Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Spice Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream the butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add the sour milk and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined.
Fold in the raisins and the egg yolks.
Bake
In a clean bowl, beat the egg white until stiff peaks form, then gently fold it into the batter.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick 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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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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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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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and structure, while whipped whites lighten the batter for a tender crumb.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas, helping the cake rise.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air and add fat for a tender, moist texture.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and a deeper caramel flavor, and helps browning.
- Sour milk
- Its acidity activates the baking soda and adds moisture and tenderness.
- Flour
- Forms the cake's structure as its proteins set during baking.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whites beaten to stiff peaks hold air that lightens the batter. Stirring them in vigorously knocks out that air, leaving a dense cake, so fold gently until just combined.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, milk, flour, egg, cinnamon, raisin):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Clovethe original
- Allspicefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, milk, flour, egg, cinnamon, raisin. 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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