Why it works: Sugar and molasses 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 ↓
Brownies
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.
Prepare and mix
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix the egg, flour, butter, sugar, and molasses until well combined.
Shape and bake
Pour the mixture into small, fancy-shaped tins.
Press half a nut meat into the top of each cake.
Bake until set, about 20-25 minutes.
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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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + walnuttop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,873 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Butter + walnuttop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,832 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Flour and butter 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
- Egg
- Binds the batter and helps set the cakes' structure as they bake.
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the cakes together once baked.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the tops brown as the cakes bake.
- Dark molasses
- Adds sweetness, moisture, dark color and a deep, robust flavor.
- Pecan or walnut nuts
- Adds crunch and a toasty, nutty flavor against the soft cake.
The step that matters
Bake until set. Underbaking leaves the centre wet and gooey, while overbaking dries the cakes out. Sugar and molasses darken and firm as the batter sets, so checking for a set centre rather than relying only on the clock gives the best texture.
Swap the walnut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, flour, butter, sugar, molasses):
- Almondfits better
- Chestnutfits about as well
- Walnutthe original
- Hazelnutfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, flour, butter, sugar, molasses. 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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