Name: Westmorland Pepper Cake
Ingredients: 3 oz Raisins; 3 oz Currants; 4 oz Caster sugar; 3 oz Butter; 1/4 pint Water; 8 oz Self-raising flour; 1/2 Teaspoon Ground ginger; Large pinch Ground cloves; 1/2 Teaspoon finely ground Black Pepper; 4 Tablespoon Milk; 1 Egg, beaten

Why it works: Ginger and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,075 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Ginger + peppertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,800 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Raisin + clovetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,070 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Self-raising flour: Provides the structure that sets the cake as it bakes.
Butter: Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavour.
Egg: Binds the mixture and helps give it structure as it sets.
Caster sugar: Sweetens the cake and helps it brown during baking.
Raisins: Add chewy sweetness and moisture to the crumb.
Currants: Add chewy sweetness and moisture to the crumb.

The step that matters

Mix thoroughly without beating. Gentle stirring keeps the batter's gluten development low, so the cake stays tender rather than tough and dense. Once the flour is added, overworking the batter can make it heavy.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, sugar, butter, flour, ginger, clove, pepper):

Lemonfits better
Figfits better
Limefits better
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, sugar, butter, flour, ginger, clove, pepper. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Cloves	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Water	not in our table	0

Westmorland Pepper Cake