Why it works: Lemon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Cocoanut Cup 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 the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.
Add the milk, lemon extract, grated nutmeg, and beaten eggs; mix well.
Stir in the grated coconut.
Add enough sifted flour to make a stiff batter.
Bake and finish
Butter square tin pans and line them with white paper.
Pour the batter into the pans, filling them about an inch deep.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Once cooled, cut into small squares or diamonds.
Optionally, frost with a thin icing for added flavor.
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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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Nutmeg + coconuttop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together411 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-pinene (pine, resin).
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Milk + coconuttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,648 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + coconuttop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,467 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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, giving the cupcake a tender, rich crumb.
- Eggs
- Provide structure as they set in the oven, holding the batter together.
- Sifted wheat flour
- Forms the structure of the stiff batter as its proteins set during baking.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and, creamed with butter, helps create a light texture.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and helps the batter combine into an even mixture.
- Grated coconut
- Adds moisture, chewiness and coconut flavor to the crumb.
The step that matters
Add enough sifted flour to make a stiff batter. Too much flour makes the cake dense and dry, while too little leaves it weak and fragile. The batter should be stiff enough to hold its shape but not overworked.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, milk, nutmeg, egg, meat, coconut):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, milk, nutmeg, egg, meat, coconut. 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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