Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Fried Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the milk and eggs, mixing well.
In another bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and spices.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture until well combined.
Fry
Drop spoonfuls of the batter into hot oil and fry until golden brown.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add richness and structure to the cakes.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the cakes cook.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the cream of tartar to produce gas that lifts the batter.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the batter so it reacts with baking soda to help the cakes rise.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavor, and helps create the creamed base.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cakes and helps browning as they fry.
The step that matters
Drop spoonfuls of the batter into hot oil and fry until golden brown.. If the oil is not hot enough, the batter absorbs oil and turns greasy instead of crisping. Too hot, and the outside browns before the centre cooks through. Steady heat gives an evenly cooked, golden cake.
“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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