Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Crullers or Twist Cake
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix together the sugar, sour cream, butter, eggs, baking soda, salt, and grated nutmeg until well combined.
Fry and serve
Heat lard in a deep pot until hot.
Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot lard and fry until golden brown.
Remove and drain on paper towels before serving.
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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Cream + buttertop 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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Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as the crullers set.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and tang, keeping the dough tender.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour cream to lift the batter and give a lighter texture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown as it fries.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a softer crumb.
The step that matters
Frying the batter in hot lard. If the lard is not hot enough, the batter absorbs oil and turns greasy instead of crisping. If it is too hot, the outside browns before the centre cooks through. Steady heat gives a golden crust and a cooked interior.
“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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