No. 216 Apples Stewed à la Gloire
10 or 12 stewing apples.
1½ pints of water.
½ pound loaf sugar.
1 dozen crystallized cherries.
2 bananas.
{ 1 strip of lemon peel.
12 cloves.
1 small stick of cinnamon tied in muslin.
Place the water, sugar, and flavourings in a large enamelled stewpan, and stand over a gentle heat until the sugar is dissolved. Peel the apples, carefully remove the cores, leaving the apples whole; place them in the syrup, and simmer until perfectly tender, but not broken. When done, lift them out into a glass dish (which should have been previously warmed to prevent cracking), press them slightly with a spoon so as to make a smooth surface slightly raised in the centre, and stand them on one side to get cold. When the apples are cold, strain the syrup into a small stewpan, and reduce over a moderate heat for fifteen or twenty minutes. Cut the bananas into quarter-inch slices, stamp out the seeds, and arrange the rings on the apple, placing a cherry in the middle of each ring. Pour the syrup over the top, when, if it be sufficiently reduced, it will immediately set, and form a very ornamental as well as delicious dish.