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 ↓
Pound Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Beat the butter to a cream.
Mix in the beaten whites and yolks of the eggs.
Combine the flour, sugar, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a bowl.
Mix all ingredients together and beat for a full hour.
Bake
Butter a pan and pour in the batter.
Bake for 1 hour in a 400°F (200°C) oven, being careful not to let it burn.
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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Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it adds richness and a tender, fine crumb.
- Eggs
- Beaten whites and yolks add structure, lift and richness to the batter.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps browning, and it tenderises the crumb when creamed.
The step that matters
Baking without burning. The record warns against burning at 400°F, and a long bake at high heat can brown the outside before the centre sets. Check the cake near the end and cover it if the top darkens too fast.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon):
- Cardamomfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Turmericfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon. 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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