Why it works: Sugar and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Cinnamon Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately brisk oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the dough
Keep the dough as soft as possible.
For 2-ounce cakes, roll the dough into round balls.
Let the balls rise for 20 minutes.
Flatten the balls with your palm.
Brush the flattened dough with melted butter.
Prick the dough with a fork.
Sprinkle the dough with sugar and cinnamon.
For a 1-pound cake, weigh off 18-ounce pieces.
Roll the pieces into round balls.
Let the balls rest for 20 minutes.
Roll out the dough into 9x7 inch squares.
Place the squares on baking sheets.
Brush the squares with melted butter.
Prick the squares well with a fork.
Sprinkle the squares with a mixture of 1 ounce of cinnamon to 1 pound of sugar.
Allow the cakes to rise until very light.
Bake
Bake the cakes in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C).
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 + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Butter + cinnamontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,784 recipes
Shared aroma: anethole (sweet, anise).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Sweet dough no. 1 or no. 2
- Forms the cake base, giving structure and a soft, bread-like crumb when risen and baked.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat and richness, and helps the surface brown and stay tender.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps the top caramelize lightly during baking.
The step that matters
Keep the dough as soft as possible. A soft dough rises more easily and bakes into a light, tender cake. Stiff dough that is overworked or too much flour makes the cakes dense and tough.
“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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