagonists, I
follow sixteenth-century usage and call Hernando Cortés just that,
although “Fernando” is more accurate. He was never called Hernán,
which is a modern rendering (“Cortez” is forgivable as an English
version that goes back to the mid-sixteenth century). Although I
follow conventional Spanish spellings for Spanish personal names
and toponyms (for example, Velázquez), I do not put Spanish
accents on Nahua ones (for example Tenochtitlán and Cuauhtémoc
have accents in Spanish, but not in English; besides, their
pronunciation in Nahuatl is uninflected).
As for the emperor of the Aztecs, it was tempting to render his
name as accurately as possible, as Moteuctzomatzin (pronounced,
roughly, “moh-teh-ook-tsoh-mah-tseen”). But for the ease of the
reader, I chose “Montezuma.” It is a convenient, familiar shorthand
(like “Aztec”) that originated in Spanish, English, and other
languages in the late sixteenth century (perhaps even earlier). An
early variant was “Moctezuma,” the conventional form in modern
Spanish, perfectly acceptable in English too.
A third person whose name requires some explanation is
Malintzin. The original Nahua name of this interpreter to the
Cortésled invasion force, or company, is unknown, but Spaniards
renamed her Marina. The importance of her role gave her a status
that justified her soon being given the honorific -tzin in Nahuatl. In
Spanish, she received the equivalent, the doña prefix. As a result,
she was variously called doña Marina, Malintzin (as Nahuas tended
to turn an r to an l), and Malinche (a Hispanization of Malintzin).
Cortés, Montezuma, and Malintzin are three of the sixteen
Spanish and Nahua protagonists in the Spanish-Aztec War whose
short biographies I have included in the Appendix. You may find it
helpful to refer to those biographies when Aztecs like Cacama and
Cuauhtemoc, and conquistadors like Ordaz and Olid, appear and
then reappear in the chapters to follow. I have also created a kind of
family tree, which I have called a Dynastic Vine (in the Appendix),
that shows how kinship and marriage tied together the branches of
the Aztec royal family in Tenochtitlan and Tetzcoco—and then tied
them to Spanish conquistadors.
Timeline

1428

Foundation in the Valley of Mexico of the Triple Alliance of the


Aztec Empire (centered on Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and
Tlacopan)

1440–69

The first Montezuma (Moteuctzoma Ilhuicamina) rules as huey


tlahtoani of Tenochtitlan (i.e., as Aztec emperor)

1468

Birth of the second Montezuma (Moteuctzoma Xocoyotl);


Axayacatl, Montezuma’s father, rules as huey tlahtoani until
1481; he and two of his brothers head a generational cohort
that will rule until the younger Montezuma takes the throne in
1502

1481–86

Tizoc, Montezuma’s uncle, rules as huey tlahtoani

1482–92

War of Isabella, queen of Castile, against the Moorish kingdom


of Granada, ending with Boabdil’s surrender to her and
Fernando, king of Aragon
1486

Ahuitzotl, uncle and predecessor to Montezuma, elected huey


tlahtoani

1492–93

First voyage, under Columbus (Cristóbal Colón), to reach the


Caribbean and return to Europe

1493–96

Second Columbus voyage resulting in first Spanish colony in the


Indies, on the island of Hispaniola (today’s Haiti and Dominican
Republic)

1502

September 15, Montezuma elected huey tlahtoani

1503–09

Series of Aztec conquest campaigns in Oaxaca and other


southern regions

1504

Cortés, age nineteen, arrives in Hispaniola; Queen Isabella dies


(her four-year-old son, Carlos, will ascend to the thrones of
Castile and Aragon when King Fernando dies in 1516)

1511

The Spanish viceroy in the Indies, Columbus’s son Diego Colón,


appoints Diego Velázquez to invade and govern Cuba

1515
Nezahualpilli, the tlahtoani (king) of Tetzcoco, dies and is
succeeded by Cacama (with his brother Ixtlilxochitl in revolt)

1517

February 8–April 20, Francisco Hernández de Córdoba leads


Spanish expedition from Cuba, explores and battles Maya forces
along Yucatec coast

1518

May 3–November 15, Juan de Grijalva leads Spanish expedition


from Cuba, explores and interacts with indigenous groups on
Yucatec and Gulf coasts; October 23, Cortés appointed head of
a third expedition, tasked with finding Grijalva and continuing to
explore

