Why it works: Mace and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,557 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Pound 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.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Beat the egg yolks separately and add them to the butter and sugar mixture.
Stir in the white wine, mace, and grated nutmeg or preferred flavor.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold them into the mixture.
Gradually add the flour, mixing until well combined.
Fold in the dried currants.
Bake
Pour the batter into square tin pans and bake for 30 minutes.
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.
-
Mace + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,557 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + white winetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,083 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Mace + curranttop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,791 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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
- Eggs
- Yolks enrich the batter and whites, whipped to stiff peaks, add lift and a light crumb.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and adds richness and a tender texture.
- White sugar
- Creams with butter to aerate the batter and adds sweetness and gentle browning.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake as the eggs and butter bake.
- Dried currants
- Add pockets of chewy sweetness and fruity flavor throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Stiff whites hold the air that lifts the batter. Overmixing when folding deflates them, leading to a dense, heavy cake.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg, white wine, nutmeg, flour, currant):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Allspicefits better
- Clovefits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg, white wine, nutmeg, flour, currant. 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.
More pound cake recipes
You might also like
Red Currant Jelly65 recipes
Currant Ice Cream32 recipes
Currant Sherbet9 recipes
Currant and Raspberry Ice7 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.