Recipe Manuscript

Suger Cakes

Name: Suger Cakes
Prep time: PTPT25M
Cook time: PTPT20M
Yield: 24
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 450 grams caster sugar (loaf sugar, finely ground); 5 egg yolks; 1 egg white; 180 ml heavy cream; 565 grams unsalted butter; 500-600 grams all-purpose flour (as needed for kneading); Optional: extra flour for dusting

1700

From the treasured pages of Receipts in cookery and medicine 1700

Unknown Author

Renaissance (1400 - 1700)European Intermediate Dessert Snack

Original Recipe • 1700

Original Manuscript(circa Renaissance, 1400 - 1700)

As inscribed by the original author's hand, transcribed with care by Lost Kitchen Scrolls

Suger Cakes

"Take a pound of loafe suger finely searched & 5 youlks of eggs but one whit a dozen spoonfulls of Creame a pound & quarter of butterr put all these together & take as much flower as will knead them up."

Note on the Original Text

This recipe is a wonderful example of early 18th-century cookery writing—brief, assuming the reader is experienced, and omitting details like baking time or temperature. Quantities are generous, often in pounds and 'spoonfuls,' with instructions to use 'as much flour as will knead them up,' leaving room for judgment. Spelling and phrasing are charmingly archaic—'loafe suger finely searched' means loaf sugar grated or finely sieved, while 'youlks' are yolks. The relaxed punctuation and lack of step-by-step guidance invite you to cook as our ancestors did: with intuition and a sense of adventure.

Modern Kitchen Interpretation

Recipe's Origin

Receipts in cookery and medicine 1700 - Click to view recipe in book

Title

Receipts in cookery and medicine 1700 (1700)

You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome

Writer

Unknown

Era

1700

Publisher

Unknown

Background

Step into the kitchen of the early 18th century, where this charming culinary manuscript tempts tastebuds with recipes and secrets from a bygone era. A delicious journey for both the curious cook and the history lover.

Kindly made available by

Folger Shakespeare Library

Historical Background of the Recipe

Learn about old traditions

This recipe comes from around the year 1700, a time when baking was both skillful art and daily necessity. Home cooks would have made these sweet sugar cakes for special occasions or to accompany tea, reflecting the increasing popularity of sugar in British kitchens. The recipe showcases the opulence of the time, calling for generous amounts of butter and sugar, both of which were luxury ingredients often signaling status and festivity. This manuscript was penned when recipe writing was highly personal—handed down or shared among friends—making each version a little different. Sugar cakes such as these are forebears of today's buttery shortbread and sugar cookies.

Culinary Tools when the Recipe was Crafted

Tools and techniques from kitchens of old

In 1700, cooks used large wooden mixing bowls for blending dough by hand, sturdy wooden spoons, and sometimes mortar and pestle for grinding sugar. The dough would be shaped by hand or with simple cutters. Baking was done in wood-fired ovens or hearths, with careful attention given to temperature, often tested by hand or with experience alone. Butter was churned at home or purchased in solid rounds. Flour might be sifted through muslin or a coarse sieve. No electric mixers or scales—everything was judged by eye, hand, and feel.

Modern Kitchen Adaptation

Ingredients and techniques for today's cooks

ounces, cups, Fahrenheit

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Servings

We've done our best to adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, but some details may still need refinement. We warmly welcome feedback from fellow cooks and culinary historians — your insights support the entire community!

Ingredients

2 cups caster sugar (loaf sugar, finely ground)
5 egg yolks
1 egg white
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 cups unsalted butter
4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour (as needed for kneading)
Optional: extra flour for dusting

Instructions

To make these historic Sugar Cakes, begin by finely grinding 2 cups of caster sugar.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 5 egg yolks and 1 egg white, then add in 3/4 cup of heavy cream and 2 1/2 cups of unsalted butter, softened.
Combine the sugar with the egg and cream mixture.
Gradually sift in all-purpose flour—start with about 4 cups, and add more if needed—just until a soft, workable dough forms.
Knead lightly, being careful not to overwerk the dough.
Roll out or shape as desiered, and bake in a moderate oven (around 340°F) until lightly golden.
Note that the original recipe would likely have been shaped into small cakes or cookies rather than what we now know as cake—the term was much looser in the period.

Estimated Calories

290 per serving

Cooking Estimates

Preparing these historic Sugar Cakes takes about 25 minutes, including mixing and kneading the dough. Baking them in the oven takes 20 minutes. Each batch makes about 24 small cakes or cookies, and each serving has about 290 calories.

As noted above, we have made our best effort to translate and adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, taking into account ingredients nowadays, cooking techniques, measurements, and so on. However, historical recipes often contain assumptions that require interpretation.

We'd love for anyone to help improve these adaptations. Community contributions are highly welcome. If you have suggestions, corrections, or cooking tips based on your experience with this recipe, please share them below.