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 ↓
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 your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the milk.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake and finish
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool before icing with the reserved egg whites.
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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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,536 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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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air, giving the cake a light, tender texture and rich flavor.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure, richness and lift as the cake sets in the oven.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the cake rises and becomes airy.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender crumb and gentle browning.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and helps the batter blend into a smooth, even mixture.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Adding flour in portions and mixing only until just combined keeps the batter smooth. Overmixing develops gluten, which can make the cake tough and dense.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, butter, milk, egg, cinnamon, allspice):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, butter, milk, egg, cinnamon, allspice. 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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