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 ↓
Sultana Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.
Add the eggs two at a time, beating for 5 minutes between each addition.
Mix in the flour and baking powder, followed by the thick cream, raisins, and chopped citron. Thoroughly combine all ingredients.
Bake and finish
Pour the mixture into a well-buttered, paper-lined cake tin.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 1½ hours.
Once done, spread with transparent 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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Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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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).
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
- Creams with the sugar to trap air and give the cake a tender, rich crumb.
- Eggs
- Provide structure and binding, setting the crumb as the cake bakes.
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the main structure of the cake once its starches set in the oven.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking, helping the cake rise and become light.
- Sultana raisins
- Add sweetness, moisture and chewy fruit pieces throughout the cake.
The step that matters
Adding the eggs two at a time. Eggs added too quickly can curdle the creamed butter and sugar, breaking the emulsion. Beating well between additions keeps the batter smooth so the cake rises evenly and keeps a fine crumb.
Flavor stand-ins for the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, flour, cream):
- Vanillaabout as good a flavor fit
- Raisinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, flour, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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