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 ↓
Jam 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).
In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the egg yolks and mix well.
Stir in the sweet milk and blackberry jam until combined.
In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or 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.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Blackberry + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together362 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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
- Egg yolks add richness and help bind the batter into a tender crumb.
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it traps air and adds fat for a soft, tender texture.
- Sugar
- Creams with butter for lightness and adds sweetness and gentle browning.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake as the batter bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic jam to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Blackberry jam
- Adds fruity sweetness, moisture, and flavor throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Stirring in the dry ingredients. Once flour meets liquid, gluten begins to form. Stirring only until just combined keeps the crumb tender, while overmixing produces a tough, dense cake.
Swap the blackberry
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, milk, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Blackberrythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, milk, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon. 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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