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Scotch Cake

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Jacqueline Harrison Smith (ed.) · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 10 ingredients
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Scotch Cake

Why it works: Lemon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Scotch Cake

Ingredients

Directions

  1. MRS. MORRIS R. STROUD, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 1875.

  2. _Contributed by Mrs. Meredith Bailey, Philadelphia, Pa._

  3. Stir to a cream a pound of sugar, ¾ pound of butter, juice and grated rind of 1 lemon, wine glass of brandy. Separate yolks and whites of 9 eggs, beat them to a froth and stir in cake, add 1 lb. of sifted flour; just before putting cake in pan put in 1 lb. of stoned raisins.

  4. _Contributed by Aunt Mary Balding, Philadelphia, Pa., 1850._

  5. Four eggs, 9 tablespoons of sugar, 9 tablespoons of melted butter, flour to make a soft dough, ½ cup of milk, ½ teaspoon soda, nutmeg to taste. Beat eggs and sugar together until very light, add butter, spice and flour.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

402Calories
15 gProtein
26 gFat
30 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Nutmeg1 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.

By Jacqueline Harrison Smith (ed.). 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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,318 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

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

  3. Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,053 recipes

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

  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

Swap the nutmeg

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

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Nutmegthe original
  3. Parsleyfits less well
  4. Tarragonfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, milk, lemon, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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