Why it works: Cinnamon and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,536 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
Sift and chop the raisins.
Dissolve the baking soda in 1 tablespoon of boiling water.
Make the batter
In a large bowl, combine the molasses, sour cream, and brown sugar.
Add the dissolved baking soda.
Mix in the flour and beat thoroughly.
Stir in the spices and chopped raisins.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased pan.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour.
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.
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Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,536 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses and sour cream to lift the batter for a lighter crumb.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and tenderness, and its acidity works with the baking soda.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, deep sweetness and color to the cake.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps keep the cake soft.
- Raisins
- Add chewy pieces of fruit sweetness throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Dissolve the baking soda in boiling water. Baking soda must be fully dissolved before it is added, so it spreads evenly through the batter. Clumps can leave bitter, soapy patches and uneven rising.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, flour, cinnamon, cream, raisin):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Clovefits about as well
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, flour, cinnamon, cream, raisin. 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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