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 ↓
Sugar 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. The book gives no cooking times either; 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 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat the eggs separately and add them to the mixture.
Stir in the sour cream and mix well.
Dissolve the baking soda in the sour cream and add it to the batter.
Gradually sift in the flour, mixing until just combined.
Season the batter with nutmeg and cinnamon.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes 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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Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure as the starch that sets when baked.
- Sugar
- Creams with the butter for a light texture and adds sweetness and browning.
- Butter
- Adds fat and flavor and, creamed with sugar, traps air for a tender crumb.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set in the oven.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and acidity that tenderizes the crumb and activates the baking soda.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour cream to release gas, helping the cake rise.
The step that matters
Dissolve the baking soda in the sour cream. Baking soda needs an acid to react and produce rising gas. Mixing it into the acidic sour cream first spreads it evenly so the cake rises uniformly rather than in patches.
“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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