Name: Poverty Cake
Ingredients: 1 cup sour milk; 1 cup molasses; 1 cup raisins floured; 1/2 teaspoon cloves; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1 pinch ginger; 1 teaspoon soda; 2 eggs

Why it works: Clove and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Poverty Cake

Ingredients

Directions

1 cup sour milk, 1 cup molasses, 2i/^ cups flour, 1 cup raisins floured, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, i/^ nutmeg, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 pinch ginger, 1 teaspoon soda, 2 eggs. Butter size of an egg.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

411Calories

15 gProtein

14 gFat

60 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Sour Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Molasses	1 tbsp (20g)	58
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · 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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,380 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,390 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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 raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, molasses, clove, cinnamon, ginger, egg):

Vanillafits about as well
Raisinthe original
Figfits about as well
Orangefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, molasses, clove, cinnamon, ginger, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.