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 ↓
Coffee 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.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the cold coffee.
In another bowl, combine the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and baking powder.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.
Fold in the raisins, currants, and citron.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center 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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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Nutmeg + clovetop 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
- Creams with the sugar to trap air, giving a light, tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, binding the batter as it sets in the oven.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure that sets the cake's crumb as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise and become light.
- Cold coffee
- Adds liquid for moisture and a deep, roasted flavor to the batter.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender, browned crumb when creamed.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.. Overmixing once flour meets liquid develops gluten, which can make the cake tough and dense. Stopping as soon as the batter is combined keeps it tender.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg, coffee, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon):
- Cardamomfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg, coffee, flour, 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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