sugar-icing-msg - 1/16/02
Period sugar icings.
NOTE: See also the files: Sugar-Icing-art, sugar-msg, Sgr-a-Cnftns-art, marzipan-msg, Digby-Cakes-art, cookies-msg, cak-soteltes-msg, pastries-msg.
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Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: "Elise Fleming" <alysk at ix.netcom.com>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2001 06:22:54 -0500
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Cake Icing
> We have briefly mentioned period icings before. I get the feeling
> that these were much thinner than the fluffy, often rather thick
> icings that I'm used to seeing these days. When did these thicker
> icings come into use? Or was this a Victorian thing? I imagine these
> questions on icings are highly affected by the price and availability
> of sugar.
> Stefan li Rous
And Johnnae llyn Lewis responded:
>I was already working on some icing references, so
>I will also research buttercream and royal icing and
>post when I get it all done. It was a busy week.
To which I will comment... All I have seen to date (mostly English
sources) is a coating of sugar and rosewater to "ice" the item,
usually a marchpane. Within period, what we might call a cake
didn't appear to have much for a "topping". When one gets into the
1650s, "cakes" begin to have an icing similar to the sugar and
rosewater. Johnnae will probably have more time to double-check
this than I will (!), but cakes didn't resemble our cakes, being
(often) filled with fruit. Perhaps there was not so much need to
coat it with sugar. I do recall that there is a period song that
refers to a bridal cake being topped with plums.
Alys Katharine
Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2001 14:12:01 -0500
From: johnna holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
To: "sca-cooks at ansteorra.org" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] SUGAR ICING/16th C.
I have as promised been at work on early sources for
sugar icing. I last quoted the following on 8 October
2001.
A BOOK OF COOKRYE by A. W. which was published
by Edward Allde in 1591
contains the following recipe for a sugar-icing...>
On page 29 at the end of a recipe for "a good Marchpaine":>
" Or ever that you bake it you must cast on it fine Sugar
and Rosewater that will make it look like Ice."
After citing the above reference,
I began to look for recipes in 17th century material.
Last night while looking in box of archival copies,
I came across this reference which would push the date
back to 1573 in English.
It's from The Treasurie of Commodious Conceits and Hidden
Secrets by John Partridge.Imprinted at London for Richarde
Jones. 1573. STC# 19426. This is the earliest of Partridge's
works and predates The Widowes Treasure of the 1580's.
Prior to the conclusion of Patridge's long recipe for
"To make a Marchpane. Cap.ix" he states:
"it may not bake but only be hard and through dryed, and
ye may while it is moyft ftick it full of Comfets of
fundrye coolers, in a comely order ye mufte moyft it
ouer with Rofe water and Suger together, make it fmoothe:
and to fet it in the Ouen or other inftrumet,".
He concludes:
"The greateft Secret that is the makynge of this cleare, is
with a little fyne flowre of Ryfe, Rofewater and Suger beaten
together & layd thin ouer the marchpane ere it go to dryinge:
this will make it fhine lyke Ice, as Ladyes reporte."
Patridge's "this will make it shine lyke Ice"
does not use Ice as a verb of course, but it may well
be the earliest use of Ice as a descriptive term for the
sugar and rosewater (here with rice flour) mixture used as
a coating for a cake. It certainly predates the 1605 Bacon
quotation given by OED for the meaning "A congelation or
crystalline appearance resembling ice." Or 1602 for
garnishing a cake. OED lists "icing" or encrusting a cake
back to 1769 and Mrs. Raffald. None of the other secondary
works that I have checked cite either this recipe or
this work by Partridge as sources on icing.
I will post the 17th century material later this week.
[NOTE - See Sugar-Icing-art - editor]
Johnnae llyn Lewis Johnna Holloway
<the end>