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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the jam, grated nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking soda, then gradually add to the wet mixture.
Bake and finish
Pour the batter into shallow tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Once cool, spread icing between the layers and on top.
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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Allspice + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,536 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Nutmeg + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,331 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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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
- Creams with the sugar to trap air and give the cake a tender, rich crumb.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, binding the batter as it sets in the oven.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the batter's acidity to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
- Jam
- Adds sweetness, fruity flavour and moisture to the crumb.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the batter and, creamed with butter, helps create a light texture.
The step that matters
Checking for doneness. Baking soda starts reacting as soon as it meets the batter, so the cake should go into the oven promptly. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, because a cake pulled too early can sink in the middle as its structure has not yet set.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, butter, egg, nutmeg, cinnamon):
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Allspicethe original
- Clovefits about as well
- Turmericfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, butter, egg, 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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