Why it works: Nutmeg and orange match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,746 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
A Good Plum Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 350°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Beat the butter to a cream with a spoon.
Add the brown sugar and beat for 10 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time until smooth.
Stir in the flour gradually until well mixed.
Add a little nutmeg, currants, citron, and orange peel.
Bake
Bake in a moderate oven (350°F / 175°C) for 2 hours.
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 + orangetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,746 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Currant + orangetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,034 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and give the cake a tender, rich texture.
- Brown sugar
- Beaten with the butter for sweetness and moisture, and to help lift the crumb.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, and help bind the batter as it sets in the oven.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake as it bakes.
- Currants
- Add chewy pockets of sweetness and fruitiness throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Adding the eggs one at a time. Eggs added too quickly can curdle the creamed butter and sugar. Adding them gradually lets each one emulsify fully, keeping the batter smooth and airy.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, flour, nutmeg, orange):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Lemonfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, flour, nutmeg, orange. 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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