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 ↓
A Good Pound Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Beat the butter until creamy.
Mix in the egg whites and yolks, beaten separately.
Combine the flour, sugar, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter and eggs, mixing well.
Add the wine and caraway seeds, and beat for a full hour.
Bake
Butter a pan and bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for one hour.
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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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creams with the sugar and carries fat that gives the cake its rich, tender crumb.
- Eggs
- Provide structure and lift, with separately beaten whites adding air to the batter.
- Flour
- Forms the cake's structure as the batter sets in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown during baking.
The step that matters
Beating the batter for a full hour. Long beating incorporates air and develops gluten in the flour, which can make the cake dense or tough if overdone. Beat until smooth and well combined, and stop once the batter is uniform.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, wine):
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Allspicefits about as well
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, wine. 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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