Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Coffee Loaf Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream together the brown sugar, butter, and lard.
Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Stir in the currants and strong coffee.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking powder.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture.
Stir in the molasses until well combined.
Line loaf cake tins with paper and pour in the batter.
Bake
Bake in the preheated oven 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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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + molassestop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,429 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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 structure as they set in the oven.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as the batter sets.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness, and helps create a fine crumb when creamed with sugar.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and contributes to a soft, tender crumb.
- Currants
- Add fruit sweetness and chewy pockets throughout the loaf.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Adding flour in portions and mixing gently keeps the batter smooth and blended. Overmixing once flour is in develops gluten, which can make the loaf tough and dense.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg, coffee, flour, molasses):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg, coffee, flour, molasses. 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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