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 ↓
Family 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 the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream the butter and molasses together.
Beat in the eggs one at a time.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and grated nutmeg.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, alternating with the milk.
Fold in the currants.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center 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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it sets.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and deep flavor, and helps the cake brown.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a rich, smooth crumb.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and help it set into a firm, cohesive structure.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to release gas, helping the cake rise.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter so it bakes evenly.
The step that matters
Alternating the dry ingredients with the milk. Adding the dry ingredients gradually and alternating with milk keeps the batter smooth and emulsified. Adding it all at once can cause lumps and overmixing, which toughens the crumb.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, molasses, butter, milk, egg, nutmeg, cinnamon):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, molasses, butter, milk, 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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