[Sca-cooks] Prince-Bisket Question

[Johnna Holloway]

I thought it might be worthwhile to search for and look at other recipes for clues about baking and the coffins.

The title of the original recipe by Plat is  20. To make prince bisket.
TAke one pounde of verie fine flower, and one pounde of fine sugar, and eight egges, and two spoonfuls of Rosewater, and one ounce of carroway seeds, and beat it all to batter one whole hour, for the more you beat it, the better your bread is, then bake it in coffins of white plate, beeing basted with a little butter before you put in your batter, and so keepe it. 1602 edition Delightes for ladies.

A keyword search of the text reveals "Coffins" only appears in this recipe, so they weren't used in any of Plat's other recipes.

Here are a number of other recipes.
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The recipe in the 1608 A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen which I edited and annotated reads:

[52] To make Prince bisket bread.

TAke a pound of very fine flower, as much suger throughly searsed, one ounce of annisseeds cleane pickt, take eight egges and a spoonefull of Muskadine, and beat all into batter as thicke as for fritters, beat it thus in a bowle one houre, then put it into your coffins of plate, or frames of wood, and set in an Ouen, and let it remaine there one houre, you may slice some of them when they bee a day old, and drie them againe vpon a hurdle of wicker, you may also take one of your loaues, and wash it ouer with the yolke of an egge, beaten with a little Rose water, and while it is greene, cast biskets and carrawaies on it and a little white candy, and it will shew as if it did haile on it, then spot it with golde and giue to whom you please.

My notes read: "[This recipe specifies both “coffins of plate, or frames of wood” as does MWBC’s recipe S183 pp. 340-341. S183 is a longer recipe with practical advice at the end stating “take ye oven stone downe sometimes to keepe them from burning or from cullering too fast.”]" 

http://www.medievalcookery.com/notes/1608closet.pdf

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John Murrell offers this recipe:

To make Prince Bisket.

53 DRie a pound of very fine wheat flower in an Ouen two houres, after the bread hath beene drawne, or the Ouen being warmed, but not heated for the nonce, the flower were best in an earthen Pipkin couered, least it loose the colour, put to it a pound of double refined Sugar beaten and cearsed fine, then take ten new laid Egges, take away fiue of their whites, straine these Egs into a Bason, with a spoonfull of Rose-water, and sixe spoonfuls of scalded Creame, when you haue all in the Bason, first put in your cearsed Sugar, and let it dissolue by beating it into your Egs, then put in your flower by little and little, vntill both the flower and the other things be incorporated, beat it well together an houre at least, and you shall at last see it turne white, then you must haue coffins of white plate indude with butter as thinne as you can, so as it be touched in euery place, then take an ounce and a halfe of sweet Anise-seed, and one of Coriander, dried rubd and dusted, put the Anise-seed in the batter, & the batter into the coffins, and bake it an houre at least if you will, you may make Cracknels of the same batter, driue it thinne vpon the Plates, and when you take it off, rowle it thinne like a Wafer, and dry them againe in the Ouen.

 And he uses the batter in this recipe:

To make Muscachones.
86 TAke batter made as for Prince Bisket, in the 53. Receipt, put to it two spoonfuls of Cheese-curds, Cinamon, Ginger, Sugar, and a graine of Muske, beat all into the batter, and take a batter spout, and spout it in long rowles on a sheete of paper, dusted through a Sieue with fine Sugar, and before they be dry, tye them in some pretie knots, and so dry them, and then guild them.

Murrell. A daily exercise for ladies and gentlewomen. 1617.

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This recipe calls for coffins of tinne.
To make Prince Bisket.
35 Take a pound of Sugar, and a pound of fine Flower: beate your Sugar very fine, then take eight Egges, take out two of the Whites, and beate all these together in a Bowle an houre; then take Coffins made of Tinne, and indosse them over with sweet butter within: put to it halfe an ounce of Aniseeds finely dusted, when you are ready to fill your Coffins; for if it be put in before, it will discolour your bread; or you may lay Wafers all within your Coffins, which is the best way, and so bake it.

Brugis, Thomas, fl. 1640? The marrow of physicke. 1648.
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121. The first way for Prince Bisket. 

Take a pound of sugar and a pound o flower, and put thereto 8 yolks and 4 white of egs, and as much sack as will make it ligh and easie to stir, and stir it with good strengt at least an houre, and after that put into it such a quantity of Anniseeds and Coleander seeds as shall be best pleasing unto you; stir it then some little time after the seeds be in for the indifferent wel mixing of them, and so put it into your coffins and bake them with a temperate fire, so as they may soak throughly within and without, and fill not the coffins too full.

An other way.

Take one pound of sugar fine beaten, a pound a dram of fine flower, then take twenty yolks of Egs well beaten, one Ounce, of Anniseeds well bruised, four spoonfuls of Rose water; you must put in your flower by little and little, and as you put it in, you must stir it very well or else it will clad, then take two sheets of clean white paper, and butter them with sweet butte, and pin them up at the four corners, and so make Coffins of them, put in the butter, and put under each Coffin a paper: you must trie the Oven with a piece of white paper, if it colour the paper much it is hot, and when the stuffe beginneth to come from the paper, you may take them out and cut them in slices, and lay the cut side down-ward and when they are dry on that side, you must turn them on the other, and let them lie in the Oven until the Oven be cold.

Mayerne, Théodore Turquet de, Sir, 1573-1655. Archimagirus anglo-gallicus: 1658.
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To make Prince Biskets.
Take a pound of searsed Sugar, and a pound of fine flower, eight Eggs with two of the reddest yolks taken out, and so beat together one whole hour, then take you Coffins, and indoice them over with Butter very thin, then to it put an ounce of Anniseeds fine dusted, and when you are ready to fill your Coffins, put in the Anniseeds, and so bake it in an Oven as hot as for Manchet.

The Queens closet opened incomparable secrets in physick, chyrurgery, preserving, and candying &c. which were presented unto the queen by W. M. 1659

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But back in 1675 and 1686 editions of The Accomplish'd lady's delight, we find coffins of white plate called for again.
234. To make Prince-Bisket.
Take one pound of very fine Flower, and one pound of fine sugar, and eight Eggs, and to spoonfuls of Rose-water, and one Ounce of Carraway-seeds, and beat it all to Batter one whole hour, for the more you beat it, the better your Bread is; then Bake it in Coffins of white Plate, being basted with a little Butter, before you put in your Batter, and so keep it.

from The Accomplish'd lady's delight in preserving, physick, beautifying, and cookery containing I. the art of preserving and candying fruits & flowers. 1675. Also in the 1686.
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Hope this provides some more information

Johnna

On Jul 23, 2016, at 12:07 PM, David Friedman <ddfr at daviddfriedman.com> wrote:snipped
> Any opinions on how one should interpret the final part of the recipe?