Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Cheese Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Put 1 spoonful rennet in 1 quart rtew milk; keep near the fire, and when the curd forms, drain oiT the whey through a sieve. Rub into the curd 4 tablespoons powdered sugar, ^ cup butter, 1 grated nutmeg, and the yolk of 1 egg ; beat well, add 1 whole egg and beat again. Mix in ^ pound dried currants, or the grated rind and juice of 1 lemon. Line patty pans with a rich paste, half fill, dust with sugar and bake.
CHOCOLATE PIE, NO. 1.
Mrs. Charles Breeze.
Put 2 cups of milk on to boil in a double boiler. Add 3 table- spoons chocolate or cocoa, J cup sugar, butter the size of a small egg, 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in a little cold milk. Stir well until it begins to thicken, then add the yolks of 3 eggs well beaten, cook a moment longer, take from the fire, add 2 teaspoons vanilla, and pour into a freshly baked pie crust. Make a meringue of the whites of the eggs with 3 tablespoons sugar, spread over the pie, and return to the oven to brown.
CHOCOLATE PIE, NO. 2.
Mrs. Frank Auker.
Mix 4 tablespoons unsweetened, grated chocolate wi-th 2 table- spoons cornstarch and a little cold water. Bring the rest of 1 pint water to the boil, stir in tlie mixture, and cook till thick. Sweeten
PASTRY. 193
with 6 tablespoons sugar, take from the tire, add vanilla to taste, and the yolks of 2 eggs well beaten. Pour into a freshly baked crust, and spread on a meringue of the whites of the eggs, and i cup sugar. Brown.
CINNAMON ROLLS, NO. L
Mrs. Thomas Ewing.
Roll out a sheet of pie paste J inch thick; cut in pieces ^ inches square ; spread with sugar, cinnamon and bits of butter ; fold over, and pinch the edges together all around. Prick the tops and bake in a slow oven.
CINNAMON ROLLS, NO. 2.
Miss Johanna Feeney.
Roll out pie paste to ^ inch in thickness; spread with sugar, bits of butter and cinnamon ; roll up tiglit. press the edge down, and cut in pieces about an inch long. Bake in a slow oven.
COCO AN UT PIE, NO. 1.
Grate 1 cocoanut ; take its weiglit in sugar. J its weight in but- ter, 5 eggs, the milk of the nut and 1 pint milk, grated peel and juice of 1 lemon. Beat the eggs and sugar together, add the milk and melt the butter and put in. Line 4 pie pans with paste, fill and bake.
COCOANUT PIE, NO. 2.
Mrs. A. H. Flowers.
Put 1 quart milk and- 1 pint water on to boil, reserving enough to wet 3 tablespoons flour ; sweeten to taste : beat the yolks of 3 eggs light, stir in the flour and water, and add to the boiling milk ; stir till smooth, then add the most of h box cocoanut. Have 3 freshly baked crusts, fill, cover witli a meringue of the whites of egg beaten stiff with a little sugar, sprinkle with the rest of the cocoanut, and brown in the oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 9 of 11 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Pie | 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.
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 + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Nutmeg + lemontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, sugar, vanilla, flour, nutmeg, egg, chocolate):
- Figfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, sugar, vanilla, flour, nutmeg, egg, chocolate. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
More cheesecake recipes
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Lemon Cake228 recipes
Chocolate Cream171 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes