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 ↓
Fruit Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Mix a little of the flour with the fruits to prevent them from sinking.
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the molasses and mix well.
Incorporate the beaten egg yolks into the mixture.
In another bowl, combine the remaining flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until combined.
Fold in the egg whites gently until just incorporated.
Add the prepared fruits, nuts, and rum or brandy, mixing thoroughly.
Bake and dry
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Steam the cake for 5 hours, then dry it in a 300°F (150°C) oven.
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 + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,536 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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 and whites bind the batter and give the cake its structure as they set.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and adds richness and a tender crumb.
- Sugar
- Creams with butter and adds sweetness while helping the crumb brown.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark colour and a deep, slightly bitter sweetness.
- Flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the cake its body and holds the fruit.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas that helps the batter rise and lighten.
The step that matters
Mix a little flour with the fruits before adding them. Coating the heavy fruit and nuts in flour helps them stay suspended in the batter instead of sinking to the bottom during baking.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, molasses, flour, cinnamon, allspice):
- Nutmegfits better
- Clovethe original
- Cardamomfits less well
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, molasses, flour, cinnamon, allspice. 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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