Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
In a large bowl, combine the bread dough, eggs, butter, and sugar, then knead until well mixed.
Set the dough aside to rise until very light.
Shape and top
Turn the risen dough onto a floured surface and roll it out to about ½ inch thick.
Cut the dough into squares and place them in greased layer cake pans.
Spread butter on top of each square, then sprinkle with granulated sugar and ground cinnamon.
Allow the dough to rise again until very light.
Bake
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) until golden brown.
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.
-
Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Bread + eggtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Butter + cinnamontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,784 recipes
Shared aroma: anethole (sweet, anise).
-
Bread + cinnamontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,705 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Bread dough
- Provides the yeasted, airy structure that rises and becomes the cake's crumb.
- Eggs
- Add richness and help bind the dough, giving a tender texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and tenderness, and helps the top brown.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dough and helps the top caramelize to a golden color.
The step that matters
Let the dough rise until very light before baking. A proper second rise lets yeast gas expand the dough, producing a light, airy crumb. Underproofed dough bakes dense and heavy.
Swap the cinnamon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, egg, butter, sugar):
- Cinnamonthe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Capersfits less well
- Parsleyfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, egg, butter, sugar. 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.
More coffee cake recipes
You might also like
Bread Pudding153 recipes
Soft Ginger Bread85 recipes
Orange Potato Bread80 recipes
Cinnamon Rolls71 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.