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 ↓
White Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
Make the batter
In a mixing bowl, cream together the granulated sugar and shortening.
Add the milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, and cream of tartar; mix well.
Gradually add the flour, stirring until smooth.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the cake together as it sets.
- Shortening
- Creaming with sugar traps air and gives the cake a tender crumb.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown while creaming with the fat traps air.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the cream of tartar to produce gas that makes the cake rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Acts as an acid that reacts with baking soda, helping the cake rise and keeping it light.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and hydrates the flour so the batter forms.
The step that matters
Stirring in the flour. Gradually adding flour and stirring only until smooth keeps the batter from overmixing. Too much mixing develops gluten, which can make the cake tough and dense.
“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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