Why it works: Sugar and syrup match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,842 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Iced Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
Beat the margarine, sugar, and syrup until creamy.
Add the egg and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the baking powder, lemon peel, and coffee essence.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until well combined.
Pour the batter into a greased flat tin.
Bake and finish
Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool before icing with coffee icing and decorating with chopped almonds if desired.
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.
-
Sugar + syruptop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,842 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Syrup + coffeetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together318 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + coffeetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Margarine
- Fat coats the flour and keeps the crumb tender and soft.
- Caster sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps the creamed mixture hold air.
- Lyle's golden syrup
- Adds sweetness and moisture, helping the cake stay soft.
- Egg
- Sets during baking to give the cake structure and bind the batter.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas when heated, helping the cake rise.
- Coffee essence
- Gives the cake its coffee flavour.
The step that matters
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until well combined.. Stirring just until combined keeps the batter light. Overmixing after the flour is added develops gluten, which makes the cake tough and dense.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, syrup, egg, coffee):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, syrup, egg, coffee. 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 coffee cake recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Coffee Ice Cream91 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.