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 ↓
Banbury Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the filling
Mix currants, beef suet, candied orange and lemon rinds, salt, mixed spices, and powdered macaroons together.
Make and shape the pastry
Make a light paste with butter and flour.
Turn the paste a few times to prevent rising too much.
Roll out half of the paste into a very thin square.
Spread the fruit mixture evenly on the rolled-out paste.
Moisten the edges of the pastry.
Lay the remaining half of the paste on top of the fruit mixture.
Press the edges securely together.
Mark the pastry into divisions of 2 inches wide and 3 inches long with the back of a knife.
Bake and serve
Bake in a well-heated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 25 to 30 minutes.
Divide the baked pastry into cakes while still warm.
Serve hot or cold, and glaze if desired.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,634 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Orange + cinnamontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,437 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Currants
- Provide sweetness and chewy fruit texture throughout the filling.
- Beef suet
- Adds fat and richness, keeping the filling moist and tender.
- Butter
- Adds fat to the paste, giving it a tender, flaky texture.
- Flour
- Forms the paste's structure once mixed with butter and rolled.
- Macaroons or ratafias
- Add almond flavour and body to the filling, soaking up moisture.
The step that matters
Turn the paste a few times. Folding or turning the paste limits how much it rises, keeping the layers controlled and the cakes flat rather than puffed.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, orange, lemon, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, flour):
- Raisinfits better
- Limefits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, orange, lemon, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, 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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