Why it works: Cinnamon and clove 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 ↓
Honing Kock
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the honey mixture
Boil the honey and sugar together.
Stir in the cinnamon, cloves, and potash, then remove from heat and add the brandy.
Make and bake the cake
In a bowl, mix the flour and baking soda.
Add the honey mixture to the flour and knead well.
Roll out thinly, place in buttered tins, and bake at 300°F (150°C) for 1 hour.
Finish
Cut into squares and store in an airtight tin.
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.
-
Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Honey + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,446 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
-
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Cinnamon + brandytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,199 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the dough once kneaded with the honey mixture.
- Honey
- Adds sweetness and moisture, helping the cake stay soft and keep well.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cooked honey mixture brown during baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the honey's acidity to help the cake rise and lighten.
- Potash
- Acts as a leavening agent and helps the dough brown and set.
The step that matters
Kneading the honey mixture into the flour. Kneading well distributes the honey mixture evenly and develops the dough so the thin sheets bake uniformly and hold together when cut into squares.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, honey, cinnamon, brandy):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Clovethe original
- Gingerfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, honey, cinnamon, brandy. 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.
More honey cake recipes
You might also like
Cinnamon Rolls71 recipes
Brandy Peaches68 recipes
Clove Cake53 recipes
Cinnamon Cake42 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.