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 ↓
Clove 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 bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the milk or water, molasses, and eggs; mix well.
In another bowl, combine the chopped raisins, baking soda, and ground cloves.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
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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Raisin + clovetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,070 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and give the cake a tender crumb and rich flavour.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness to the crumb as it sets.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to produce gas that lifts the cake as it bakes.
- Molasses
- Adds moisture, deep sweetness and a dark colour, and its acidity activates the baking soda.
- Ground cloves
- Provides the warm, aromatic spice that defines the flavour of the cake.
The step that matters
Adding the dry ingredients. Stir only until the flour-free dry mix is just combined. Overmixing the batter develops structure and can make the cake dense and tough, while the baking soda must be evenly distributed to rise uniformly.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, milk, molasses, raisin, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerfits about as well
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, milk, molasses, raisin, egg. 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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