Why it works: Flour and raisin 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 ↓
Raisin Pound Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a cool oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, cream together the powdered sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Stir in the milk gradually.
Sift together the flour and baking powder, then fold into the mixture.
Gently mix in the cleaned raisins.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and smooth the top.
Bake for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center 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.
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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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 to trap air, giving a tender, rich crumb.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, binding the batter as it sets in the oven.
- Flour
- Forms the structure of the cake as its proteins and starches set when baked.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cake rise and become light.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the cake and, creamed with butter, helps create a light texture.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and loosens the batter to a smooth consistency.
The step that matters
Creaming the butter and sugar. Beating butter and sugar until light and fluffy traps air bubbles that expand in the oven. Under-creaming gives a dense cake, while the batter should not be overmixed after adding flour, as that toughens the crumb.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg, milk, flour):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg, milk, flour. 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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