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Dessert

1. Popovers, Puffovers, or Mahogany Cakes.

Popovers are a light muffin made from milk, eggs, flour, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Why it works: Milk and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

1. Popovers, Puffovers, or Mahogany Cakes.

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Heat and grease heavy earthen cups.

Make the batter

  1. Use method No. 1 to mix batter, pouring liquid very slowly into flour to prevent lumping; use a large Dover egg beater to beat out lumps if any.

  2. Let batter stand all day or overnight if desired.

Bake and serve

  1. Pour batter into hot cups, filling each two thirds full.

  2. Bake in an intensely hot oven at 475°F (or higher) for the first stage, then cool the oven.

  3. Continue baking at moderate heat until total time about 45 minutes.

  4. If desired, leave oven door ajar after 45 minutes for longer crispness.

  5. Serve as a muffin or with pudding sauce as dessert.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

227Calories
14 gProtein
13 gFat
13 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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

By Helen Kinne and Anna M. Cooley. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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. Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Provide structure and lift, setting the walls of the popover as it bakes.
Milk
Supplies moisture that turns to steam, helping the batter puff in the hot oven.
Flour (in the method)
Forms the batter's framework, which holds the risen shape as it sets.

The step that matters

Pour batter into hot cups, filling each two thirds full.. The cups must be hot and greased so the batter sizzles on contact and starts rising quickly. Two thirds full leaves room for the batter to puff above the rim.

“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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