Why it works: Raisin and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Fruit Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C).
Mix the batter
In a large bowl, combine the seeded raisins, currants, figs, citron, brown sugar, and flour.
Add the eggs and brandy, mixing until well combined.
Add spice to taste.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a greased cake pan.
Bake for seven hours.
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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Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Currant + brandytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,057 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Raisin + figtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together737 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,180 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
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Fig + brandytop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together222 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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 add structure as they set in the oven.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the fruit together as the cake sets.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture and helps the crust brown during baking.
- Seeded raisins
- Supply moisture and chewy sweetness throughout the cake.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma and flavor and helps keep the cake moist.
The step that matters
Bake for seven hours at a low oven temperature. A long, low bake lets the heavy fruit batter cook through evenly without the outside burning before the center sets. Checking doneness near the end prevents a dry or gummy center.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, fig, sugar, flour, egg, brandy):
- Vanillafits better
- Apricotfits better
- Datesfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, fig, sugar, flour, egg, brandy. 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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