Why it works: Caraway and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,435 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Seed Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the dough
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the milk and eggs, mixing well.
Stir in the caraway seeds, cream of tartar, and baking soda.
Gradually add flour until the dough is smooth.
Shape and bake
Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
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.
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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Caraway + flourtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,435 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air, giving the cakes a light, tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Sugar
- Creams with butter for airy texture and adds sweetness and gentle browning.
- Eggs
- Bind the dough and add structure and richness as the cakes set in the oven.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidic ingredient that reacts with baking soda to help the cakes rise and stay tender.
- Baking soda
- Base that reacts with the acid in cream of tartar to produce gas, lifting the dough.
- Caraway seeds
- Add a distinctive aromatic, slightly peppery flavor to the cakes.
The step that matters
Adding the baking soda and cream of tartar. Baking soda and cream of tartar must be evenly mixed into the dough so the acid and base react throughout. Uneven distribution leaves pockets of bitterness or uneven rising.
Swap the caraway
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, milk, egg, cream, flour):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cinnamonfits better
- Carawaythe original
- Capersfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, milk, egg, cream, flour. 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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