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 ↓
Marble 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 light batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, cream together the white sugar and ½ cup butter until light and fluffy.
Add the sweet milk and egg whites, mixing well.
Sift together the flour and baking powder, then gradually add to the mixture.
Make the dark batter
In another bowl, cream the brown sugar and ½ cup butter.
Stir in the sour milk, baking soda, and egg yolks.
Add the grated nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon to the dark mixture.
Marble and bake
Grease a cake pan and alternate layers of light and dark batter.
Swirl with a knife for a marbled effect.
Bake for 30-40 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.
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.
-
Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 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
- Creams with sugar to trap air, giving a light, tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Eggs
- Egg whites add lift and structure, while yolks add richness and moisture to the batter.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that sets the cake's crumb as the batter bakes.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas that lifts the dark batter.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking to help the light batter rise.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and deepens the color of the dark batter.
The step that matters
Swirling the batters. Swirling too much blends the light and dark batters into an even color instead of distinct marbling. Use only a few gentle passes with a knife so the two batters stay in separate streaks.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, milk, egg, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon):
- Cardamomfits better
- Allspicefits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, milk, egg, 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.
More marble cake recipes
You might also like
Cinnamon Rolls71 recipes
Clove Cake53 recipes
Cinnamon Cake42 recipes
White Cake431 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.