Why it works: Clove and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Coffee 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 together the sugar and butter.
Add the molasses and eggs, mixing well.
Dissolve the baking soda in the cold coffee and add to the mixture.
Stir in the raisins and spices.
Gradually add enough flour to create a thick batter.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for about 45-60 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.
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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Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Raisin + clovetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,070 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Raisin + allspicetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,475 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender crumb when creamed with butter.
- Molasses
- Adds dark color, moisture, and a rich, slightly bitter sweetness.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and richness, and carries flavor through the batter.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as they set during baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the batter into a cake as it bakes.
The step that matters
Dissolving the baking soda in the coffee. Baking soda needs to be fully dissolved so it reacts evenly with the acidic molasses; otherwise pockets of gas and uneven rising or dense spots can result.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, butter, egg, coffee, clove, allspice):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Orangefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, butter, egg, coffee, clove, 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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