Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg 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 mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugar, and beat until well mixed.
Add the butter and mix until creamy.
Stir in the flour, blackberry jam, sour cream, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well combined.
Divide the batter into two greased cake pans.
Bake and finish
Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool and cover with boiled icing.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Blackberry + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together362 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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
- Bind the batter and provide structure as they set in the oven.
- Flour
- Forms the cake's structure once heated and set.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a tender, creamy crumb.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cake and helps it brown during baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour cream and jam to lift the batter.
- Blackberry jam
- Adds fruit sweetness, moisture, and flavor to the crumb.
The step that matters
Checking for doneness. Baking too long dries the crumb, while underbaking leaves the centre gummy because the eggs and flour have not fully set. A toothpick test shows when the inside has set.
Swap the blackberry
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, flour, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Blackberrythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, flour, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg. 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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