Name: Tea Cakes
Ingredients: half cup of sugar; one-half cup of melted butter; one fourth cups of milk; one teaspoon of soda; two teaspoons of cream tartar; one scant half cup of sugar; two eggs one-half cup of melted butter

Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓

Tea Cakes

Ingredients

Directions

Combine one scant half cup of sugar, two eggs, one-half cup of melted butter, one and one fourth cups of milk, one teaspoon of soda, two teaspoons of cream tartar, and flour to make a stiff batter.
Bake in gem pans.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

429Calories

15 gProtein

30 gFat

26 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49

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

By Mansfield, W. H., & co., Putnam, Conn., pub. [from old catalog]. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

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.

Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Flour (in the method): Provides the structure that sets the batter into a stiff, holding crumb.
Eggs: Bind the batter and add structure as they set during baking.
Butter: Adds fat for tenderness and rich flavor in the crumb.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps browning in the baked cakes.
Milk: Adds moisture that hydrates the flour and loosens the batter.
Baking soda: Reacts with the acid in cream of tartar to release gas that makes the cakes rise.