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Dessert

Philadelphia Cake

A moist cake made with white and brown sugar, molasses, butter, milk, spices, flour, raisins, currants, and optional figs and citron.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 18 ingredients
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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 ↓

Philadelphia 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.

Make the white batter

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. In a bowl, cream together the white sugar and ½ cup of butter.

  3. Add the sweet milk, baking powder, and egg whites; mix well.

  4. Gradually add 2 cups of flour until combined.

Make the dark batter

  1. In another bowl, mix the brown sugar, molasses, and ½ cup of butter.

  2. Stir in the sour milk, cinnamon, cloves, grated nutmeg, and baking soda.

  3. Add 2½ cups of flour, raisins, and currants; mix until combined.

Bake and finish

  1. Layer the white and dark batter in a greased cake pan.

  2. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

  3. Ice with white icing or lemon honey if desired.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,341 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,655 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together30,779 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
Egg whites add structure and lift to the light batter.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the batter, helping the white layer rise and turn airy.
Baking soda
Reacts with the sour milk and molasses to lift the dark batter.
Molasses
Adds moisture, dark color, and a deep sweetness to the dark batter.
Sour milk
Its acidity activates the baking soda and tenderizes the crumb.
Butter
Adds fat for tenderness and richness in both batters.

The step that matters

Layering the white and dark batter. The two batters differ in density and rise, so pouring them carelessly can cause them to mix unevenly or sink. Spooning them in gently keeps the layers distinct and the crumb even.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, milk, egg, flour, molasses, cinnamon):

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Cardamomfits about as well
  3. Clovethe original
  4. Allspicefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, milk, egg, flour, molasses, cinnamon. 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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