SC - seed cake from Tusser

[Stefan li Rous]

Magdalena said:
> Seed Cake
> 
> Melt 2 lbs of butter and let it stand 24 hours and then rub
> in 4 lbs of fine dried flour.  Mix in 8 eggs, (wip the
> whites to sno') and pt of ale yeast and 1 pt of sack. (any
> white wine). Mix all together lightly and put in 2 lbs
> Carraway comfits.  Put into buttered Hoops and bake 2 hours
> and a half.  You may mix in 1/2 oz of cloves and cinnamon if
> you like.
> 
> - -----
> 
> Anyone know what melting the butter and letting it stand
> will do?  And does anyone have a recipe for carraway
> comfits?

Thank you for posting this. If you can't find a specific recipe for
carraway comfits, you might use some of the recipes for similar comfits
which can be found in this file in the FOOD-SWEETS-DECORATED section
in my Florilegium:
candy-msg        (136K)  9/23/99    Period candy. Recipes. Candied fruit peels.

This file might also be useful:
Candying-art       (9K)  6/29/99    Period and modern descriptions of
the 
                                       candying process by Alys Katharine.

What exactly is a "Hoop"? Is it like a modern cake pan? Or is it simply
a loop/hoop with no bottom?

"Mix in 8 eggs" but it also says "whip the whites to snow". Does this
mean seperate the eggs, hold the yolks aside, whip the whites and then
mix both of them in? Or only use the whites?
- -- 
Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas           stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****