No. 3653

Candies for Mottoes

Bonbons pour Papillotes

Have some small conical-shaped plaster molds, the bottoms being detruncated and rounded; they should be an inch in diameter at the bottom and one inch high. Fasten these molds on a ruler slightly apart from each other, then with this ruler imprint the molds into the starch. Put two pounds of sugar in a copper sugar basin and dissolve is with a pint and a half of water; stand this on the fire to cook to "large ball" (No. 171), being careful to remove all the scum and keep the sides of the pan clean. When the sugar has reached the proper degree let it fall to "small ball" by adding a few spoonfuls of orange flower water, then remove the pan from the fire and with a wooden spoon rub the sugar against the sides to mass it. As soon as it begins to whiten stir it well and cast it into the starch impressions, using a spring funnel (Fig. 759) for this purpose; when the box is full bestrew the candies lightly with a handful of starch and put the box in a heater for two or three hours. After the candies are hard remove them from the starch and range them on grates or on a sieve to cool thoroughly, then brush over with a camel's hair or feather brush. To wrap up these candies spread open some variegated colored motto papers, in the center of each lay a printed motto folded in four and on this one of the candies, then fold the paper all around toward the center and use a string attached to the table to enclose the candy (this is done by giving the string a turn around the motto and pulling on it, then the motto is released and will be found firmly twisted) and form a bouquet with the fringed ends of the paper.

← No. 3652 Fondants Dipped in Strawberry or Raspberry Candies & Bonbons No. 3654 Northern Jelly Candies →

For the Modern Kitchen

This is starch-mogul fondant work — the industrial method for cast candies, scaled to a hotel pastry department. Nothing here is unsafe; the difficulty is that most of the equipment is no longer sold and the sugar stages are given by name rather than number.

The hinge: crashing the syrup back downThe sugar is cooked to "large ball" and then brought back down to "small ball" by adding a few spoonfuls of orange flower water before it is rubbed against the pan to mass and whiten it. The book gives no account of what happens if the addition is skipped or overdone.
What the sugar degrees meanIn Ranhofer's scale (his No. 171), "small ball" is roughly 240F and "large ball" roughly 250F on a modern thermometer. He is describing a soft-ball fondant, not a hard candy.
Copper sugar basinAn unlined copper pan with sloping sides, used because it heats evenly and pours cleanly. A heavy stainless saucepan does the same job; the instruction to keep the sides clean matters more than the metal, since a single sugar crystal clinging to the wall will seed the whole batch.
The starch boxA shallow wooden tray filled with cornstarch, dried thoroughly first, into which the molds are stamped to leave negative impressions. The starch both shapes the candy and pulls moisture from it. Any starch reused this way must be re-dried between batches.
Plaster molds and the rulerSmall truncated cones, an inch across and an inch high, fastened to a ruler so a whole row prints at once. Nothing sold today replaces plaster directly; a strip of dowel ends or turned wooden plugs will print the same shape.
Spring funnelA funnel with a spring-loaded rod in the throat, worked with the thumb to start and stop the flow of hot fondant. A small ladle and a steady hand will fill the impressions, but expect more waste.
"Put the box in a heater"A warming closet rather than an oven; the book gives no temperature, only two or three hours of gentle heat to dry the candies. A home oven with only the light on, or a dehydrator tray, gives that kind of low warmth.
Orange flower waterStill sold, usually as a distillate from bitter orange blossom, and much stronger than it looks. A few spoonfuls into two pounds of sugar is the right proportion; more will taste of soap.

A Little History

Bonbons pour papillotes are French wrapped sweets, the papillote being the twisted, fringed paper that encloses them — the same word used for fish or a cutlet cooked in a paper case. The printed motto folded inside is the reason these appear in a book aimed at professional caterers: they were table favours, laid at each place at banquets, weddings and New Year suppers, and the verse or fortune was as much the point as the candy. The Christmas cracker, which the confectioner Tom Smith is generally credited with developing in London in the mid-nineteenth century, grew out of exactly this trade in motto-wrapped bonbons. Charles Ranhofer, who ran the kitchens at Delmonico's in New York and published The Epicurean in 1894, gives the method as a working procedure rather than a novelty, complete with the starch trays and spring funnels of a commercial candy room and the small trick of a string tied to the table edge to help with the twisting.