Name: Black or Wedding Cake
Ingredients: 3 pounds raisins; 3 pounds currants; 3 gills brandy; 14 eggs; 2 lemons; cloves

Why it works: Currant and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,057 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Black or Wedding Cake

Ingredients

Directions

3 pounds raisins, 3 pounds currants, i '^i pounds sugar, i^ pounds citron, i^ pounds butter, i^ pounds flour, 14 eggs, 2 lemons, grated rind, nutmegs, cloves, and all-spice to taste, i cup molasses, 3 gills brandy, i gill wine, i teaspoon soda.
MRS. L. L. PEASE.
HATFIELD COOK BOOK. Ill

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

159Calories

7 gProtein

6 gFat

22 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Brandy	not in our table	0

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

By Hatfield (Mass.). Congregational 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.

Currant + brandytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,057 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Raisin + clovetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,070 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Lemon + clovetop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,150 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,180 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
Raisin + brandytop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,768 recipes

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

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

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, currant, brandy, egg, clove):

Figfits better
Applefits better
Vanillafits better
Lemonthe original

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