Why it works: Clove and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Spice Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, butter, molasses, hot water, and flour.
Add the dissolved baking soda, cloves, ginger, and cinnamon, and mix well.
Pour the batter into gem pans.
Bake
Bake 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.
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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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,038 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Molasses
- Adds dark color, moisture, and a deep sweet flavor to the cake.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses's acidity to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a rich flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown and stay moist.
The step that matters
Add the baking soda in water. Baking soda must be fully dissolved before mixing so it disperses evenly. Clumps can leave bitter pockets and uneven rising. It reacts with the acidic molasses to lift the batter.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, molasses, flour, clove, cinnamon):
- Nutmegfits better
- Allspicefits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, molasses, flour, clove, cinnamon. 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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