Recipe: Blancmange (Little Women)

"That looks too pretty to eat," he said, smiling with pleasure, as Jo uncovered the dish, and showed the blancmange, surrounded by a garland of green leaves, and the scarlet flowers of Amy's pet geranium.

"It isn't anything, only they all felt kindly and wanted to show it. Tell the girl to put it away for your tea. It's so simple you can eat it, and being soft, it will slip down without hurting your sore throat. What a cozy room this is!"

Almond Blancmange

• 8 oz slivered almonds
• 1 1/2 c milk
• 1/8 t almond extract
• 2 t unflavored gelatin
• 2 T cold water
• 1/2 c superfine sugar
• 1 c whipping cream

additional equipment:

• blender
• 6 1/2-cup ramekins
• small saucepan
• baking sheet
• fine sieve
• thin kitchen towel or cheese cloth

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spread almonds on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven until lightly toasted, about seven minutes. Let the almonds cool completely.

3. Pour cooled almonds and milk into the blender. Blend until the mixture is almost smooth, but not quite. Leave it a little grainy. Strain the almond milk through a fine sieve, then through a thin kitchen towel. (To strain through a kitchen towel, wet a clean towel and then wring out as much water as possible. Lay it over the bowl you're straining into and pour the almond milk over it. Squeeze the milk through the towel.)

4. You should end up with about 1 cup of almond milk. If you have less, add more milk to reach 1 cup. Discard almonds. Stir almond extract and a pinch of salt into the almond milk.

5. In a small saucepan, combine almond milk and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

5. Pour the cold water into a small separate bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let sit 1 minute. Add the gelatin to the almond milk in the saucepan and stir until dissolved.

6. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Pour the almond milk into another bowl. Place this bowl into a larger bowl of ice water. Stir until it cools and thickens slightly.

7. In a clean bowl, beat cream to stiff peaks. Mix 1/3 of the whipped cream into the almond milk. Add the remainder in thirds, folding carefully.

8. Lightly oil six 1/2 cup ramekins. Pour 1/2 cup of the mixture into each ramekin. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 to 24 hours.

To serve, fill a bowl with hot water and dip the ramekins into the water.  Run a sharp knife around the edge of the ramekin to loosen it, then invert it onto a plate.