Name: Crumb Cakes
Ingredients: 1 pound lard; 2 cups sugar; 1 pint molasses; 1 tablespoon cloves; 1 tablespoon cinnamon; 2 pints bread crumbs; 1 cup butter; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 1 cup milk; 3 teaspoons baking powder; 3 cups flour; 1 cup sweet milk; 4 teaspoons baking powder; a pinch of salt; 6 eggs; 1 table- spoon ginger; 1 table- spoon soda; 3 eggs; 4 eggs; salt

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 ↓

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 + vanillatop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,287 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Vanilla + milktop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Clove + vanillatop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,049 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,232 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Whites trap air when beaten, giving the cake structure and lift as it bakes.
Flour: Its proteins form the gluten network that gives the cake its structure.
Baking powder: Releases gas in the batter, helping the cakes rise in the pans.
Lard: Fat that coats the flour particles, tenderizing the crumb.
Molasses: Adds sweetness, moisture, and a dark color with a deep flavor.
Sugar: Sweetens the batter and helps the crust brown while baking.

The step that matters

Adding the whites last. Beaten egg whites hold air that gives the cake lift. Adding them last and mixing gently keeps that air in the batter, so the cakes rise lightly instead of turning dense.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, cinnamon, bread, butter, vanilla, milk):

Nutmegfits about as well
Clovethe original
Cardamomfits less well
Allspicefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, cinnamon, bread, butter, vanilla, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Lard	1 tbsp (12.8g)	115
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Molasses	1 tbsp (20g)	58
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Crumb Cakes

Crumb Cakes

Ingredients

Directions

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)