Oh my gosh, here is a Class I would LOVE to take, on how to make 'Historic Sugarwork and Confectionary' given by Ivan Day of Historic Food! Just look at this flower bouquet, it's made from a special cake decorating technique called pastillage, and those fruit are handcrafted from almond paste! If I hadn't of told you, would you have guessed??? The baskets have been molded out of sugar from centuries old designs. The last drawing is a design for a 'pastillage pièce montée' in the form of a putto in a chariot being drawn by a hunting poodle (watercolour 1820s). This websight is full of wonderful photos, images and inspirtation sure to whet your appitite and make you wish for a meal a few centuries back... or a trip to England!!!
pastillage
Definition: 1. frosting with gelatin: frosting made mainly of icing sugar and gelatin or gum, particularly suitable for rolling out and making into cake decorations
pièce montée
Definition: (from French, literally "assembled piece" or "mounted piece," plural pièces montées) is a kind of decorative confectionary centerpiece in an architectural or sculptural form used for formal banquets and made of materials such as confectioner's paste, nougat, marzipan, and spun sugar. Although the ingredients were typically edible, their purpose was purely decorative and they were often not really meant to be consumed.
