Name: Lunch Cake
Ingredients: 1 lb all-purpose flour; 3 oz lard; 1.5 oz butter; 4 oz currants; 3 oz raisins; 2 oz mixed peel; 6 oz sugar; 1 teaspoon ground cloves; 1 teaspoon mixed spice; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon cream of tartar; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 2 eggs; a pinch of salt; buttermilk (as needed to mix)

Why it works: Clove and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

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.

Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,075 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,390 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked 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

All-purpose flour: Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Eggs: Bind the mixture and add structure and moisture to the crumb.
Lard: Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and keeps it moist.
Butter: Adds fat and flavour, enriching the texture of the crumb.
Baking soda: Reacts with the acidic cream of tartar and buttermilk to help the cake rise.
Sugar: Sweetens the cake and contributes to browning during baking.

The step that matters

Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 2 hours, starting at a higher temperature.. Baking soda and cream of tartar release gas quickly, so the batter must be in the oven promptly once mixed. The starting temperature sets the rise before the centre cooks through, and a steady moderate heat for the full time keeps the cake from drying or burning at the edges.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, raisin, sugar, clove, cinnamon, cream):

Vanillafits better
Figfits better
Quincefits better
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, raisin, sugar, clove, cinnamon, cream. 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.