Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Shrewsbury Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Mix a pound of sugar with two pounds of flour and a large spoonful of pounded coriander seeds, then sift the mixture.
Add three quarters of a pound of melted butter, six eggs, and a gill of brandy.
Knead the dough well.
Shape and bake
Roll the dough thin.
Cut it into shapes.
Bake without discolouring it.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 7 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Coriander | not in our table | 0 |
| Seed | not in our table | 0 |
| Brandy | 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.
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + coriandertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,973 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
- Provides the structure that holds the dough together once it is rolled and baked.
- Butter
- Fat that coats flour proteins, keeping the cakes short and tender rather than tough.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add richness and structure as they set in the oven.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cakes brown and develop flavour as they bake.
- Coriander seeds
- Contribute a warm, citrusy aroma to the cakes.
The step that matters
Bake without discolouring it. Sugar and proteins brown quickly at high heat, so thin cut shapes can scorch before they are fully baked. Watch colour closely and keep the oven moderate.
Swap the coriander
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, brandy, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Capersfits better
- Corianderthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, butter, brandy, 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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