We will suppose that we have, say, a quart of really good thick cream. All that is necessary is to beat up the cream with a whisk till it becomes a froth. This is much more easily done in cold weather than in hot, and, if the weather be very warm, it is best to put the tin or pan containing the cream into ice an hour or two before it is used. Old French cookery-books recommend the addition of a little powdered gum, not bigger than a pea, and the gum recommended is that known as tragacanth. Others again beat up the white of an egg to a stiff froth, and add this to the cream. It is a good plan when the cream fails to froth completely to take off the top froth and drain it on a sieve placed upside down. The cream that drains through can be added to what is left and re-whipped. It is also a good plan to make whipped cream some time before it is wanted, and, indeed, it can be prepared with advantage the day before. When the cream is drained (we are supposing a quart to have been used) it should be mixed with three or four ounces of very finely powdered sugar, as well as the particular kind of flavouring that will give the cream its name. For instance, we can have, if liqueurs are allowed—

Maraschino Cream.—This is simply made by mixing a small glass of maraschino with some whipped cream, properly sweetened.

Coffee Cream.—Make a very strong infusion of pure coffee that has been roasted a high colour. It will be found best to re-roast coffee berries in the oven if you have not got a proper coffee-roaster. Pound the berries in a pestle and mortar, or grind them very coarsely; then make a strong infusion with a very small quantity of water, and strain it till it is quite bright. This is mixed with the whipped sweetened cream.

Chocolate Cream.—Take about two ounces of the very best chocolate and dissolve it in a little boiling water; let it get cold, and then mix with the whipped sweetened cream.

Vanilla Cream.—Vanilla cream is nicest when a fresh vanilla pod is used for the purpose, but a more simple process is to use a little essence of vanilla.

Orange Cream.—Rub some lumps of sugar on the outside of an orange, and pound this sugar very finely, and then mix it with the whipped cream.

Lemon Cream.—Proceed exactly as in making orange cream, only substituting lemon for orange.