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Dessert

Extra Good Raised Doughnuts

A raised doughnut made from a bread sponge, shortening, sugar, cinnamon, milk, eggs, baking powder, nutmeg, butter, and lard, then fried.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Chicago. Bethany union church. Woman's society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Extra Good Raised Doughnuts

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

  1. Take a good, big cup bread sponge. Scald a pint new milk into which put two-thirds cup of shortening (half lard and half butter). When cool enough, make a batter and stir into the bread sponge and let it rise.

  2. Add two cups of granulated sugar, four eggs beaten separately, one teaspoon ground cinnamon, one of lemon extract, and mix into a loaf about as stiff as biscuit.

  3. In the morning make into small balls and let them rise. When light, fry in hot fat for five or six minutes.

Make the doughnuts

  1. Beat eggs thoroughly, add sugar, stir until creamy, then milk and melted butter, flour, spices and salt.

  2. Roll out rather thin, cut and fry in deep hot lard.

  3. Roll in pulverized sugar before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

966Calories
28 gProtein
40 gFat
123 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Lard1 tbsp (12.8g)115
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Salt1 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.

By Chicago. Bethany union church. Woman's society. [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.

  1. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,623 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,341 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Cinnamon + milktop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,655 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

What each ingredient does

Shortening
Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and keeps the doughnuts soft.
Eggs
Add structure and richness, helping the dough hold its shape and colour.
Flour
Forms the gluten network that gives the dough its body.
Sugar
Sweetens the dough and helps the surface brown when fried.
Baking powder
Releases gas that lifts the dough and gives a lighter texture.

The step that matters

Frying in hot fat. If the fat is not hot enough, doughnuts absorb too much oil and turn greasy; if it is too hot, the outside browns before the centre cooks. Steady heat gives a light, evenly cooked result.

“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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