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 butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the molasses and milk, mixing well.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, allspice, and cinnamon.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined.
Fold in the stoned raisins.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 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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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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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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses acid to help the cake rise and lighten.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, dark color, and a deep sweetness with acidity.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the batter and helps create a light, fluffy creamed base.
The step that matters
Stirring in the dry ingredients. Once flour meets liquid, gluten begins to form. Stirring only until combined keeps the cake tender, while overmixing makes it tough and dense.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, molasses, butter, milk, raisin, cinnamon):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, molasses, butter, milk, raisin, 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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