Name: Biscuits, Cakes, &C
Ingredients: 3 eggs; 3 tablespoons cream; a little mace; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 egg white; sugar for sprinkling

Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Biscuits, Cakes, &C

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

Beat the eggs well with the cream, mace, and salt.
Mix the ingredients thoroughly and shape into small flat cakes.

Bake

Brush the tops with egg white and sprinkle sugar over them.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 15 minutes.

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.

Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Cream + macetop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,009 recipes
Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together42,166 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Mace + sugartop 34% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,096 recipes

Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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

Eggs: Bind the mixture and set the cakes into a firm, tender structure as they cook.
Cream: Adds moisture and richness, keeping the cakes soft inside.
Egg white: Forms a glossy, lightly browned crust on the tops.
Mace: Adds a warm, aromatic spice flavour.