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Cakes and Bread

A combined recipe for homemade cakes and bread.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Payne, A. G. (Arthur Gay), 1840-1894 · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Mace and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,557 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

Cakes and Bread

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the baking powder

  1. Mix an ounce of tartaric acid, an ounce and a half of bicarbonate of soda, and an ounce and a half of arrowroot to make baking powder; keep dry.

Make and rise the dough

  1. Take a quarter of dough, put it in a basin, cover with a cloth, and place in front of the fire to rise.

  2. Spread the risen dough on a floured pastry board, slice it, and mix in half a pound fresh butter, half a pound moist sugar, six eggs, a teaspoon salt, and half an ounce caraway seeds.

  3. When thoroughly mixed, place the dough in two or more well-buttered tins or hoops, let stand in front of the fire a little while, then place in the oven.

Mix and shape the cakes

  1. Take two pounds coarsely ground whole-meal, add half a pound fine flour, and a sufficient quantity of baking powder and salt; mix well.

  2. Rub in two ounces butter, and make dough with half milk and water, or all milk if preferred.

  3. Shape rapidly into flat cakes like tea-cakes, and bake immediately in a quick oven, leaving them to finish at a lower temperature.

Flavor

  1. Flavor the cakes with spices such as cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, or powdered coriander seeds.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

390Calories
14 gProtein
26 gFat
26 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 7 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Caraway Seednot in our table0
Macenot in our table0

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

By Payne, A. G. (Arthur Gay), 1840-1894. 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. Mace + nutmegtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,557 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  2. Caraway + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together200 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

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

  4. Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,685 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together24,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Bind the dough and add richness and structure to the cakes.
Fresh butter
Adds fat for tenderness and a rich flavour in the crumb.
Moist sugar
Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the crust brown.
Baking powder (in the method)
Releases gas when moistened and heated, lifting the dough as it bakes.
Caraway seeds
Provide an aromatic flavour throughout the cakes.

The step that matters

Shape rapidly and bake immediately in a quick oven. Baking powder starts releasing gas as soon as it is moistened and heated, so delay lets the rise fade. A quick hot oven sets the outside while the gas expands, then a lower heat finishes the centre without over-browning.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, caraway, egg, milk, nutmeg):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Cardamomfits better
  3. Allspicefits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, caraway, egg, milk, nutmeg. 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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