Why it works: Sugar and cardamom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,044 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Make the dough
Scald milk and cool to lukewarm.
Crumble yeast into bowl, add 1 tsp sugar and lukewarm milk.
Beat in 3 cups flour; beat until smooth.
Cover well and let rise until light and double in bulk, 1 to 1½ hours.
Add soft butter, remaining sugar, salt, egg yolks, cardamom and 3 cups flour. Mix thoroughly.
Place remaining ¼ cup flour on board or pastry cloth for kneading.
Turn out dough and knead until smooth and elastic.
Place in greased bowl. Cover well. Set aside to rise until double in bulk, 1 to 1½ hours.
Shape and bake
Cut risen dough in half for two coffee cakes (braids).
Cut each half into 3 pieces.
Roll each piece into a roll 16 inches long.
Pinch 3 rolls together at one end, braid and pinch other ends together.
Place braid on cookie sheet. Make second braid and place on cookie sheet.
Let braids rise until double in bulk, about 45 minutes.
For topping brush each braid with 1 tbsp milk and sprinkle with 3 tbsp sugar.
Bake in moderate oven (375) 25 to 30 minutes.
This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Sugar + cardamomtop 11% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together1,044 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Milk + buttertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together81,222 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + cardamomtop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together627 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + flourtop 6% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together122,858 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + cardamomtop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together534 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Butter and flour share little aroma chemistry, yet 122,858 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the braided dough together as it rises and bakes.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and tenderness, and help give the crumb a soft texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Yeast
- Produces gas as it ferments, making the dough rise until light and airy.
- Milk
- Provides moisture that hydrates the flour and dissolves sugar, and browns the top when brushed on.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast, sweetens the dough, and caramelizes on top for browning.
The step that matters
Let the dough rise fully. Yeast needs time to produce enough gas to make the dough light. Rising until doubled in bulk gives the coffee cake its airy texture, and under-proofed dough bakes up dense.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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