and beat them till they come to a perfect Paste, you must also put in a little White of an Egg with the Gum, then mould it with searced Sugar, then dust your Moulds with Sugar, then roul out your Paste and lay it into the Mould, pressing it down into every hollow part with your fingers, and when it hath taken impression, knock the Mould on the edge against a Table and it will come out, or you may help it with the point of your knife; if you find you have put in too much Gum, then add more Sugar, if too much Sugar, then more Gum, work it up as fast as you can, when they come out of the Moulds trim them handsomely; if you would make saucers, dishes, or bowls, you must rowl it out thin and put your Paste into a saucer, dish, or bowl for a Mould, and let them stand therein till they be very dry, then gild them on the edges with the white of and Egg laid round about the edge with a pencil, and press the Gold down with some Cotton, and when it is dry brush off the superfluous loose Gold with the foot of an Hare, and if you would have your Paste exceeding smooth, as for Cards or the like, then roul your Paste upon a slicked paper with a very smooth Rouling-pin; if you would colour any of it, you must take the searced powder of any Herbs or Flours, first dryed, and put to it when you beat it in a Mortar with the Gum.

Sugar-Plate Old Elizabethan Dessert Recipe
The above Old dessert recipe for Sugar-Plate is written in totally different way to today's recipe books.

• There were no lists of ingredients - these were included as part of the text
• Food and ingredient measurements were extremely basic - quantities were not often specified.
• Temperature control was difficult and therefore not specified.
• Cooking times were vague - and left to the cook to decide.
• It was assumed that the reader would already have some knowledge of cooking