Name: Dark Part
Ingredients: 1/2 cup of a mixture of butter; 3/4 cup milk; 1/2 cup brown sugar; 1 tablespoon of molasses; 2 tablespoons of cinnamon; 1 tablespoon of cloves; one cup; one teaspoon of baking powder; 1 cup of light brown sugar; 2 tablespoonfuls of butter; 1 cup of new orleans molasses; 4 cups of flour alternately; 1 cup of sweet milk in which 2 even teaspoonfuls of soda had been dissolved; 2 square layer cake pans in a hot oven about 25 minutes; 4 eggs; two good sized cakes; one good sized cake; 2 even teaspoonfuls of soda had been dissolved; one large egg

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 ↓

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.

Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,341 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,655 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together30,779 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Yolks add richness and structure, and the stiffly beaten white lightens the batter.
New orleans molasses: Adds dark color, deep sweetness and a rich, slightly sharp flavor.
Soda: Dissolved in sweet milk, it reacts with the molasses to help the cake rise and darken.
Flour: Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Butter: Adds fat for tender texture and rich flavor.

The step that matters

Adding the stiffly beaten egg white last. Folding in the whipped white gently at the end keeps the air bubbles intact, so the cake rises lighter instead of deflating.

Swap the clove

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

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

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, milk, sugar, molasses, cinnamon, flour, 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
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
Cake	not in our table	0

Dark Part

Dark Part

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dark batter

Make the light batter

Bake

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)