Why it works: Nutmeg and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Gem Molasses 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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the molasses, grated nutmeg, sour milk, and ground cloves.
In another bowl, combine the flour and baking soda.
Dissolve the baking soda in boiling water and add it to the molasses mixture.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until well combined.
If desired, fold in any fruit you like.
Bake
Pour the batter into gem pans and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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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Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Molasses + clovetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,483 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Nutmeg + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Molasses
- Adds deep sweetness, dark color, and a rich, moist texture to the cakes.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity reacts with the baking soda to help the cakes rise and stay tender.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk and molasses to produce gas that leavens the batter.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that sets the batter as the cakes bake.
The step that matters
Adding the baking soda to the molasses mixture. Baking soda needs an acid to react and release gas for lift. Dissolving it in boiling water first spreads it evenly so it reacts throughout the batter rather than leaving pockets, and the batter should be baked soon after mixing so the gas is not lost.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, nutmeg, milk, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Allspicefits about as well
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, nutmeg, milk, 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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