1519

February 10, expedition company under Hernando Cortés leaves


Cuba, follows coastal route taken by Córdoba and Grijalva;
Malintzin joins the company in Tabasco
April 21, expedition lands on the Gulf coast, at San Juan de
Ulúa, within the tribute-paying zone of the Aztec Empire
May, Vera Cruz (the first of three towns of that name, moved to
another site in 1521) founded by the company, which appoints
Cortés as leading captain
June 3–August 16, expedition camps in Cempohuallan; the
nineteen-year-old Spanish king becomes the Holy Roman
Emperor Carlos V
July 26, Cortés and other leading captains send a ship to Spain
August 16, Spanish-indigenous force begins march inland
September 2, Spanish-Tlaxcalteca hostilities begin
September 23, having been offered a peace treaty, the
Spaniards enter Tlaxcallan
October 10–11, Spanish-Tlaxcalteca expedition marches from
Tlaxcallan to Cholollan
October 14–18, massacre in Cholollan
October c. 25, Spanish-Tlaxcalteca expedition leaves for
Tenochtitlan
November 8, the Meeting of Cortés and Montezuma
November 14, Cortés later claims to have taken Montezuma
captive on this date (disputed in this book)

1520

April 20 (or by May 1), large Spanish company under Pánfilo de


Narváez lands at San Juan de Ulúa
May c. 16, Alvarado leads massacre of Aztec nobles during the
Festival of Toxcatl in Tenochtitlan
May c. 27–28, Cortés loyalists under Sandoval reach Narváez’s
camp at Cempohuallan and successfully attack it
June 24, enlarged Spanish force returns to Tenochtitlan
June 28, 29, or 30, Montezuma killed, along with the other triple
tlatoque rulers (kings of the Triple Alliance of the Aztec Empire)
June 30 or July 1, in what is later called the Noche Triste (Tragic
Night), the Spanish-Tlaxcalteca force flees Tenochtitlan; close to
a thousand Spaniards and well over a thousand Tlaxcalteca are
killed
July 9 or 10, series of skirmishes, battles, and Aztec attacks
culminate in the Battle of Otumba (near Otompan)
July 11 or 12, the fleeing survivors reach Tlaxcallan
August 1, Spaniards massacre the men and enslave the women
and children of Tepeyacac (Tepeaca)
September c. 15, coronation of Montezuma’s brother, Cuitlahua,
as tenth huey tlahtoani of Tenochtitlan
Mid-October to mid-December, smallpox epidemic kills many
(some claim a third or half; disputed here) in Tenochtitlan
(including Cuitlahua on December 4)
December 25–31, Spaniards march back to Valley of Mexico,
met by Ixtlilxochitl on the 28th, enter the valley on the 29th and
Tetzcoco on the 31st
1521

Late January or early February, Cuauhtemoc (a nephew of


predecessors Montezuma and Cuitlahua) elected eleventh huey
tlahtoani of Tenochtitlan
February, Spanish-Tlaxcalteca-Tetzcoca (allied) attack on
Xaltocan, then Tlacopan and its tributaries; Tetzcoco firmly
established as base for campaign against Tenochtitlan
April 5–13, allied attacks on Yauhtepec and Cuauhnahuac, which
is sacked
April 16–18, allied force defeated in attack on Xochimilco
April 28, thirteen brigantines built by Tlaxcalteca laborers
launched onto the lake at Tetzcoco
May: 10th, implementation of siege of Tenochtitlan begins;
22nd, three Tlaxcalteca-Tetzcoca-Spanish forces, with
conquistadors led by Alvarado, Olid, and Sandoval, leave
Tetzcoco to take up positions surrounding the island-city; 26th,
potable water to the city cut off; 31st, Sandoval and Olid join
forces at Coyohuacan
June 30, in a Spanish-Tlaxcalteca defeat on the causeway, sixty-
eight Spaniards are captured and executed at the Great Temple
July, ships land at Vera Cruz with hundreds more men, horses,
and munitions
July 20–25, battle for great plaza of Tenochtitlan
August 1, Spanish-Tlaxcalteca-Tetzcoca forces enter great plaza
of Tlatelolco, where Aztec defenders make their last stand
August 13, Aztec survivors surrender and Cuauhtemoc is
captured
August 13–c. 17, invaders massacre, rape, and enslave the
survivors, sacking the city

