I am REALLY in love with the Lindy Smith books, but have a few questions that I am hoping some of you can help out with....

1. What is the difference between a Madeira cake and a...say...pudding in the mix box cake?

2. Does anyone know what Caster (superfine) sugar is? is it just regular sugar (which I am assuming it is, since she also talks about confectioners sugar). Is large-grain sugar (such as "Sugar in the Raw") a big enough thing in England that she needs to differentiate between that and "regular American sugar"?

3. Gum tragacanth....is that the same as Wilton's Gum Tex? or the Gum Arabic that I can buy in art supply stores? or is it something different?

and lastly....4. Pastillage - is that the same thing as Gum Paste?

The one I know for sure is Castor sugar. It is superfine granulated sugar not confectioner or powdered sugar.

It is used by some bakers and also for sugaring flowers and fruit

Well I looked up Pastillage in my Cake Bible ( love this book) and the definition given is that it is a rolled fondant without any of the softening ingredients ( glycerine, corn syrup, or shortening). It dries bone hard and crusts more easily than fondant. Hope this helps.

Oh, and it gives a recipe here for the pastillage if you're interested.

Well, lets see here in my lindy smith book.
1. Madeira cake is something same as buttercake.
2. Caster sugar is regular sugar, only very fine / small.
3. Gum tragant is the same as gum arabic. (wiltons gum tex I do not know what is.)
4. Pastillage is a type of gum paste that will set very hard in short time. Best used for constructing houses, cribs, and big things that need to be strong and hard.

Hope something here was helpful.