Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. 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.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix together the sugar, molasses, and butter until well combined.
Stir in the coffee and raisins.
Dissolve the dry saleratus in a small amount of water and add it to the mixture.
Add spices to taste and mix well.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake for about 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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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + coffeetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Molasses
- Adds dark colour, moisture and a deep, slightly bitter sweetness.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown during baking.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavour.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that lightens the cake.
- Raisins
- Add chewy texture and pockets of concentrated sweetness.
The step that matters
Dissolving the baking soda. Baking soda must be fully dissolved so it reacts evenly with the acidic molasses; undissolved pockets can leave bitter spots and uneven rising.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, butter, coffee):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits about as well
- Applefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, butter, coffee. 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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