1522

October 15, Carlos V names Cortés governor and captain-


general of New Spain
Cortés or the Spanish king had “a prior claim to the Mexican throne,”
or “their ritualized style of combat unfitted them to confront
Europeans who fought to win rather than to take sacrificial captives;
but, in a contest of hundred against thousands, it was their horses
that gave the invaders the decisive advantage.”9
The quotations above come from four authors, deliberately
unnamed in the paragraph because my purpose is not to criticize
them personally (they have all written books I admire greatly), but
to show how such phrases reflect the larger perspective made up of
thousands of books and articles, plays and films, going back
hundreds of years. That perspective has always centered on a
profoundly leading question, or—as I hope to persuade you—a
profoundly misleading question. We will encounter it many times in
the coming chapters. But for now, consider one more example,
chosen because these are the beautifully phrased opening lines of an
award-winning article by a superb scholar:

The Conquest of Mexico matters to us because it poses a painful question:


How was it that a motley bunch of Spanish adventurers, never numbering
more than four hundred or so, was able to defeat an Amerindian power on its
home ground in the space of two years? What was it about Spaniards, or
about Indians, that made so awesomely implausible a victory possible?10

The outcome of the war—not just Tenochtitlan in smoldering


ruins by August 1521, but Spanish colonial rule for three centuries
and its deep, complex legacy in modern Mexico—must and will be
explained. But we can reach that place of new understandings by
fully questioning the above assumptions, and many more. For
example, is there evidence that Montezuma ever surrendered, or
that any Mesoamerican saw the Spanish invasion as legitimate? Has
the emphasis on the Aztecs as devotees of so-called human sacrifice
distorted our view of their civilization? Is a twenty-eight-month
invasion really a “quick” war? Why are conquistadors typically
numbered in the hundreds when in reality thousands of Spaniards
fought the Aztecs? Is there really an advantage to being on “home
ground” or having a dozen horses in battles of thousands of men?
Do we prejudice our discussion and privilege traditional answers by
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MINCE PIES ROYAL. (ENTREMETS.)

Add to half a pound of good mincemeat an ounce and a half of


pounded sugar, the grated rind and the strained juice of a large
lemon, one ounce of clarified butter, and the yolks of four eggs; beat
these well together, and half fill, or rather more, with the mixture,
some pattypans lined with fine paste; put them into a moderate oven,
and when the insides are just set, ice them thickly with the whites of
the eggs beaten to snow, and mixed quickly at the moment with four
heaped tablespoonsful of pounded sugar; set them immediately into
the oven again, and bake them slowly of a fine light brown.
Mincemeat, 1/2 lb.; sugar, 1-1/2 oz.; rind and juice, 1 large lemon;
butter, 1 oz.; yolks, 4 eggs. Icing: whites, 4 eggs; sugar, 4
tablespoonsful.
THE MONITOR’S TART, OR TOURTE À LA JUDD.

Put into an enamelled stewpan, or into a delicately clean


saucepan, three quarters of a pound of well-flavoured apples,
weighed after they are pared and cored; add to them from three to
four ounces of pounded sugar, an ounce and a half of fresh butter
cut small, and half a teaspoonful of pounded cinnamon, or the lightly
grated rind of a small lemon. Let them stand over, or by the side of a
gentle fire until they begin to soften, and toss them now and then to
mingle the whole well, but do not stir them with a spoon; they should
all remain unbroken and rather firm. Turn them into a dish, and let
them become cold. Divide three-quarters of a pound of good light
paste into two equal portions; roll out one quite thin and round, flour
an oven-leaf and lay it on, as the tart cannot so well be moved after it
is made; place the apples upon it in the form of a dome, but leave a
clear space of an inch or more round the edge; moisten this with
white of egg, and press the remaining half of the paste (which should
be rolled out to the same size, and laid carefully over the apples)
closely upon it: they should be well secured, that the syrup from the
fruit may not burst through. Whisk the white of an egg to a froth,
brush it over the tart with a paste brush or a small bunch of feathers,
sift sugar thickly over, and then strew upon it some almonds
blanched and roughly chopped; bake the tart in a moderate oven
from thirty-five to forty-five minutes. It may be filled with peaches, or
apricots, half stewed like the apples, or with cherries merely rolled in
fine sugar; or with the pastry cream of page 173.
Light paste, 1/2 to 3/4 lb.; apples, 12 oz.; butter, 1-1/2 oz.; sugar, 4
oz.; glazing of egg and sugar; some almonds: 35 to 45 minutes.
PUDDING PIES. (ENTREMETS.)

