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 ↓
Raspberry 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 the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream together the brown sugar and butter until smooth.
Add the eggs and mix well.
Stir in the raspberry preserves.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, grated nutmeg, and baking soda.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, alternating with the buttermilk.
Bake and finish
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool and ice with brown sugar boiled icing.
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 + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as the cake sets in the oven.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and richness, and helps trap air when creamed with sugar.
- Brown sugar
- Sweetens the cake, adds moisture, and contributes a caramel-like flavor.
- Buttermilk
- Adds moisture and acidity that activates the baking soda for rising.
- Raspberry preserves
- Adds fruit flavor, sweetness, and moisture to the batter.
The step that matters
Alternating the dry ingredients with the buttermilk. Adding the flour mixture gradually and alternating with the liquid keeps the batter smooth and well emulsified. Overmixing once flour is added develops gluten, which can make the cake tough.
Swap the raspberry
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, buttermilk):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Lemonfits better
- Raspberrythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, buttermilk. 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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