Why it works: Apple and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,598 recipes. Both carry methyl cinnamate, which smells strawberry. The science ↓
Dutch Apple Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.
Beat the egg yolks until thick and light, then add to the flour mixture.
Stir in the melted butter and milk, mixing until smooth.
Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites.
Assemble and bake
Spread the batter into a buttered shallow pan to a depth of ¾ inch.
Pare, core, and cut the tart apples into eighths.
Press the apple pieces into the batter in two parallel rows.
Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 25 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.
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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Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,598 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
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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).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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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
- Eggs
- Yolks enrich and bind the batter, while whipped whites lighten its texture and help it rise.
- Pastry flour
- Provides the starch and gluten structure that sets the cake's crumb.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, causing it to rise in the oven.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and richness in the crumb.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour and dissolves sugar, forming a smooth batter with moisture.
- Tart apples
- Add moisture and a tart flavour that balances the sweet batter.
The step that matters
Folding in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Whites hold air only when whipped stiff, and folding gently keeps that air in the batter. Overmixing deflates the foam, leaving a denser cake that rises less.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, egg, butter, milk, sugar, cinnamon):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, egg, butter, milk, sugar, 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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