This form of pastry (or its name at least) is, we believe, peculiar to
the county of Kent, where it is made in abundance, and eaten by all
classes of people during Lent. Boil for fifteen minutes three ounces
of ground rice[126] in a pint and a half of new milk, and when taken
from the fire stir into it three ounces of butter and four of sugar; add
to these six well-beaten eggs, a grain or two of salt, and a flavouring
of nutmeg or lemon-rind at pleasure. When the mixture is nearly
cold, line some large pattypans or some saucers with thin puff paste,
fill them with it three parts full, strew the tops thickly with currants
which have been cleaned and dried, and bake the pudding-pies from
fifteen to twenty minutes in a gentle oven.
126. Or rice-flour.
Milk, 1-1/2 pint; ground rice, 3 oz.: 15 minutes. Butter, 3 oz.; sugar,
1/4 lb.; nutmeg or lemon-rind; eggs, 6; currants, 4 to 6 oz.: 15 to 30
minutes.
PUDDING PIES.

(A commoner kind.)
One quart of new milk, five ounces of ground rice, butter, one
ounce and a half (or more), four ounces of sugar, half a small
nutmeg grated, a pinch of salt, four large eggs, and three ounces of
currants.
COCOA-NUT CHEESE-CAKES. (ENTREMETS.)

(Jamaica Receipt.)
Break carefully the shell of the nut, that the liquid it contains may
not escape.[127] Take out the kernel, pare thinly off the dark skin,
and grate the nut on a delicately clean grater; put it, with its weight of
pounded sugar, and its own milk, or a couple of spoonsful or rather
more of water, into a silver or block-tin saucepan, or a very small
copper stewpan perfectly tinned, and keep it gently stirred over a
quite clear fire until it is tender: it will sometimes require an hour’s
stewing to make it so. When a little cooled, add to the nut, and beat
well with it, some eggs properly whisked and strained, and the
grated rind of half a lemon. Line some pattypans with fine paste, put
in the mixture, and bake the cheese-cakes from thirteen to fifteen
minutes.
127. This, as we have elsewhere stated, is best secured by boring the shell before
it is broken. The milk of the nut should never be used unless it be very fresh.

Grated cocoa-nut, 6 oz.; sugar, 6 oz.; the milk of the nut, or of


water, 2 large tablespoonsful: 1/2 to 1 hour. Eggs, 5; lemon-rind, 1/2
of 1: 13 to 15 minutes.
Obs.—We have found the cheese-cakes made with these
proportions very excellent indeed, but should the mixture be
considered too sweet, another egg or two can be added, and a little
brandy also. With a spoonful or two more of liquid too, the nut would
become tender in a shorter time.
COMMON LEMON TARTLETS.

Beat four eggs until they are exceedingly light, add to them
gradually four ounces of pounded sugar, and whisk these together
for five minutes; strew lightly in, if it be at hand, a dessertspoonful of
potato flour, if not, of common flour well dried and sifted,[128] then
throw into the mixture by slow degrees, three ounces of good butter,
which should be dissolved, but only just lukewarm: beat the whole
well, then stir briskly in, the strained juice and the grated rind of one
lemon and a half. Line some pattypans with fine puff-paste rolled
very thin, fill them two-thirds full, and bake the tartlets about twenty
minutes, in a moderate oven.
128. A few ratifias, or three or four macaroons rolled to powder, or a stale sponge
or Naples biscuit or two, reduced to the finest crumbs, may be substituted for
either of these: more lemon, too, can be added to the taste.

Eggs, 4; sugar, 4 oz.; potato-flour, or common flour, 1


dessertspoonful; butter, 3 oz.; juice and rind of 1-1/2 full-sized lemon:
baked 15 to 20 minutes.
MADAME WERNER’S ROSENVIK CHEESE-CAKES.

