Name: Apple-Spice Layer Cake with Caramel Swirl Icing Recipe
Yield: 12 to 14 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature; 3 cups sugar; 2 tablespoons light molasses; 6 large eggs; 3 cups cake flour; 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon; 2 teaspoons ground allspice; 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 1 cup sour cream; 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and shredded (about 1 1/2 cups); 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (optional); One 14-ounce bag caramels; 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream; 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 3 cups powdered sugar; 1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone (Italian cream cheese, available at most grocery stores); 2 cups pecan pieces, toasted (optional)

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 ↓

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 + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,917 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,536 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Allspice + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,331 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,623 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,341 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the allspice

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, molasses, egg, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg):

Allspicethe original
Cardamomfits about as well
Clovefits about as well
Gingerfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, molasses, egg, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Mascarpone	2 tbsp (28g)	120
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Cream Cheese	1 oz (28g)	99
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Molasses	1 tbsp (20g)	58
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Pecan	1 half (4g)	20
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Allspice	1 tsp ground (1.9g)	5
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Apple-Spice Layer Cake with Caramel Swirl Icing Recipe