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 together currants, beef suet, candied orange and lemon rinds, salt, mixed spices, and powdered macaroons.
Make and fill the pastry
Make a light paste with butter and flour, giving it an extra turn or two to prevent rising too much.
Roll out half of the paste into a very thin square and spread the fruit mixture evenly on it.
Moisten the edges, then lay the remaining half of the paste on top, rolled equally thin.
Press the edges securely together and mark the whole with a knife into 2-inch by 3-inch sections.
Bake and serve
Bake in a well-heated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 25 to 30 minutes.
Divide 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).
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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 inside the pastry.
- Beef suet
- Adds fat that keeps the filling moist and rich.
- Butter
- Adds fat and flavour to the paste, helping it become light and flaky.
- Flour
- Forms the paste structure that holds the filling in place.
- Macaroons or ratafias
- Add almond flavour and body that thickens the fruit filling.
The step that matters
Rolling and folding the paste. Extra turns in the paste build layers and limit rising, so the pastry bakes flat and holds its shape. Rolling the paste very thin and sealing the edges firmly keeps the fruit from leaking out during baking.
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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