Blanch and pound to the finest possible paste, four ounces of fine
fresh Jordan almonds, with a few drops of lemon-juice or water, then
mix with them, very gradually indeed, six fresh, and thoroughly well-
whisked eggs; throw in by degrees twelve ounces of pounded sugar,
and beat the mixture without intermission all the time: add then the
finely grated rinds of four small, or of three large lemons, and
afterwards, by very slow degrees, the strained juice of all. When
these ingredients are perfectly blended, pour to them in small
portions, four ounces of just liquefied butter (six of clarified if
exceedingly rich cheese-cakes are wished for), and again whisk the
mixture lightly for several minutes; thicken it over the fire like boiled
custard, and either put it into small pans or jars for storing,[129] or fill
with it, one-third full, some pattypans lined with the finest paste;
place lightly on it a layer of apricot, orange, or lemon-marmalade,
and on this pour as much more of the mixture. Bake the cheese-
cakes from fifteen to twenty minutes in a moderate oven. They are
very good without the layer of preserve.
129. This preparation will make excellent fanchonettes, or pastry-sandwiches. It
will not curdle if gently boiled for two or three minutes (and stirred without
ceasing), and it may be long kept afterwards.

Jordan almonds, 4 oz.; eggs, 6; sugar, 12 oz.; rinds and strained


juice of 4 small, or of 3 quite large lemons; butter, 4 oz. (6 for rich
cheese-cakes); layers of preserve. Baked 15 to 20 minutes,
moderate oven.
APFEL KRAPFEN.

(German Receipt.)
Boil down three-quarters of a pound of good apples with four
ounces of pounded sugar, and a small glass of white wine, or the
strained juice of a lemon; when they are stewed quite to a pulp, keep
them stirred until they are thick and dry; then mix them gradually with
four ounces of almonds, beaten to a paste, or very finely chopped,
two ounces of candied orange or lemon-rind shred extremely small,
and six ounces of jar raisins stoned and quartered: to these the
Germans add a rather high flavouring of cinnamon, which is a very
favourite spice with them, but a grating of nutmeg, and some fresh
lemon-peel, are, we think, preferable for this composition. Mix all the
ingredients well together; roll out some butter-crust a full back-of-
knife thickness, cut it into four-inch squares, brush the edges to the
depth of an inch round with beaten egg, fill them with the mixture, lay
another square of paste on each, press them very securely together,
make, with the point of a knife, a small incision in the top of each,
glaze them or not at pleasure, and bake them rather slowly, that the
raisins may have time to become tender. They are very good. The
proportion of sugar must be regulated by the nature of the fruit; and
that of the almonds can be diminished when it is thought too much. A
delicious tart of the kind is made by substituting for the raisins and
candied orange-rind, two heaped tablespoonsful of very fine apricot
jam.
CRÊME PATISSIÈRE, OR PASTRY CREAM.

To one ounce of fine flour add, very gradually, the beaten yolks of
three fresh eggs; stir to them briskly, and in small portions at first,
three-quarters of a pint of boiling cream, or of cream and new milk
mixed; then turn the whole into a clean stewpan, and stir it over a
very gentle fire until it is quite thick, take it off, and stir it well up and
round; replace it over the fire, and let it just simmer from six to eight
minutes; pour it into a basin, and add to it immediately a couple of
ounces of pounded sugar, one and a half of fresh butter, cut small, or
clarified, and a spoonful of the store mixture of page 153, or a little
sugar which has been rubbed on the rind of a lemon. The cream is
rich enough for common use without further addition; but an ounce
and a half of ratifias, crushed almost to powder with a paste-roller
improves it much, and they should be mixed with it for the receipt
which follows.
Flour, 1 oz.; yolks of eggs, 3; boiling cream, or milk and cream
mixed, 3/4 pint: just simmered, 6 to 8 minutes. Butter, 1-1/2 oz.;
sugar, 2 oz.; little store-flavouring, or rasped lemon-rind; ratifias, 1-
1/2 oz.
Obs.—This is an excellent preparation, which may be used for
tartlets, cannelons, and other forms of pastry, with extremely good
effect.
SMALL VOLS-AU-VENTS, À LA PARISIENNE. (ENTREMETS.)

