Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
A Good Pound Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Beat the butter to a cream.
Mix in the beaten whites and yolks of the eggs separately.
Warm the flour and sugar by the fire.
Combine the flour, sugar, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
Make the batter
Gradually work the dry ingredients into the butter and eggs.
Beat the mixture for a full hour.
Add the wine and caraway seeds, mixing well.
Bake
Butter a pan and bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for one hour.
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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Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and gives the cake a tender, rich crumb.
- Eggs
- Beaten whites and yolks add structure and lift, helping the cake rise and set.
- Flour
- Provides the starch and gluten that give the cake its body and structure as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the cake brown and keep moist.
The step that matters
Beat the mixture for a full hour. Long beating incorporates air and develops the batter's structure. Overbeating after the flour is added can toughen the crumb, so keep the mixing steady and avoid overworking once combined.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, egg, flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, wine):
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Allspicefits about as well
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, egg, flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, wine. 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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