Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Lunch Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Beat the butter and sugar together until thoroughly combined.
Add the well-beaten eggs and mix well.
Sift the flour with the baking powder and add to the mixture.
Stir in the wine, rose extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg until smooth.
Bake and finish
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour.
Let the cake cool completely before icing with white icing.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Butter
- Creams with sugar to trap air and add richness and tender texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a light, tender crumb when creamed with butter.
- Eggs
- Add structure and binding, and help the cake set as it bakes.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake once heated and set.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes lighter.
- Wine
- Adds moisture and flavor to the batter.
The step that matters
Creaming the butter and sugar until thoroughly combined. Beating butter and sugar together traps air bubbles that expand in the oven and help lift the cake. Under-beating leaves a denser crumb, while the rest of the batter depends on that trapped air for lift.
“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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