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 ↓
Crumb Cakes
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.
Make the batter
In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, crumbs, molasses, baking soda, flour, and lard until well combined.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
Season with allspice or cinnamon as desired.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan.
Sprinkle the top with brown or yellow sugar.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until golden brown and a toothpick inserted 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.
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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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + allspicetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,302 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Molasses + allspicetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,508 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set in the oven.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color, and a deep sweet flavor to the cake.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that lightens the crumb.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps the crust brown as it bakes.
The step that matters
Adding the eggs one at a time. Adding eggs gradually and mixing thoroughly lets each one emulsify into the batter, giving an even texture instead of a curdled or lumpy one.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, flour, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, flour, egg. 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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