Name: Tea Cakes
Ingredients: 4 ounces butter; 8 ounces flour; 8 ounces currants; 6 ounces fine sugar; 2 egg yolks; 1 egg white; 1 tablespoon brandy

Why it works: Currant and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,057 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Tea Cakes

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the dough

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Rub the butter into the flour until fine.
Mix in the currants, sugar, egg yolks, and brandy.
Roll the dough to the thickness of a biscuit.

Shape and bake

Cut out shapes using a wine glass.
Beat the egg white and brush it over the cakes.
Dust with sugar if desired, then bake until golden.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Currant + brandytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,057 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,127 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Butter: Rubbed into the flour to give the dough a tender, crumbly texture.
Flour: Provides the structure that holds the dough together and lets it be rolled and cut.
Currants: Add fruit flavour and chewy pieces throughout the dough.
Egg yolks: Add richness and help bind the dough, giving it a tender crumb.
Fine sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown during baking.
Egg white: Brushed over the cakes to create a glossy, golden finish.