Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg 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 ↓
Spice Cake Pudding
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
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the sweet milk.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.
Fold in raisins if desired.
Bake and serve
Pour the batter into a greased pan and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Serve with sauce.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Nutmeg + gingertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,324 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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as the cake sets in the oven.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and creaming it with sugar traps air for a tender crumb.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a tender texture when creamed with butter.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Sweet milk
- Adds moisture and helps form a smooth, pourable batter.
The step that matters
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.. Overmixing once flour is added develops gluten, which can make the cake tough and dense. Stopping as soon as the flour disappears keeps the crumb tender.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, milk, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg):
- Cardamomfits better
- Allspicefits better
- Clovefits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, milk, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg. 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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