Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Cream Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
Combine one quart flour, three eggs, one cup of cream, a piece of butter the size of an egg, and enough milk to make a thick batter.
Dissolve one teaspoonful of soda in the cream if the mixture is sour.
If the mixture is not sour, add two teaspoonsful of cream of tartar just before baking, or two teaspoonsful of Royal Baking Powder.
Bake 12 breads.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| 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.
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.
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the muffin's shape as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping the batter set firm in the oven.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, giving a tender crumb.
- Butter
- Adds fat, which tenderizes the crumb and adds flavor.
- Soda
- Reacts with the acid in sour cream to release gas that helps the muffins rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Acts as an acid that reacts with the soda to release gas for rising.
The step that matters
Add the cream of tartar just before baking. Cream of tartar and soda start releasing gas as soon as they meet liquid. If the batter waits, the gas escapes before the heat can set the structure, so the muffins rise less and turn out denser.
“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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