Why it works: Molasses and sugar 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 ↓
Dried Apple Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the apples
Soak the dried apples overnight in warm water.
In the morning, chop the soaked apples and simmer them in the molasses for one hour.
Make and bake the cake
Add the butter, baking soda, beaten eggs, coffee, sugar, flour, and spices to the apple mixture and mix well.
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) 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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Molasses + sugartop 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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Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 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
- Dried apples
- Provide the fruit flavour and moist, tender pieces throughout the cake.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness, dark colour and a deep, rich flavour.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the molasses and coffee acidity to help the cake rise and darken.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure as the cake sets.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness, moisture and richness.
The step that matters
Simmering the apples in molasses. Simmering softens the dried apples and lets them absorb the molasses, so they stay tender rather than tough or chewy in the finished cake. Chopping them after soaking helps them cook evenly.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, molasses, egg, coffee, sugar, flour):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, molasses, egg, coffee, sugar, 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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