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 ↓
Found Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth.
Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Gently mix in the flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon or mace.
If desired, fold in currants, candied lemon peel, and almonds.
Beat the mixture for half an hour.
Bake
Pour into a prepared cake pan and bake at 400°F (200°C) for about one hour.
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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Nutmeg + lemontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Cinnamon + lemontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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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
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar to trap air, giving the cake a tender, rich crumb.
- Eggs
- Add structure as they set in the oven and help bind the batter together.
- Flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps hold air in the creamed butter for lift.
- Currants
- Add chewy fruit pieces and sweetness throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Creaming the butter and sugar. Beating the butter and sugar until smooth traps air in the fat, which helps the cake rise and stay light. Under-creaming leaves a dense, heavy crumb.
Swap the currant
The recipe marks currant as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Blueberryfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon. 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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