SC - First try at redaction

[Bronwynmgn at aol.com]

Today I made my first try at redacting anything by myself.  I used the "Fine
cakes" recipe that was posted here right before Christmas.  Here are the
results:

>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)
>

First redaction attempt (2/1/98)
     I used Gold Medal all-purpose flour (wheat and malted barley flour,
enriched and
bleached), because that was what I had in the house.  I measured 2 cups of
flour and put them in a Corningware dish and covered it tightly with tin foil.
I baked it at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.  It appeared slightly browned, and
had to be broken apart to be sifted, with further breaking up of pebble-like
chunks by hand as I sifted.
    I allowed 1 stick of butter (8 TBsp) to soften, then mixed with it 1/4 cup
white sugar, 1/8 tsp each of ground mace and ground cloves, and 3 strands of
saffron ground with a little of the sugar.  I separated one egg yolk and added
that.
    I added the flour gradually and it soon became obvious that there wasn't
enough liquid. Since the recipe says the pastry will be very short, I chose to
add more butter.  I added another 1/2 stick (4 TBsp).  This still wasn't
enough, so I added another egg yolk and eventually another 2 TBsp of butter.
That made a dry rolling consistency dough.
    I didn't roll the first tray - just formed them into balls and flattened
them.  They didn't spread out at all.  I didn't have any parchment paper, but
used a non-stick baking tray.  I cooked them at  325 degrees F for about 15
minutes (until they smelled and looked done).
They were extremely dry and initially tasted like a mouthful of flour, but, as
my roommate said, "They kind of grow on you".  Next time I believe I will use
a little more sugar and spices.
    For the remaining dough (about 1/3 of the batch), I added about another
TBsp of
butter.  That made a slightly sticky consistency.  It would probably need to
be chilled to roll well.  I cooked this batch the same as the first.  The
consistency is about the same as the first batch (they actually powder in your
mouth!).  This batch definitely has more flavor.
     For the next trial I believe I will use two full sticks of butter and two
egg yolks to 2 cups of flour, increase the sugar to 1/3 cup and the spices to
1/4 teaspoon each.

Any comments?  I've kept the notes above in my recipe file for this recipe.

Brangwayna
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