Why it works: Nutmeg and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,623 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Drop Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until well combined.
Add the sour cream (or butter) and mix well.
Stir in the baking soda, salt, and grated nutmeg.
Gradually add enough flour to achieve a thick batter, similar to pound cake.
Bake
Spoon the batter into buttered muffin pans.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Provide structure and richness as they beat with the sugar and set during baking.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, beaten with eggs, helps create a tender crumb and browning.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and richness, and its acidity reacts with the baking soda to help the batter rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour cream to produce gas that lifts the batter as it bakes.
- Flour
- Forms the structure that sets the batter into a cake as it bakes.
The step that matters
Gradually add enough flour to achieve a thick batter. Adding flour too quickly or in too large an amount can leave lumps or make the batter too stiff to mix evenly. Mixing in flour gradually and only until combined keeps the batter smooth and the crumb tender.
“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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