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Dessert

Chocolate Drop Cakes

A chocolate drop cake with raisins, nuts, and spices baked in a moderate oven.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Hamilton, Ohio. First Methodist Episcopal church. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and clove 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 ↓

Chocolate Drop Cakes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. In a large bowl, beat 4 eggs separately.

  2. In another bowl, combine 1 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

  3. Add 1/2 cup melted butter to the sugar mixture, then add the beaten yolk and 1/2 cup milk.

  4. Sift 1 3/2 cups pastry flour and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder together, then sprinkle over 1/2 cup raisins (or dates) and 1/2 cup chopped nuts.

  5. Gradually add the sifted flour mixture to the wet mixture, beating until smooth.

  6. Fold in 1/2 cup melted chocolate, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup nuts, and the stiff egg whites.

  7. Stir in 1 teaspoon soda dissolved in 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 tablespoons hot water, 1 teaspoon cloves, and 1 scant cup butter.

Shape and bake

  1. Drop spoonfuls onto a greased pan, spacing them 1 inch apart.

  2. Bake in a moderate oven until firm to the touch.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

920Calories
28 gProtein
27 gFat
140 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 11 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Pastrynot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

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

By Hamilton, Ohio. First Methodist Episcopal church. [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.

  1. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,075 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,390 recipes

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

  4. Vanilla + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  5. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Egg whites add lift and yolks add richness and structure to the batter.
Flour
Provides the structure that holds the cakes together as they set.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the cakes brown in the oven.
Butter
Adds fat for a tender crumb and a moist texture.
Milk
Adds moisture and loosens the batter.
Raisins
Adds sweetness and chewy pockets throughout the cakes.

The step that matters

Folding in the stiff egg whites. Egg whites trap air that gives the cakes lift. Folding gently keeps that air in the batter, while vigorous stirring deflates it and leaves the cakes dense.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, egg, raisin):

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Cardamomfits better
  3. Clovethe original
  4. Allspicefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, egg, raisin. 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.

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