Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Black 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.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the molasses and eggs, mixing well.
Make the batter
In a separate bowl, combine the baking soda, ground cloves, and flour.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into flat tins and smooth the top.
Bake in the preheated oven 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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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Molasses + clovetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,483 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Clove + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,671 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Butter
- Adds fat that makes the cake tender and rich, and helps trap air when creamed with sugar.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and, creamed with butter, helps give a light, fluffy texture.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, dark color and a deep, strong flavor.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as the cake sets in the oven.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidity of molasses to produce gas that makes the cake rise.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
The step that matters
Stirring in the dry ingredients. Mixing only until combined keeps gluten development low, so the cake stays tender. Overmixing develops gluten and can make the crumb tough and dense.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, molasses, egg, flour):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Jalapenofits better
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, molasses, egg, flour. 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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