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 ↓
Dough 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.
Make the batter
In a large bowl, mix the dough by hand.
Work in the softened butter until well combined.
Add the sugar and cinnamon, mixing thoroughly.
Incorporate the yolks of the eggs, followed by the beaten egg whites.
Dissolve the baking soda in a little warm water and add it to the mixture.
Finally, fold in the stoned raisins.
Bake
Transfer the mixture to pans and let it rise.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for about the same time as bread.
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 + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Nutmeg + raisintop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
- Dough
- Provides the base structure and yeasted, bread-like crumb for the cake.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, with the whites adding lift when beaten separately.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and rich flavour.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps browning in the oven.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with acid and warm water to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
The step that matters
Dissolve the baking soda in a little warm water and add it to the mixture.. Baking soda needs to be fully dissolved and evenly mixed so it reacts throughout the batter, giving an even rise instead of pockets or uneven patches.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Lemonfits less well
- Figfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg. 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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