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Cumberland Rum Nicky

This traditional northern treat is a real favourite of mine. It’s stuffed with sticky dates and treacly brown sugar and laced with ginger and rum. ‘Nicky’ may stem from the original technique of covering the filling with a whole piece of pastry then making slashes or ‘nicks’ in it.

By bbcfood · From Open Recipes · 14 ingredients
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Cumberland Rum Nicky

Why it works: Apricot and rum work together. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 149 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓

Cumberland Rum Nicky

Serves 6-8
Prep30 min
Cook1 hr

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

813Calories
21 gProtein
18 gFat
134 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Date1 date (24g) medjool66
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Rum1/2 oz (15ml)32
Apricot1 medium (35g)17
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By bbcfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Apricot + rumtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together149 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  2. Apricot + gingertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together341 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Dates + apricottop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together35 recipes

    Shared aroma: anethole (sweet, anise).

  4. Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Rum + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,007 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the dates

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apricot, ginger, rum, sugar, butter, flour, egg):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Peachfits better
  3. Figfits better
  4. Datesthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against apricot, ginger, rum, sugar, butter, flour, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.