Name: Molasses Cap Cake
Ingredients: 1 cup molasses; 1 cup sugar; 1 cup sour milk or cream; 1 cup mixed butter and lard; 4 cups flour; 1 cup chopped raisins; 1 cup currants; 4 eggs; 1 teaspoon baking soda; a pinch of salt; 1 teaspoon ground cloves; 1 tablespoon ground ginger; 1 nutmeg

Why it works: Flour and raisin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

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.

Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,075 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,180 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,225 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Molasses: Adds dark color, moisture and a deep, sweet flavor to the cake.
Flour: Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
Eggs: Bind the batter and help give the cake structure and richness.
Baking soda: Reacts with the acidic sour milk or cream to lift and lighten the cake.
Mixed butter and lard: Adds fat for tenderness and moistness in the crumb.
Sour milk or cream: Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds moisture and tang.

The step that matters

Checking for doneness. Baking soda needs the acidic sour milk to leaven the batter, so the cake should be fully baked before cooling. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, since a moist center means the structure has not set yet and the cake may sink.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, sugar, milk, butter, flour, raisin, egg):

Vanillafits better
Figfits better
Datesfits about as well
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, milk, butter, flour, raisin, 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.

Molasses Cap Cake