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Dessert

Blackberry Cake

A cake made with flour, buttermilk, sugar, baking soda, butter, spices, blackberry jam, eggs, and optional nuts.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Hamilton, Margaret · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓

Blackberry Cake

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Combine 4 lb flour with 3 tablespoonfuls buttermilk.

  2. Add 6 oz sugar and 1 teaspoon baking soda.

  3. Mix in 6 oz butter, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice.

  4. Stir in 1 lb blackberry jam and spices to taste.

Bake

  1. Beat butter and sugar, then add all other ingredients; add blackberry jam and eggs, and bake in a quick oven.

Make the topping

  1. Boil 6 oz sugar and 3 tablespoonfuls water without stirring until a drop between finger and thumb feels waxy; pour very slowly over beaten egg whites, beating constantly with a fork.

  2. When cool enough to put on cake, add about 6 oz chopped nuts.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

791Calories
28 gProtein
26 gFat
109 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
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, Margaret. 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. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  2. Buttermilk + buttertop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,674 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Butter + clovetop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,045 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Buttermilk + eggtop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,986 recipes

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

  5. Buttermilk + clovetop 29% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together284 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Flour (in the method)
Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Eggs
Bind the batter and add structure and lift to the crumb.
Baking soda
Reacts with the acid in the buttermilk to produce gas that makes the cake rise.
Buttermilk
Its acidity activates the baking soda and helps give a tender crumb.
Blackberry jam (in the method)
Adds moisture, sweetness, and fruity flavour to the batter.
Butter
Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and carries flavour.

The step that matters

Pouring the boiled sugar over the egg whites. The syrup must reach the waxy stage so it sets properly, and it must be poured slowly while beating constantly. Hot syrup gently cooks the whites and forms a stable, smooth foam; pouring too fast can deflate it or cause lumps.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (buttermilk, butter, egg):

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Tarragonfits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against buttermilk, butter, egg. 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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