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 ↓
Economy 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, mix together the sugar, graham flour, baking soda, raisins, salt, cinnamon, white flour, and ground clove.
Gradually add milk or water until the batter reaches a smooth consistency.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center 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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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + clovetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,070 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Graham flour
- Provides the main structure and a coarse, hearty crumb in the cake.
- White flour
- Adds gluten-based structure so the cake holds its shape while baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the batter to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown at the edges as it bakes.
- Raisins
- Add chewy pockets of sweetness and moisture throughout the crumb.
The step that matters
Adding the milk or water gradually. Flour hydrates unevenly, so adding liquid slowly lets you judge the batter's consistency. Too much liquid at once can make it thin and lumpy, weakening the structure needed to hold the raisins and rise evenly.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, raisin, cinnamon, milk):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Clovethe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, raisin, cinnamon, milk. 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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