Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon 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 ↓
Banbury Cakes
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 filling
Roll out the pastry to ¼ inch thick and cut out oval shapes with a plain cutter.
Stone and chop the raisins, clean the sultanas, and slice the candied peel small and thin.
Dissolve the butter, remove from heat, and stir in all the ingredients.
Assemble and bake
Place 2 teaspoons of the mixture in the center of each pastry shape.
Wet the edges and seal them over the fruit, then turn the cakes over and slightly flatten with a rolling pin.
Place on a greased baking tin and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 to 30 minutes.
Brush the tops with beaten egg white and dust with sugar, then return to the oven for 5 minutes.
Cool on a sieve.
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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Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Lemon + gingertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,154 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Nutmeg + gingertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,324 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rough puff pastry
- Forms the flaky, layered case that encloses the filling and bakes golden.
- Butter
- Melts into the fruit mixture, adding richness and moisture to the filling.
- Castor sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps the fruit mixture brown on the surface.
- Sultanas
- Provide sweetness and soft, juicy texture within the filling.
- Raisins
- Add concentrated sweetness and chewy texture to the filling.
The step that matters
Sealing the pastry over the fruit. If the edges are not wet and sealed firmly, the filling can leak out during baking. Flattening afterward helps the cakes bake evenly and keeps the pastry layers distinct.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, raisin, brandy):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Orangefits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, raisin, brandy. 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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