Why it works: Milk and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,685 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
A Nice Plain Cake for Children
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
Procure the dough from the baker's if you are not making bread at home.
Put the dough into a basin near the fire.
Cover the basin with a thick cloth.
Let the dough remain a little while to rise.
Beat the butter to a cream.
Warm the milk.
When the dough has risen, mix it thoroughly with the butter, milk, sugar, nutmeg, and other ingredients.
Knead the cake well for a few minutes.
Shape and bake
Butter some cake-tins.
Half fill the tins.
Stand the tins in a warm place to allow the dough to rise again.
When the tins are three parts full, put the cakes into a good oven.
Bake them from 1 3/4 to 2 hours.
Optionally substitute currants for caraway seeds if desired.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
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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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 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
- Dough
- Provides the yeast-risen structure that gives the cake its light, airy crumb.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds fat and richness, tenderising the crumb and contributing flavour.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and softness, and helps the dough stay supple when kneaded.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown in the oven.
The step that matters
Let the dough rise again in the tins. The second rise must be done in a warm place and given time; under-proofed dough bakes dense, while the yeast needs warmth to produce the gas that lifts the crumb.
“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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