Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Fruit Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the batter
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
In a large bowl, mix sugar and beaten eggs until well combined. Stir in molasses and sour cream.
Add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and dissolved baking soda.
In another bowl, combine sifted flour, baking powder, and salt.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture.
Add fruit and bake
Coat the raisins, currants, and walnuts with ½ cup of flour, then fold them into the batter.
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake for about 2 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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.
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.
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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as they set during baking.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and tenderness and reacts with the baking soda for lift.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour cream and molasses to help the cake rise.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the fruit and nuts in the batter.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color, and a deep sweetness with mild acidity.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps keep it moist and tender.
The step that matters
Coat the fruit and nuts in flour before folding. Flour-dusted raisins, currants and walnuts are less likely to sink to the bottom of the thick batter, so the fruit stays spread evenly through the cake.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, molasses, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour):
- Allspicefits about as well
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, molasses, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour. 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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