Why it works: Milk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Batter Cakis&
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth.
Beat the yolks of the eggs.
Add the flour to the yolks and beat until very light.
Add the yeast powder and beat again.
Add the sweet milk and beat well.
Add the whites of the eggs and mix all into a very smooth, light batter, as thick as a batter that runs in a stream from the mouth of a spoon.
Cook and serve
Prepare the hot griddles, greasing them lightly with lard or a piece of fat bacon.
Drop the cakes onto the griddle from a large spoon, and bake about two minutes to a nice brown, turning first on one side and then quickly on the other.
Pile the cakes on a plate, buttering each generously as soon as baked, and serve immediately.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Bacon | 1 slice cooked (8g) | 43 |
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.
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 + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Eggs
- Whites add lift when beaten to a froth; yolks enrich the batter and add richness.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cakes together as they cook.
- Sweet milk
- Supplies the liquid that hydrates the flour and gives the batter its pourable body.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cakes rise and turn light.
The step that matters
Turning the cakes. Cakes should be turned once, quickly, when bubbles form and the surface sets. Turning too early or too often knocks out the air and can leave them flat and 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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