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Dessert

Amish Apple Cake

A moist apple cake with pecans, baked at 350°F, served with hot caramel sauce.

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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 ↓

Amish Apple Cake

Oven350 degree oven
Time30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the cake batter

  1. In a large bowl, cream the butter.

  2. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy.

  3. Add the egg and beat until well blended.

  4. Mix in the soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

  5. Add the flour and stir just until blended.

  6. Stir in the apples and nuts.

Bake and make the sauce

  1. Pour into an oiled 9" round cake pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes until the top springs back when touched lightly with your finger.

  2. In a saucepan, melt the butter, brown sugar and salt. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and milk.

Serve

  1. Serve with Hot Caramel Sauce.

  2. Serve warm sauce over cake.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1154Calories
31 gProtein
48 gFat
153 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 12 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Pecans1 oz (28g / ~19 halves)196
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Apple1 medium (182g)95
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Saucenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

  1. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cinnamon + vanillatop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  3. Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,598 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  4. Pecans + cinnamontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,047 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  5. Apple + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,501 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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 create a tender, structured crumb and rich flavor.
Eggs
Bind the batter and add structure as the cake sets.
Apples
Add moisture and fruity sweetness throughout the cake.
All purpose flour
Forms the main structure of the cake as it bakes.
Baking soda
Reacts to lift the batter so the cake rises and stays light.
Brown sugar
Adds moisture, caramel flavor and depth to the sauce.

The step that matters

Baking until the top springs back. Underbaked cake sinks and stays gummy in the center, while overbaking dries it out. The springy top shows the structure has set.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pecans, butter, sugar, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Coconutfits better
  3. Blueberryfits better
  4. Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pecans, butter, sugar, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla. 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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