Make some small vols-au-vents by the directions of page 361,


either in the usual way, or with the rings of paste placed upon the
rounds. Ice the edges as soon as they are taken from the oven, by
sifting fine sugar thickly on them, and then holding a salamander or
heated shovel over them, until it melts and forms a sort of pale
barley-sugar glaze. Have ready, and quite hot, some crême
patissière, made as above; fill the vols-au-vents with it, and send
them to table instantly. These will be found very good without the
icing.
PASTRY SANDWICHES.

Divide equally in two, and roll off square and as thin as possible,
some rich puff paste;[130] lay one half on a buttered tin, or copper
oven-leaf, and spread it lightly with fine currant, strawberry or
raspberry jelly; lay the remaining half closely over, pressing it a little
with the rolling pin after the edges are well cemented together; then
mark it into divisions, and bake it from fifteen to twenty minutes in a
moderate oven.
130. Almond-paste is sometimes substituted for this.
LEMON SANDWICHES.

Substitute for preserve, in the preceding receipt, the lemon


cheesecake mixture of page 372, with or without the almonds in it.
FANCHONNETTES. (ENTREMETS).

Roll out very thin and square some fine puff paste, lay it on a tin or
copper oven-leaf, and cover it equally to within something less than
an inch of the edge with peach or apricot jam; roll a second bit of
paste to the same size, and lay it carefully over the other, having first
moistened the edges with beaten egg, or water; press them together
securely, that the preserve may not escape; pass a paste-brush or
small bunch of feathers dipped in water over the top, sift sugar
thickly on it, then with the back of a knife, mark the paste into
divisions of uniform size, bake it in a well-heated but not fierce oven
for twenty minutes, or rather more, and cut it while it is still hot,
where it is marked. The fanchonnettes should be about three inches
in length and two in width. In order to lay the second crust over the
preserve without disturbing it, wind it lightly round the paste-roller,
and in untwisting it, let it fall gently over the other part.
This is not the form of pastry called by the French fanchonnettes.
Fine puff paste, 1 lb.; apricot or peach jam, 4 to 6 oz.: baked 20 to 25
minutes.
JELLY TARTLETS, OR CUSTARDS.

Put four tablespoonsful of fine fruit-jelly into a basin, and stir to it


gradually twelve spoonsful of beaten egg; if the preserve be rich and
sweet, no sugar will be required. Line some pans with paste rolled
very thin, fill them with the custard, and bake them about ten
minutes.[131]
131. Strawberry or raspberry jelly will answer admirably for these.
STRAWBERRY TARTLETS. (GOOD.)

Take a full half-pint of freshly-gathered strawberries, without the


stalks; first crush, and then mix them with two ounces and a half of
powdered sugar; stir to them by degrees four well-whisked eggs,
beat the mixture a little, and put it into pattypans lined with fine
paste: they should be only three parts filled. Bake the tartlets from
ten to twelve minutes.
RASPBERRY PUFFS.

Roll out thin some fine puff-paste, cut it in rounds or squares of


equal size, lay some raspberry jam into each, moisten the edges of
the paste, fold and press them together, and bake the puffs from
fifteen to eighteen minutes. Strawberry, or any other jam will serve
for them equally well.
CREAMED TARTLETS.

Line some pattypans with very fine paste, and put into each a
layer of apricot jam; on this pour some thick boiled custard, or the
pastry cream of page 373. Whisk the whites of a couple of eggs to a
solid froth, mix a couple of tablespoonsful of sifted sugar with them,
lay this icing lightly over the tartlets, and bake them in a gentle oven
from twenty to thirty minutes, unless they should be very small, when
less time must be allowed for them.
RAMEKINS À L’UDE, OR SEFTON FANCIES.

Roll out, rather thin, from six to eight ounces of fine cream-crust,
or feuilletage (see page 345); take nearly or quite half its weight of
grated Parmesan, or something less of dry white English cheese;
sprinkle it equally over the paste, fold it together, roll it out very lightly
twice, and continue thus until the cheese and crust are well mixed.
Cut the ramekins with a small paste-cutter; wash them with yolk of
egg mixed with a little milk, and bake them about fifteen minutes.
Serve them very hot.
Cream-crust, or feuilletage, 6 oz.; Parmesan, 3 oz.; or English
cheese, 2-1/2 oz.: baked 12 to 15 minutes.

Mould for large Vols-au-vents or Tourtes.

Paste Pincers.
CHAPTER XIX.

Soufflés, Omlets, &c.

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