Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Spice 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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
Cream the butter and molasses together in a large bowl.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the allspice and baking powder.
Gradually add the milk, mixing until smooth.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Molasses + allspicetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,508 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Molasses + milktop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,243 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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 in texture.
- Molasses
- Provides sweetness, moisture and a dark, deep flavour.
- Eggs
- Add structure and help bind the batter as it sets in the oven.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter to a smooth consistency.
The step that matters
Adding the eggs one at a time. Beating each egg in fully before the next helps the batter form a stable emulsion with the butter and molasses. Adding them too quickly can cause curdling, which may leave the cake dense or uneven.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, molasses, egg, milk):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Clovefits about as well
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, molasses, egg, milk. 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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