Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon 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 ↓
Spice Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and gradually add the brown sugar, mixing until smooth.
Add the yolks of four eggs and the whites of two eggs, mixing well.
Alternately add the sour milk and flour, mixing until combined.
Mix the spices and baking soda with the last half cup of flour, then fold into the batter.
Bake and ice
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 30 to 45 minutes.
Once baked, ice with boiled icing.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 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
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and keeps the crumb soft and tender.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and add richness and tenderness.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure, richness and lift as the cake bakes.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Sour milk
- Adds moisture and acidity that reacts with baking soda to help the cake rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas that makes the cake rise.
The step that matters
Folding in the spices and baking soda. Baking soda needs an acid to react and lift the batter. Mixing it evenly with flour before folding in prevents pockets of soda, which cause bitter spots and uneven rising.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, flour, butter, nutmeg, cinnamon, egg):
- Cardamomfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, flour, butter, nutmeg, cinnamon, 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.
More spice cake recipes
You might also like
Cinnamon Rolls71 recipes
Clove Cake53 recipes
Cinnamon Cake42 recipes
White Cake431 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.