Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Pound Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Cream the butter until smooth.
Gradually add the sugar while continuing to beat.
Incorporate the egg yolks, beaten until thick and lemon-colored.
Fold in the egg whites, beaten until stiff and dry.
Add the flour, mace, and brandy, and beat vigorously for 5 minutes.
Bake and finish
Pour the batter into a deep pan and bake at 300°F (150°C) for 1¼ hours, or bake in a dripping pan for 30-35 minutes for fancy cakes.
Once cooled, cut into fancy shapes, glaze, and dip in fondant 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Creamed with sugar, it gives the cake its rich, tender body and flavor.
- Flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Beaten into the butter, it adds sweetness and helps trap air for lightness.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness, color, and emulsifying fat that smooths the batter.
- Egg whites
- Whipped and folded in, they add air and lift to the crumb.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Whites beaten until stiff and dry trap air that lightens the cake. Folding gently preserves that air; overmixing deflates the foam and yields a dense cake.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, sugar, egg, brandy):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Capersfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, sugar, 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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