Name: Brown Stone Front Cake
Ingredients: one cup brown sugar; 2 cups flour; 1 teaspoon soda; one cup grated chocolate; 2 eggs; 1 egg; two parts

Why it works: Sugar and chocolate are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,404 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Brown Stone Front Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

Combine one cup brown sugar, one cup butter, two eggs, one cup milk, two cups flour, and one teaspoon soda to make the first batter.
For the dark part, combine one cup grated chocolate, one cup brown sugar, yolk of one egg, and one teaspoon vanilla; boil together.
Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the first batter.

Bake and assemble

Bake in two parts.
Put the two parts together with boiling icing.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

737Calories

21 gProtein

15 gFat

125 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49

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

By [Hayes, Emma (Allen), Mrs.], 1868- [from old catalog]. 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.

Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,404 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together106,462 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + chocolatetop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together8,994 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes: they 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

Flour: Provides the structure that holds the cake together.
Eggs: Add structure and richness to the batter.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and moisture to the cake.
Soda: Reacts to lift the batter so the cake rises.
Grated chocolate: Adds chocolate flavour and the dark colour of one part.

“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.

Chocolate Cream171 recipes

Chocolate Cookies76 recipes

Chocolate Fudge55 recipes

Chocolate Drop Cookies50 recipes

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Brown Stone Front Cake