Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg 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 ↓
Connbcticut Coffee Cake
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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and brewed coffee, mixing well.
In another bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, nutmeg, cream of tartar, and baking soda.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or 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.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Coffee + cocoatop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together91 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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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).
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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
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness to the crumb.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and rich flavor in the crumb.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps create a light, fluffy creamed base.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that sets as the cake bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic cream of tartar and batter to help the cake rise.
- Brewed coffee
- Adds moisture and liquid to hydrate the flour and dissolve the dry ingredients.
The step that matters
Stirring the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Overmixing once flour is added develops gluten, which makes the cake tough and dense. Stir only until just combined, so the crumb stays tender.
Swap the cocoa
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, coffee, butter, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg):
- Almondfits better
- Hazelnutfits better
- Chestnutfits better
- Cocoathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, coffee, butter, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg. 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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