Why it works: Butter and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Loaf Seed Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Take one loaf of dough, one cup of brown sugar, half cup of butter or drippings, half ounce of caraway seeds, or a quarter pound of currants, a little spice, two eggs.
Mix thoroughly with the hands and set to rise.
Bake
Do not bake until very light.
Bake in a deep tin.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Caraway Seed | not in our table | 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.
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 + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + carawaytop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,409 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
-
Butter + carawaytop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,273 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping the cake hold together as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat, giving the cake tenderness and a rich flavour.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the crumb brown as it bakes.
- Dough
- Serves as the base that rises and gives the cake its bread-like crumb.
The step that matters
Let the dough rise until very light before baking. Yeast dough rises through gas trapped in its gluten network. Baking before it is fully risen leaves a dense cake, because the gas has not expanded enough to lighten the crumb.
Swap the caraway
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Capersfits about as well
- Carawaythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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