Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Spice 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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream the butter and molasses together.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the allspice and baking powder.
Gradually add the milk and flour, mixing until smooth.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Allspice + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,302 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + allspicetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,508 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor.
- Molasses
- Provides sweetness, dark color, and moisture to the cake.
- Eggs
- Add structure and help bind the batter as it sets.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure that sets the cake's crumb.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter for even mixing.
The step that matters
Gradually add the milk and flour, mixing until smooth. Adding flour and liquid gradually keeps the batter emulsified and smooth. Overmixing once flour is in develops gluten, which can make the cake dense and tough.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, molasses, egg, milk, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits about as well
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, molasses, egg, milk, 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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