Why it works: Allspice and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,536 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
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream together the brown sugar, white sugar, and butter until smooth.
Stir in the cold coffee, vanilla extract, allspice, and cinnamon.
Add the egg yolks and mix well.
Gradually add flour until the batter reaches a smooth consistency, but is not too stiff.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for about 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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Allspice + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,536 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Vanilla + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,287 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Coffee + vanillatop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,391 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and adds richness and a tender crumb.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness, moisture and structure, helping the batter bind and set in the oven.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake as it bakes.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and deepens the flavor and color of the crumb.
- Cold coffee
- Adds liquid to hydrate the flour and enhances the warm spice flavors.
The step that matters
Gradually add flour until the batter is smooth but not too stiff. Too much flour develops gluten and makes the cake dense and tough, while too little leaves it wet and weak. Adding it gradually lets you judge the consistency by eye.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, egg, flour):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, egg, 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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