Name: Molasses Cake
Ingredients: one cup sugar; one-half cups molasses; one cup coffee; one-half cup boiling water; one-half cup shortening; one cup of milk; one tablespoon of butter; one teaspoon soda dissolved

Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 9,225 recipes mention both. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. 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)

Also mentioned in the method: egg, flour, nuts

Directions

One cup sugar, one and one-half cups molasses, one cup coffee or sour milk, one-half cup boiling water with one teaspoon soda dissolved, one-half cup shortening, twro eggs, nuts, flour to make dough stiff enough to drop from spoon.
One cup sugar, one cup of milk. Boil until it makes a soft ball when dropped in water. Remove from fire and add one tablespoon of butter ; stir. — Miss J. M. Daggs, Williams, Ariz.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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. See the original page.

The picture is an illustration, not a photo of this recipe · 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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Sugar + molassestop 6% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together9,225 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Milk + buttertop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together81,222 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Coffee + milktop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together2,201 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
Molasses + coffeetop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlaplow

Mentioned together640 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Sugar + coffeetop 8% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together4,344 recipes

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