Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Fried Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the dough
Mix one cup sugar, two cups sour milk, two eggs, ginger, nutmeg, six tablespoons melted lard, one teaspoon soda, one-fourth teaspoon salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Beat together thoroughly.
Add the soda dissolved in sour milk.
Add the flour, salt, and spices.
Stir as little as possible.
Fry
Fry in hot fat.
Alternative mix and fry
Cream shortening and lard with sugar.
Add beaten eggs.
Add milk and soda.
Add spices and flour to make a soft dough.
Fry in very hot fat.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Sour Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Lard | 1 tbsp (12.8g) | 115 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the doughnuts brown when fried.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity reacts with the soda so the dough lifts and becomes tender.
- Soda
- Reacts with the acid in sour milk to release gas that makes the dough rise.
- Lard
- Fat that shortens gluten strands, giving a tender, rich crumb.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add structure and richness.
- Flour (in the method)
- Forms the gluten network that gives the dough its body.
The step that matters
Frying in hot fat. If the fat is too cool, the doughnuts soak up grease and turn heavy. If it is too hot, the outside browns before the centre cooks through. Steady, hot fat sets the crust quickly so the inside cooks evenly.
“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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