Why it works: Cinnamon and walnut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 2,147 recipes mention both. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Make the batter
Cream the butter and sugar well before adding the egg yolks, one at a time, making sure to mix until just blended before adding the next yolk.
Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk.
Beat the room temperature, reserved egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Fold the whites into the batter until just blended; do NOT over-mix, as your cake will lose its precious volume.
Bake and finish
Pour the batter into a 13 x 9" pan, layer pans, or a springform pan.
Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes if using layer pans, 45 minutes for a 13 x 9" pan, or 60 minutes if using a springform pan.
Note that you can also use a tube (angel food cake) pan; follow the baking time for a springform pan if you use a tube pan.
Let the cake cool completely in the pan before frosting with either a white butter or chocolate butter frosting.
Top with additional chopped walnuts, then serve.
This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Cinnamon + walnuttop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,147 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Butter + milktop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together81,222 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together30,777 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Milk + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together12,647 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Flour + cinnamontop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together16,954 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar and cinnamon share little aroma chemistry, yet 30,777 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and give the cake a tender, rich crumb.
- Eggs
- Yolks enrich and bind the batter; whipped whites add lift and a light structure.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking, helping the cake rise and become airy.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a soft, tender texture when creamed with butter.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped whites hold air that gives the cake its volume. Over-mixing knocks that air out, so fold gently until just blended and no streaks remain.
“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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