Name: Coffee Cake
Ingredients: half pounds of raisins; two pounds of currants; half tablespoonful of allspice; one tablespoonful of cloves; one coffee-cupful of brown sugar; one egg; one nutmeg

Why it works: Allspice and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Coffee Cake

Ingredients

Directions

MRS. E. R. BUELL.
One coffee-cupful of brown sugar, one of molasses, one of butter, five of flour, one of strong warm coffee, one egg, one and a half pounds of raisins, two pounds of currants, a half tablespoonful of allspice, one tablespoonful of cloves, one of cinnamon, one of mace, one of soda, two of cream of tartar, one nutmeg.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

213Calories

7 gProtein

7 gFat

33 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Allspice	1 tsp ground (1.9g)	5

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

By Keokuk (Iowa). Westminster Presbyterian church. 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.

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.

Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,874 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,331 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,686 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,377 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
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

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, allspice, clove, coffee, sugar, egg, nutmeg):

Vanillafits better
Figfits better
Orangefits better
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, allspice, clove, coffee, sugar, egg, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.