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 ↓
Bread Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Mix the batter
In a large bowl, combine the bread dough, sugar, butter, sour milk with baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
Stir well to combine, then gently fold in the floured raisins.
Rise and bake
Let the mixture rise for 30 minutes.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until golden.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Light bread dough
- Provides the yeasted base and airy, tender crumb structure.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown during baking.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a softer, more tender crumb.
- Sour milk with baking soda
- Acid reacts with baking soda to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
The step that matters
Letting the mixture rise. The rise lets the dough and leavening expand before baking, so the cake gets lift and a lighter texture. Rising for too short a time can leave it dense.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, sugar, butter, milk, nutmeg, cinnamon):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Applefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against bread, sugar, butter, milk, 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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