Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Raised Loaf 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, combine the raised bread dough with sugar and butter.
Beat in the eggs one at a time until well mixed.
Add nutmeg, cinnamon, and raisins, stirring until evenly distributed.
Pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan.
Bake
Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and 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.
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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Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Nutmeg + raisintop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Bread dough
- Provides the bready base and structure of the cake.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and add richness and structure as they set in the oven.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a rich flavor.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the top brown as it bakes.
The step that matters
Checking for doneness with a toothpick. The loaf is done when golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Pulling it too early leaves the center wet and gummy, since the eggs and dough have not fully set.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, sugar, butter, egg, nutmeg, cinnamon):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, sugar, butter, egg, nutmeg, 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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