SC - SC-SHORT BREAD AS PERIOD

[david friedman]

At 8:50 PM -0600 12/8/97, jeffrey s heilveil wrote:
>Whilst planning this dessert feast, I stumbled across a seemingly period
>shortbread.  The deal is that it was called "fine cakes."  The source is
>taming of the Shrew (1594)
>To make fine cakes  Take a quantity of fine wheate Flower, and put it in
>an earthen pot.  Stop it close and set it in an Oven, and bake it as long
>as you would a pasty of Venison, and when it baked it will be full of
>clods.  Then searce your flower through a fine sercer.  Then take clouted
>Creame or sweet butter, but Creame is best: then take sugar, cloves, mace,
>saffron and yolks of eggs, so much as wil seeme to season your flower.
>Then put these things into the Creame, temper all together.  Then put
>thereto your flower.  So make your cakes.  The paste will be very short;
>therefore make them very little.  Lay paper under them.  (John Partridge
>[The widowes Treasure] in Lorna J. Sass's "To the Queen's Taste)
>
>Her redaction is as follows:
>6oz butter (room temp)
>.5 cup sugar
>1 egg yolk, beaten
>1.75 C sifted flour
>.5 tsp cloves
>1/8 tsp mace
>pinch ground saffron
>Egg white
>
>1.  In a bowl, cream butter.  Add sugar and beat until fluffy.
>2.  Add egg yolk and beat until thoroughly blended.
>3.  In another bowl, combine sifted flour and spices, stirring to
>distribute evenly.

Not what the original says.

>4.  Sift dry ingredients into bowl containing butter-and-sugar mixture.
>Combine by stirring or with hands.
>5.  Press mixture into a 9-in square baking pan.
>6. Brush top lightly with egg white.

Not in the original.

I don't think the redaction works out to the same proportions as pound
cake. And the recipe doesn't sound much like pound cake--note that cream is
considered superior to butter, and the sugar is in the list with the
spices, which doesn't suggest that it present in a quantity similar to the
flour (not that its impossible, merely mildy contraindicated).


David/Cariadoc
http://www.best.com/~ddfr/


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