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
Make the batter
Mix the butter and sugar together in a bowl.
Slowly pour in the molasses while stirring continuously.
Add the yolks of the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Gradually add the milk while stirring.
Stir in the cinnamon, cloves, and baking soda.
Finish and bake
Add the flour and mix until just combined.
Fold in the beaten egg whites until fully incorporated.
Pour the batter into layer cake pans and bake 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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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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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).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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
- Flour
- Forms the gluten network that gives the cake its structure.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, and the whites trap air that lightens the batter.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that makes the cake rise.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, dark color and a deep flavor to the cake.
- Butter
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown while holding moisture.
The step that matters
Add the flour and mix until just combined.. Flour's proteins form gluten when mixed, so overmixing makes the cake tough and dense. Stop as soon as no dry flour streaks remain.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, molasses, milk, flour, cinnamon, egg):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, molasses, milk, flour, cinnamon, egg. 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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