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Dessert

Spanish Buns

A sweet, spiced bun made with baking powder, milk, butter, eggs, and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Kaufman, Nettie M · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Spanish Buns

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Combine 1 pint brown sugar and 1 quart flour.

  2. Add 4 eggs and 3 teaspoons baking powder.

  3. Add 1 cup sweet milk and cinnamon, allspice, cloves to taste.

  4. Add 1 cup melted butter.

  5. Reserve 2 egg whites for icing.

Bake and finish

  1. Bake in a dripper.

  2. Ice the buns.

  3. Cut into squares.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

802Calories
28 gProtein
26 gFat
112 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Allspice1 tsp ground (1.9g)5

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Kaufman, Nettie M. 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 + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

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

  5. Milk + cinnamontop 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

Eggs
Add structure and richness to the batter as it sets in the oven.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the batter, helping the buns rise.
Melted butter
Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavour.
Sweet milk
Adds moisture and hydrates the flour to form the batter.

Swap the allspice

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, butter, egg, cinnamon, clove):

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Cardamomfits about as well
  3. Allspicethe original
  4. Gingerfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, butter, egg, cinnamon, clove. 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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