[Sca-cooks] Re: Cake Icing

[Elise Fleming]

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] cake icing
Reply-To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

 On Fri, 19 Oct 2001, Mark.S Harris wrote:
 > 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