SC - structural gingerbread

[Christi Rigby]

> I don't know how period it would be but why not make the "glass" from "rock"
> candy.   It can be transparent and clear or whatever color food dye you come
> up that is heat stable.  It can be poured out thin and cut into shapes and
> fitted with a piping "leading" just like a real window.   Anyone have any
> period candy recipes that fit the bill?

For Landsknecht this year, we made a hard sugar candy with rosewater as
the flavoring.  It was a wonderfully subtle flavor.  I can't remember
what our source was (my co-featocrat found it, and when she sent me her
recipes the night before the event so I could create the recipe booklet,
she didn't list the reference,) but below is the redaction we put it in
our recipe book.  The food coloring would be a bit of a stretch, but you
can make a good argument for the candy at least!  I seem to remember
that it cooled much more quickly than this recipe said, even though our
kitchen was about 8 billion degrees.  The scores didn't really take,
which means it didn't break up into nice neat lozenges, but into random
chunks.  So, you'll have to pour quickly and accurately into the shapes
you need.  I wonder if you can pipe it, so you can use some dark colored
candy for the "lead", then fill in the spaces?  I would fear that icing
would break apart unless you used parchment or waxed paper to back it
permanently, but then it wouldn't be clear, which was the purpose of
using the candy.  Well, it's easy enough to practice different
techniques, and I'll eat whatever doesn't work!  ;)

Sugar Candy

2 Cups Granulated Sugar
2 oz Rosewater
Rice Flour
Petals of roses, violets or carnations

Dust a marble stone or oiled cookie sheet with rice flour.  Mix sugar
and rosewater, adding two or three drops of food coloring if desired. 
Bring to a boil.  If crystals form on the sides of the pan, brush down
with a pastry brush dipped in cold water.  Boil the mixture without
stirring to the hard-crack stage (300 degrees).   Immerse the pan in
cold water so that the mixture will not continue to cook.  Stir in
flower petals if desired, and pour onto prepared sheet or stone.  Wait
five minutes, then mark into lozenge shapes with a knife dipped in ice
water.  Leave another few minutes until hard, then remove from sheet or
stone and break into individual lozenges.

Magdalena
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