Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Doughnuts
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
In a bowl, mix sugar, butter, beaten egg, and milk until well combined.
Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; stir until a dough forms.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about ½ inch thick.
Fry and drain
Cut into doughnut shapes and heat oil in a deep pan.
Fry the doughnuts until golden brown on both sides, then drain on paper towels.
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.
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.
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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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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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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the dough so it holds its shape when rolled and fried.
- Egg
- Binds the dough and adds richness and structure.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the dough so the doughnuts rise and turn lighter.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavour in the dough.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the doughnuts brown when fried.
The step that matters
Fry until golden brown on both sides. Oil must be hot enough to cook the dough quickly and form a crisp, browned surface. If the oil is too cool, doughnuts absorb grease and turn heavy and oily; if too hot, the outside browns before the centre cooks.
“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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