Why it works: Cinnamon and clove 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 ↓
Chocolate Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Beat together the eggs, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light.
Add the grated chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, vanilla, and flour.
Bake
Drop by teaspoonfuls, ½ inch apart, into buttered and floured pans.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until done.
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 + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Cinnamon + vanillatop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,287 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
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Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,020 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Clove + vanillatop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,049 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
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 and lift as they are beaten light.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness, moisture and a caramel-like depth of flavour.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- German sweet chocolate
- Supplies chocolate flavour and richness to the batter.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the oven, helping the cakes rise and turn light.
The step that matters
Beating the eggs and sugars until light. Beating incorporates air into the eggs and sugar, which expands in the oven and gives these small cakes their lift. Under-beating leaves them dense and heavy.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, flour):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, flour. 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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