Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon 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 ↓
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 the batter
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the brown sugar and butter.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the sour milk, baking soda, and a little baking powder.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.
Fold in the chopped raisins.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and 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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Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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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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Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 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
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps give the cake a tender crumb.
- Butter
- Creamed with the sugar to trap air and add fat for a tender texture.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, binding the batter as it sets in the oven.
- Sour milk
- Adds moisture and acidity that reacts with the leavening to help the cake rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas, helping the cake rise.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure as its proteins set during baking.
The step that matters
Mixing the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Overmixing once flour is added develops gluten, which can make the cake tough and dense. Mix only until just combined so the crumb stays tender.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg, milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, flour):
- Cardamomfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg, milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, 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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