Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg 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 ↓
Daphne's Cream Cakes
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 the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the sour cream, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Gradually add the flour until just combined.
Pour the batter into small pans.
Bake and top
Bake until partly done.
Sprinkle with raisins and sifted sugar.
Continue baking until fully cooked.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 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).
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Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Nutmeg + raisintop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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 flavour.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, binding the batter as they set in the oven.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and mild acidity, keeping the cake tender and moist.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and, creamed with butter, helps create a light texture.
The step that matters
Gradually add the flour until just combined.. Overmixing once flour is added develops gluten, which can make the cake tough and dense. Mix only until no dry streaks remain.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, egg, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg):
- Raisinthe original
- Vanillafits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Blueberryfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, sugar, egg, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg. 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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